Julie/Graeme, Anglers Warehouse Tweed Heads (07) 5536 3822
anglerswarehouse@shopsafe.com.au
Wayne, Kingscliff Bait and Tackle
Matthew/Charlie, Deep Sea Fishing Charters

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Joe
BP Discount Fishing Tackle Brunswick Heads (02) 66851268
brunswick-fishing@netspace.net.au

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A few fish around but nothing spectacular. Plenty of bream, whiting and flathead with big dart just out of range and heading north, don’t know where. A few big tailor with some great ones between the pub and the surf club at Lennox head. No jew action because the swell has been up a bit too much. Still a few spotties in the bay along with snapper at the Mackerel boulder with some nice parrot fish as well, water is 23° and clear with a fair current.

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle (02) 6685 7133

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Matt at Dave’s bait Shop says a few jewies have come from the walls on big soft plastics and hard minnows and fresh mullet strips. The odd good tailor from the northern headlands and the North Wall with fish to around 3kg. Caution with the swell that’s around.
The river has the odd small jew around the RSL with the odd big flattie from the Porpoise Wall. Up-river to Wardell for bream and a few flatties and mud crabs. No outside reports because of the weather.
Similar story with the bar at Evans Head impassable for offshore trips and most of the action from the walls, beaches and any safe rocks you might find. Some chopper tailor about from the rocks but they’re small. Bream are going OK in the washes but the beaches have been a bit tough with the onshore winds, swell and sweep. Blackfish around the walls are good and the river bream are biting well early, late and into the night.

Dave’s Bait Shop (02) 6686 2481
&
Tony Zann

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

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Pretty patchy offshore but those in the bigger boats have reported a good patch of mackerel. A few squire as well.
Tailor plentiful from the rocks north and south with no reports of big fish but plenty of chopper class fish on pillies, gar and lures. Some good jew around the full moon but still a few about to 25kg on the breakwalls and the mullet are starting to move.
Lower river very clear with best action at night. Up the river better for snowy bream and flathead including some decent lizards.

Paul Kneller
Big River Bait and Tackle, Maclean (02) 6645 1834

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A few little jewies on the beach but the mullet haven’t really run yet. Whiting in the lower estuaries and the bream are starting to occupy the leases.
Outside for snapper and a few pearlies and bottom ooglies with no surface reports and the water dropped around 4°.
A few tailor around the headlands

Peter Russell, Fish Tackle Australia 6652 4611
motackle@midcoast.com.au

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Mark and Denise Bird and Paul and Michelle Martin
Rocks Marine Bait and Tackle 6566 6726
rocksmarine@dodo.com.au

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On the beaches, bream have been excellent and this weekend presents peak tides for either a morning or evening session. Best baits at this time of year are often mullet strips, which makes sense with the mullet running, although do not overlook the pipi – big travelling bream have a real penchant for this tasty morsel and more often than not an examination of their stomach contents reveals this as their main food. Also on the beaches, a few good tailor have been on offer, while North Beach continues to produce a few excellent whiting. Good tides this weekend for mulloway as well, with Lake Cathie and North Beach well worth a go.
Off the rocks tailor have been consistent and although not in great numbers the average size has been encouraging. Bream have been quite good and will be even better now the moon has dimmed and tides are more favourable. Drummer continue to improve, with the odd reasonable pig being extracted from Big Hill, Point Plommer and around Shelleys. Good numbers of blackfish remain for those keen to throw the float off the stones.
In the estuary, last weekend saw a mass exodus of mullet from the Hastings with these fish beginning their annual northward migration pretty well on cue. Bream numbers remain excellent and should improve. Blackfish have been terrific with the south wall continuing to provide plenty of action, while Limeburners has also picked up. Some nice lizards have been taken from the Maria and around Rawdon Island, while there are a few garfish around the lower reaches. Still a few muddies around.
Offshore news has been a little better with the strong northerly current at last beginning to slow and allow the wider reefs to be fished a little more consistently. John from Ocean Star advises snapper numbers are picking up with plenty of fish to 5 kilos on offer, together with a reasonable showing of kingfish, samson and pearl perch. Best results have been wider out in around 70 or 80 metres. Plenty of leatherjackets are also about causing most to reach for wire, although the bigger specimens are yet to arrive. Flathead numbers and quality are apparently excellent for those keen to drift. Plenty of mahi mahi to around 7 kilos are on the chew, with the traps and FADs at least locatable now the current has backed off.

Jason and Virginia Isaac, Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle 6583 8318
jasned@ozemail.com.au

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Offshore: Activity out wide has slowed but the action in close is top shelf. Cobia are very active and are cruising close to shore. Big sharks are proving a problem when fighting a fish for any period of time. More than one quality fish has been 'sharked' in the past few days. Snapper and pearl perch were reported by Ocean Quest Charters and more than one boatload of anglers did battle with big kingfish off Seal Rocks.
Beaches: Favourable tides should see the beaches fish well this weekend. The best of the beach fishing remains to our south. Lots of mullet are moving north and with them some big bream.
Rocks: A great week of LBG action with multiple reports of cobia and northern bluefin. Macs and bonito remain a problem as they won’t leave your live bait alone. More than one quality fish has been lost to a shark over the last few days. For those who prefer to drown a traditional bait, the bream, drummer and tailor are on tap.
Estuary: It's Megabucks weekend and the bream lure-tossers are here in numbers to do battle with our fish. If the weather holds those involved should experience some quality fishing. Several big mulloway have come from the Forster breakwall on green soft plastics. Blackfish numbers are on the rise but if you’re planning a visit to our area to chase these critters, bring the weed with you. The local stuff is scarce.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

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Estuary: Mullet run just starting. Trumpeter whiting throughout the system, blue swimmers and mud crabs up the reaches. Flathead Shoal Bay, Baggies. Bream on the racks, Corrie Island. Plenty of squid and chopper tailor throughout.
Beaches: Big schools of tailor and salmon on most beaches. Bream on Stockton and One Mile. Jew in Fingal Bay.
Rocks: Pigs Telegraph Point, Cemetery, Fingal. Tailor and salmon off most headlands. Blackfish Cemetery, Birubi, the breakwalls.
Offshore: Bluefin tuna north of Broughton and Little Gibber, kings around East Head on Broughton and the inner islands. Good squire on Mungo and the Sisters. All reefs in between fishing well for jew and trag.

Graham Duffy, Salamander Bait and Tackle 02 4982 0711

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Peter Sanderson, Fisherman's Warehouse (02) 4945 8922
enquiries@fishermanswarehouse.com.au

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Good longfinned perch at Terrigal Wide with triple-headers a regular occurrence. Small mahi mahi have made a comeback and the snapper have picked up very well in close off Avoca. Reds to around 3kg. The kings have been pretty regular to 4kg inshore and around the rocks.
Estuaries have been pretty quiet apart from the odd big lizard and a few estuary perch showing up. The bream have shut down or moved on but a few school jew turning up although not of great size.

Aaron / Joel
Freddys Fishing World (02) 4367 5555
Shop 1/ 229 The Entrance Rd Erina

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The warm-weather fishing might be slowing down as autumn truly arrives and we all take a cool shower but thankfully many predominantly winter species are here already to fill the gaps left by any vacating pelagics. That’s not to say that there’s not still quite a few of these migratory fish around, with the northern beaches especially experiencing a late run of cobia and samson fish, even in the slightly colder water.
Manly has been the centre of some action this week, with mixed species including jewies and whiting off the beach and schools of small samson on the drift about 150-200m off. Tailor have also made an appearance round the southern end of the beach, schooling with some enormous salmon over 70cm long and almost 10lb. Curl Curl has also seen its share of tailor and salmon, both of which are taking ganged pillies, and some moderate jewfish around 5-8kg have fallen to fresh squid and live yakkas.
But the real cause for excitement in these parts has been the numbers of cobia intermittently schooling in the area. A cobia of about 15kg was washed up onto the rocks there last week by a very tired angler. Some kingies, though not so big, have also been landed. Drummer and luderick are both starting to come on up and down the headlands.
Pittwater also fished well this week, and due to it being warmer than the rest of Sydney’s waters it has probably the most active kingfish population around. Pete Le Blang of Harbour and Estuary Charters has kept his customers happy with up to 12 kings in a session. Many of the fish are only just over legal, around the 65cm mark, but fish this size are often less picky than their larger relatives and will take not just live squid but also squid strips, live yakkas, live slimies and a fair range of soft plastics. 5” pearl white Jerk Shads and 4” assorted PowerBait minnows have proved themselves this week.
Offshore is a little disappointing with no real billfish action but there are at least the last of the dollies about. Most of these remaining dollies are small around 2kg, but the odd few get up to 4 and 5kg, especially on the further FADs. Live baits are the pick for these oceanic predators, especially 4-8cm long yellowtail or similar size slimies. Open the bail arm or bait-run them back toward the FAD.
Bottom-bashers have had a little luck with massive Chinamen leatherjackets around the 12 Mile and some pearlies, blue eye and hapuku are milling around Browns.
The Harbour has not been setting things on fire either, but can at least hold its head up. A smattering of kings is hanging about, from inside North Harbour and around Dobroyd to The Spit, as well as over at the Wedding Cakes. There are really big kingfish about amongst some rats, as can be testified to by Darren Thomas and Hook ’em Cook ’em Charter operator Des Toms. Slow trolling a live squid on the downrigger seemed to them like a nice way to spend the afternoon until a steam train hit and dragged 80lb of braid through a locked Speedmaster drag with thumbs on the spool to some structure over 80m away, all at blistering pace. There are still nightmares going on about it! Some samsons have moved in around Dobroyd, and are loving squid guts or heads, fished on the bottom right at the reef edge. The occasional small amberjack is also holding just off the reef, close to markers. Bream have taken a back seat in the Harbour in recent weeks but are back on with a vengeance, particularly around Rose Bay where some massive 40cm-plus fish are being landed around Marinas. Soft plastic 3” minnows are producing well. Trevally are also about near structure all over the Harbour, and will take unweighted whitebait floated into a berley trail.

Darren Thomas
Fish Outta Water 9949 9488
fishon@uunet.com.au

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Mitch, Mac's Bait Bar
428 Princes Hwy Blakehurst
ph 02 9546 1341, mobile 0411 661 911.

Lake: Blackfish on the southern breakwall on weed and worms early in the day. Flathead at the drop-off on whitebait and plastics. Bream around the bridge and the bowling club wall on worms and prawns. Late season blue swimmer still on the move around Lake South and Mt Warrigal.
Beaches: bream on Windang, Warilla and Fairymeadow beaches on mullet strips and worms. Pilchards for salmon and flathead in the gutters such as those at Coniston, Bombo and Seven Mile.
Rocks: Bonito, salmon and tailor still around with drummer and bream at Bombo northside, Flagstaff Point and Bellambi boat ramp.
Offshore: Bellambi bommie east side, Towradgi Reef and One Tree reef Wollongong for bream and mowies on royal reds and squid. Snapper at Kiama in 70m on squid and cut bait.

Garth, Deans Bait and Tackle, Windang 4295 1615

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Rodney Stockman,
Harry’s Bait and Tackle
ph 02 4472 4393, fax 02 4472 3405

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Estuary isn’t too bad for bream, flathead and tailor with some bonito in Fosters Bay.
Beaches: some big salmon on most beaches with a few tailor and some good bream.
Offshore: The odd king at the island, some thumping bonito as well. The bottom fishing well for snapper and mowies. Albacore, yellowfin and the occasional marlin are a day-by-day proposition but should be good if you can find the good water.

Darryl, The Ocean Hut (02) 4476 2278

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Darren Redman and Mark Rose,
Bermagui Ocean Hut and Charter Booking Service, (02) 6493 4688

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