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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Offshore: Fairly ordinary weather was the problem this week with big swells and should stay for the weekend. Those who got out got a few snapper and trag with a few dog mackerel around the local reefs.
Rock and beach: Big tailor can be found around the north wall, south wall and beaches. Bream and flathead close to the south wall on the beach. Bream around Seagull Rocks.
Estuary: Bream and blackfish can be found around the co-op and bream around the Spur wall with one this week weighting 1.3kg. Try for flathead around the Massey Greene Caravan Park on plastics. Bream also around the highway bridge. Good sized mud crabs in the river.

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

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Big bream in numbers around Cosy Corner and some nice big tailor just about anywhere you can put out a bait. Sea still fairly wild but looks to be settling down.

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle (02) 6685 7133

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Bruce at Dave’s Bait Shop reckons bream are improving through the lower river with still a few decent flatties but they’re tapering off. School jew and bigger have been good around the Town Reach, RSL, old Coal Wharf and a few smaller ones up to Pimlico. Jew and bream from the walls but the beaches have been too rough. No outside reports.
Bugger all to report from Evans head with incessant big swells cracking in all week and enough wind to blow the paint off your car. Masses of sand and kelp moving about in the rough ocean with another 20 tonnes deposited along the inside of South Wall and more on the bar, which you can just about walk across. A few nice bream coming from the river, especially on the evening high tide, and the better blackfish in the Bream Hole at high tide - too much moving sand around the walls. But if the weather does settle for the weekend there should be tailor and bream from the rocks – there’s been bait sheltering under the headlands at times. A few schools of mullet starting to work around.

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

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

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Still plenty of bream about but it’s a bit cold and miserable and the southerly won’t back off. Tailor off the rocks for those brave or stupid enough. Plenty of bream and tarwhine at the State rock and beach titles last weekend with an 8.5kg sombre sweetlip landed, too. No chance for outside fishing. Still good blue swimmer crabs in the lower river around Yamba and Oyster Channel and muddies as well. Bream and flathead should go well in the next few days and school jew on live herring going pretty well. Blackfish improving day by day.

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

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Offshore conditions have been very nasty but those braving it during the breaks turned up some nice snapper. Still a few mackerel to the north but no reports from southern grounds.
Good run of bream and whiting in the beach gutters and lower estuaries as the fish move in and out with the tide. A few tailor also about the place and still plenty of dart.

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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Conditions have rendered most beaches unfishable for a week or so with only the more protected southerly corners worth a go. Before the swells picked up, most beaches were holding plenty of formations and were starting to give quality fish. North Beach had produced a more consistent run of school mulloway along with a few tailor and bream, while Lighthouse had been producing its fair share of choppers. South Beach at Dunbogan had also yielded a few larger mulloway together with some better than average bream. Unfortunately for beach fishos, the seas will have completely flattened existing formations, filling in pretty well all gutters. While this will make angling challenging in the short term, it is amazing how quickly the gutters and spits begin to reform, particularly if we get a few consistent westerly winds and little swell. Quite often this is the most desirable scenario for beach goers, with just a few formations here and there generally far more likely to attract and hold fish rather than when a beach has good formations from one end to the other.
Off the rocks, the large swells have meant most ledges have been no-go zones but such conditions also create opportunities in the more protected locations. The bay at Shelleys is a classic example with bream, blackfish and the odd drummer on offer during the rough stuff. Other gutters on the northern sides of headlands or those protected by outer reefs will also produce well. Once the conditions settle and the more exposed ledges are safely accessible, the action should be excellent with most species taking advantage of the abundant food presented following the rough seas.
In the estuaries, the small fresh has seen the bulk of the action confined to the lower reaches with bream and blackfish picking up considerably. Blackfish in particular have been quite good with both the breakwalls and the co-op fishing well. Black weed, as often is the case when the river is dirty, is the gun bait but cabbage fished from the outer part of the walls on the run in is well worth a go. A few flathead have also been taken in the lower reaches and should continue over the coming week. The fresh wasn’t sufficient to really fire things up for jewfish but the walls at Laurieton have produced fish on lures. The walls at Port will also be well worth a go at the moment, with a combination of good tides and an approaching full moon. A few schools of mullet are holing up at the edge of the dirty water, creating great jewfish conditions.

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

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Offshore: The forecast for the weekend looks OK and should see local boats out to sea hoping to pick up where things left off just over a week ago. The big factor will be the sea temperature and whether it has dropped. If it has, we may have seen the last of the cobia and mahi mahi until next summer. What's for sure is that the kings will still be at Seal Rocks and snapper will be on close in reefs.
Beaches: Great tides for tailor fishing over the next few days but the big swell has done a lot of damage to the beach structure. Can't really say where to head, other than go and have a look for yourself.
Rocks: The rock fishing should be at its best over the next few days with drummer and bream in good numbers. Those in the know should be after a few snapper. Don't know what the LBG situation will be like for the same reasons mentioned above.
Estuary: The mulloway action hasn't been what we would have expected given the recent rain. Bream are on the chew, but the blackfish are not as happy with the quantity of dirty water on the run-out tide.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

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Rain and wind have been unreal and Friday not much better, blowing SE-SW and rain lifting fractionally. Big well going back a bit. Blackfish aplenty everywhere. Bream Boulders, Corrie short cut, Rocks Awash. Squid around the moorings.
Beaches: Salmon on Stockton with a few travelling bream. Jew on Little Gibber.
Rocks: Tailor Cemetery, Sunny Corner and One Mile, pigs Boulder and Rocky, salmon everywhere. Blackfish from most sheltered bays.
Offshore: What offshore?

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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Shocking weather, wind, rain. No one fished the estuaries this week. Before the blow kingies and silver trevally offshore. Out on the shelf there were big marlin, huge mahi mahi and some good yellowfin to 30kg. Wamberal lagoon is open so the beach should fish really well for bream and the jewfish. Tailor and salmon should be good there, too. But don’t kill all the bream that come out of the lagoon – for god’s sake, leave a few and stick to your bag limits. Great time for anyone who hasn’t caught a bream on a soft plastic.

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

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The last five or six days have seen 10-knot southerlies blowing unabated, bringing us the type of conditions that the average angler really doesn’t need. Southerlies like this make for hard fishing at any time of the year, but this week’s blow, coming at the end of a late summer, will probably see an end to our warm water and bring the onset of more wintery conditions as cold water is swept up the coast. While this will put the brakes on many of the summer species, it has made room for the start of the yellowfin tuna offshore, and amongst others has brought up tailor and trevally in closer water.
The ’fin have been the big news of the last week or two, with fish over 60kg landed as well as plenty between 30 and 50kg. Ron Kovacs took The Office out twice last week, both times finding schools of yellows surface-feeding on baitfish. They were launching themselves so high into the air as they rocketed up through the bait, that from a distance they looked like dolphins! He managed to land a few fish on each occasion, the majority of which took McGoo pushers in green and yellow. Other reports suggest there are a few northern bluefin even wider, with live trolled small tunas being hit by some unstoppable monsters out near Heatons Hill. That’s if you can even get out there at present, with the waves at 3m. Bottom fishing at Browns has also been pretty good with blue eyes, pearlies and hapuku.
The Harbour has actually come on a bit with the colder waters moving offshore, and now has almost totally changed over to winter fishing. Though it is still almost 20° and some kings are still about, they are sparse and hard work and it has been the arrival of some big tailor, a few salmon and the very tasty addition of a few nice sized john dory that has saved the day. Des Toms has picked up dory all about the Harbour this week but suggests the best spots are around Clifton Gardens in the deeper water, or over toward Reef Beach. Both these areas are out of the southerly and somewhat protected from the swell. Live yakkas are the go. There are also plenty of trevally around the deeper structures, especially where there is a bit of water movement. A good berley trail should bring them in toward you, where you can pounce with unweighted whitebait.
Pittwater is still the last of the summer bastions, but even it is slowing down. 20°-21° waters are still holding active kings and Pete Le Blang of Harbour and Estuary Charters has pulled in a few each day this week, even with the bad conditions. The Supermarket and Jacks have both been holding a few, with the former holding some real whopper kings of 1m-plus. Live squid is a bit hard to get at the moment, with the big squid having bred and returned to sea. Smaller squid can be a little less aggressive and harder to catch, but are also the premier bait. Recently, these size squid have lasted as little as 30 seconds in the water, especially if your name is Darren ‘sabre’ Thomas. His last king of about 70cm took one minute and 10 seconds from when the bait went in to when the fish came out! The last of the Watsons leaping bonito are still about as well, but they have been outnumbered by some big tailor, especially around the inside of Towlers Bay. Flatties are still on the drift between West Head and the ’Joey, but have been a little difficult to fish for this week in the 2m+ swell.

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.

Estuary: Good bream around the road bridge and Bevans island in the channel. At the drop--off and the bowling club wall luderick on weed. Entrance has bream and winter whiting on worms late in the day. Blue swimmers still worth a look with Wollemi Point, Berkley and lake south mud flats producing.
Beaches: Fairy Meadow, southern Coniston and southern Windang have bream, flathead and tailor on pillies and strip baits. Salmon and tailor on South Shellharbour and Seven Mile at Gerroa.
Rocks: Northern sides of Barrack Point and Windang Island and along Wollongong breakwalls for bream and drummer in numbers on royal reds and ab gut.
Offshore: When the seas abate try for flathead at Towradgi, southern end of Wollongong Reef and Barrack Point. Morwong and Chinaman jackets to 900g at Gap Island and Bass Point.

Garth, Deans Bait and Tackle, Windang 4295 1615

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Estuary: Not many reports but Jason Wheeler says there are plenty o f big bream still under the racks. The odd school jew and the flatties are slowing down.
Rock & beach: Still getting plenty of bream and some lovely flathead and luderick by tossing hard lures in the rocky corners. Put on a metal and you should get some salmon. Some good snapper off the rocks after the rough seas. Plenty of drummer to 2kg with trevally and bream.
Offshore: Not many reports but there should be reds and mowies on the reefs and flatties on the drift. Heard nothing from out wide. Next weekend is the Coachhouse Yellowfin Tournament.

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

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Offshore: No one has got out much during the week because of the heavy seas but they’re subsiding and a couple headed out Friday morning.
Inlet: Still fishing well for bream, blackfish, flathead and trevally. Jewies for those who want to search and put in a few hours.
Rock and beach: Have been hard to fish but a few drummer and bream, salmon and tailor in the quiet corners. Big seas have put some nice slope on the beaches in places so they should fish well.

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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