Weekly report 25/04/08

BREAKING NEWS

Mark (Mango) Mangold has just won the Club Marine Gippsland Lakes Bream Qualifier and also taken away a $10,000.00 pay cheque. Congratulation Mark.

For any further information on the results and much more about bream fishing you just need to go to http://www.bream.com.au/


ALSO SOME MORE BREAKING NEWS

The Squidgy Summer Series has been run and won. Here are the results.

1st TEAM SHIMANO(5) - 4.304kg

2nd TEAM COWANS BOAT(5) - 4.264kg

3rd TEAM HIGHLAND SCOTCH WHISKEY & COLA(5) - 4.146kg

4th TEAM CULBURRA BAIT & TACKLE(5) - 4.064kg

5th TEAM KINGRODS(5) - 3.888kg

6th TEAM PFLUEGER(5) - 3.724kg

7th TEAM CENTURY BATTERIES(5) - 3.304kg
8th TEAM BIG/S.F.B.A(5) - 3.194kg

9th TEAM CHEW ON THIS(5) - 3.036kg

10th TEAM SQUIDGIE(5) - 2.816kg

11th TEAM TERRIGAL BAIT & TACKLE(5) - 2.556kg

12th TEAM SEETO(3) - 2.306kg

13th TEAM JAPAN TACKLE/COMPLEAT ANGLER(5) - 2.272kg

14th TEAM SCUMLINE(5) - 2.204kg

15th TEAM BREAM IT ON(5) - 2.194kg

16th TEAM BUDGET(4) - 2.140kg

17th TEAM HOOKED UP(3) - 1.818kg

18th TEAM MAKO EYEWEAR(2) - 1.192kg

19th TEAM NITRO(2) - .784kg

20th TEAM EBT TEAM A(1) - .448KG

As TEAM Pflueger Carl Dubois and I had the best day on the water in the Squidgy Summer Series. We caught around 20 legal fish, up graded about 6 times and only travel From Hen and Chicken Bay and up to Gladesville Bridge. Trying flats, boats, a couple of bays and deep water to get out bag of 3.724 kilos.

All up there was 85 bream caught for a total weight of 54.69 kilos. That is an average weight of 643 grams each. Not bad for Sydney Harbour.

Carl has put a report together for our challenge of the Squidgie Bream Challenge Grand Final. This is how our day unfolded.

At 7.00am 20 boats were ready to set off from Bayview in Hen & Chicken Bay at 7am for 7 hours of exciting fishing. They ranged from humble tinnies to $50,000 fibreglass imports.

Up for grabs was a $1,000 entry fee into the Forster Megabucks Tournament plus $3,000 dollars worth of tackle for each angler. Some well known names were amongst the teams and Gary and I were out to try and upset them. The first thing I had to do was catch a bream! The Lake Macquarie round was a thing of the past and I was sooooooo relieved (not as much as Gary though) when I landed our 1st bream for the day that just made the 25cm fork minimum length. We landed a few more just under size and ventured into Exile Bay to fish the flats.

Gary tied on one of Ecogear VX40's (a metal blade lure) and hooked up within the first few casts. Next cast he's on again and I switch from the SP's to a VX40 as well.
And that's when the fun started. The bream were climbing all over these things and after two drifts we had our 5 bag limit. Only 8:20am and we were ready to start upgrading. Gary gets a good hit but it's a lousy, rotten flathead of 58cm's. Normally a great catch but not today! ) More upgrades come over the side when I get our first kicker fish, a 35cm fork beauty that weighs 900 grams. We couldn't believe how good these lures were working. All we had to do was cast them out as far as we could, then double-hop them back to the boat. Often the fish would come back 2 or 3 times if they didn't hook-up the first time.

Once the bite shut down we moved off to a few other bays. We'd take turns swapping between Gulp SP's and Lucky Strike HB's, but the VX's were snaring most of the fish. At one stage Gary and I had a double hook-up and it took us a few minutes to decide which fish in the well had to be returned to the river. I only wish we had choices like that every tournament we fished in!

With 90 minutes to go, we figured we had a bag of about 3 kg's. We still needed a couple of kicker fish as we knew you'd need a bag over 4 kg's to win. Gary suggested Gladesville Marina where there was some deeper water and a chance to hook some thumpers. As we were fishing, Gary noticed a lot of water in the boat, and I mean a lot. We quickly discovered that one of the fish in the live well had its tail over the water outlet and the water was just running over the top. Gary said, "I'll sort this out, you catch a horse."

On one of my retrieves I felt a nudge and then 'whoompf', there was some serious weight on the end of my line. "Gary," I said as this thing swam under the marina. I dipped the rod to keep the line free of the barnacle-encrusted pontoon and called out again, "Gary...net!" But Gary, who had his head down near the bilge pump, didn't hear me. Very quickly the fish swam to the surface and when he came out from under the pontoon I yelled out "GARY! GET THE NET!!!" This thing was a monster. He had huge blue lips, looked about 3 inches across the back and I guesstimated he would've been at least 45cm's. He took one look at me and with a few big tail beats he shredded me on the pontoon before I could dip the rod again. Oh, the agony! So close but not close enough.

With no time to lose, we quickly got back to the fishing. Then, it's Gary's turn and his rod bends until the tip is in the water. This time we're ready and we move away from the marina into open water. Gary backs off the drag now that we're clear and we know this is another big bream. Then woe is us again, the line goes limp and we've dropped him. Oh, double the agony. We check our watches and still have 20 minutes to fish, so cursing under our breath, we return to the edge of the marina.

5 minutes later I'm on again and this feels like another bruiser. Come on, 3rd time lucky we think and yes, Gary expertly slides the net under our biggest fish that stretches to 37cm's fork and 1.1 kg's. With 5 minutes to go, Gary lands another upgrade and we think we may have a chance. We hope we have about 4kg's and as we carry the fish to the weigh in there are a few 'Ooh, big fish' from the spectators. As they go on the scales we see that the leaders have 4.2kg's and we're shattered to only go 3.724 kg's.

The old adage of the one that got away really bit on us the bum today but in reality nearly every team drops a few good fish.

In the final wash-up we came in at 6th place, with the winners, taking it out with 4.3kg's, being Team Shimano, so big congratulations to Bill and Mark on a good win. I had one of the best days fishing ever and the biggest thanks go to Gary Brown who let me join his team for the series. Thanks Gary!

So there you have it a great day was had by all.

For further information you can go to http://www.ausbream.com.au/

AND FOR SOME MORE BREAKING NEWS.

Kim Bain has just won the Lake Lewisville Bass Tournament in Lewisville, Texis on April 10-12, 2008

Kim Bain over halls leaders to be first Aussie to win a BASS event in the USA Aussie Bain Wins in Texas.
Said Kim, catching her breath..." I was...luckily... just keeping in touch with the leaders each day, it certainly wasn't going to plan but I was glad to still have a chance; day one I lost a seven pounder and was 18th, day two I lost two big fish and slipped back to 20th place which was just enough to make the final day twenty pro shootout; ...oh boy... then in the shootout I was flippin' a beaver [a beaver is a reaction innovations soft plastic - reaction innovations is her own manufacturing company], I nailed a 7 pounder and a 6 pounder ....I thought ...that knocks over the deficit from the first two days....there was a chance....still a chance.....you are allowed to weigh your best five fish each day but I only scored two more fish today [the final day] so I was super nervous...for the rest of the day it had been tough for everybody; Being the last of the top twenty in the shootout I weighed in early to post what I think was the biggest bag of the tournament even though it was only four fish. And then the wait,....nervously waiting while everybody else weighed...in the end I'd won...by a few ounces....I still can't believe it " Aussie Kim wins a $50,000 USD boat...in the USA it's a bit of a benchmark to win fishing events that have a boat as first prize ....and Kim is the first Aussie to ever do it. Not only is Kim the first Australian ever to win a BASS event, she is also the first Australian to win any event in the USA.

If you would like to read more about Bass fishing in the USA you can go to http://www.bassmaster.com/, then go to the WBT and then click on the "live leader board"
I will be running another class starting on the Thursday the 5th of June at 7.00pm. The cost of $95.00 includes a fish barbeque and the class. To book in and pay you will need to either ring the shop or pay them a visit.

NEXT FISHING CLASSES

I will be running another class starting on the Thursday the 5th of June at 7.00pm. The cost of $95.00 includes a fish barbeque and the class. To book in and pay you will need to either ring the shop or pay them a visit.

Windybanks Bait and Tackle
523 Pacific Hwy Mt Colah NSW 2079
Ph (02) 9477 1501
Annette

My next class will start on Wednesday the 2nd of July at 7.00pm and run for 3 consecutive Wednesday nights. The cost will be $80.00 per person. To book in and pay you will need to either ring the shop or pay them a visit at

Absolutely Hooked
174 Merrylands Road
Merrylands
Ph (02) 9897 3474
Mike and April

NEW PRODUCT RELEASE from TTLures

“SWITCHBLADE”

The new 1/8th ounce “SWITCHBLADE” vibration lure from TT Lures is the latest weapon of choice for anglers who simply want to catch more fish.
An extensive colour range has been developed and rigorously tested by many of the TT Lures tournament team anglers. Tim “the bream” Morgan, Darren “dizzy” Borg, and recent ABT Bream Grand Final winner, Ben Godfrey, are just a few of the team members overwhelmed by the increased numbers of fish that they are catching with this exciting new lure.

The edge that the Switchblade has when compared to similar lures is that it has three tow points which gives the lure three very different actions. This enables the lure to be cast and retrieved shallow, slow rolled deep and vertically jigged on deep structure.
Available in ten “must have” colours, rigged with Owner trebles and a quick change snap clip, this lure is ready to go, straight out of the box!

If you would like to view a colour chart of these great lures you can go to Bream at http://www.bream.com.au/ and click on the colour chart to have a look. These lures will be on the market in 2 weeks time.

Ron Osman from Estuary Fishing and Tours http://www.estuaryfishingtours.com.au/ ,
reports that he has only fished a couple of days last week but they were good days fishing with trevally to 40cm, bream to 35cm and a few 40cm leather jackets and a couple of salmon all taken on squid and peeled prawns in a burly trail on the northern side drop off at lion island, best day we got 10 trevally, 6 bream, 4 leatherjackets and 3 salmon in a few hours with 5 people fishing. Good to see the winter fish are showing up already. We caught 5 big blue swimmers in our witches near Juno on Saturday and a just legal kingie at west head while getting yakka’s. The kingies and the jewies have gone quiet but we only tried for them for a couple of hours. Still lots of big mullet at iron ladders with the pros getting heaps in their nets. A couple of my mates cleaned up on kingies to 75cm on Sunday at a spot they call the pinnacles (35meters deep) of blue bay and they said everyone at the boat ramp had kingies but none were real big.

If you are after more information about Ron’s estuary fishing and tours you can either have a look at his web site http://www.estuaryfishingtours.com.au/ , email him at ron@estuaryfishingtours.com.au or phone Ron on 0407 661 397

Jason and Virginia Isaac from Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle jasned@ozemail.com.au reports that in the estuary, flathead numbers and quality remain quite good, with most locations in the lower reaches producing on a consistent basis. Whilst there are plenty of throwbacks to sort through, some bigger models to around 3 kilos have been taken on both bait and lures. Blackfish remain a little patchy, although by all reports the estuary is loaded with fish, with plenty more heading in from around our headlands. Once these fish begin to actively feed a little more aggressively, catches should be excellent.

On the bream front, some nice fish have been taken from around the break walls at night, with gut baits and yabbies achieving the better results. For those keen on chasing a mulloway, the break walls should be well worth a look over this weekend, with the combination of both a full moon phase, good tides and plenty of mullet in the lower reaches often a recipe for success. Needless to say, a well presented live mullet would not be worst bait you could offer.

Off the beaches, conditions have not been favourable, with consistent southerly winds and above average swells endured for the best part of near two weeks now. Those who have ventured out report tailor numbers are solid, with a slight improvement in the overall quality if anything. The southern end of Lighthouse and North beach remain the pick of locations locally, whilst the beaches south of Port continue to prove well worth the drive. The past week has seen numbers drop off a little, however there are some quality fish about, like the 1.67 kilo specimen Ian Cooper scored off Lighthouse earlier in the week. With the seas somewhat rough and an upcoming full moon, early morning sessions will be likely to produce the better results. Mullet or tailor strips, pipis and beach worms should all prove successful.

Off the rocks, tailor numbers remain excellent, with Plommer and surrounds in particular fishing quite well for this time of year. Drummer numbers remain encouraging for so early in the season, with increasing numbers of well conditioned fish being picked up by those putting in the time. In the absence of abalone gut following the recently introduced ban, cunjevoi and cabbage have been the baits of choice. On the bream front, numbers are continuing to improve, however with the full moon phase coming up, look for either dawn or dusk, rather than the night time hours to produce the better catches. On the land based game scene, longtail tuna remain pretty well everywhere, with Point Perpendicular producing multiple fish on a daily basis, whilst a trip to Hat Head could also result in a cobia encounter or two. With plenty of yakka’s and slimeys around our headlands at present, it is hard to see the longtails departing for at least a few weeks yet.

Outside action remains a day to day proposition with the seas and winds conspiring to make conditions awkward at best. Those who have ventured out report snapper numbers are solid on the close reefs off Plommer and Lake Cathie, with good numbers of fish to around 4 kilos taking both baits and plastics. On the pelagic front, Barries bay continues to hold longtails and mac tuna in good numbers, along with some solid cobia to around 25 kilos. As expected, live bait of pretty well any description is the way to go.

When you are next up in Port Macquarie call into the shop and have a look at their great selection of tackle and bait they have on offer. You could also ask Jason and Virginia for their daily report on what’s happening on the fishing front. Call them on (02) 6583 8318.

Darren from Bermagui Ocean Hut Fishing Tackle, Dive and Charter Fishing Service
mailto:%20(%20enquiries@bermifishinghut.com.au reports that there have been a number of great catches over the past week or two.

Reef

Leatherjackets are giving everyone a headache on most of the popular reefs making it difficult to get the better quality species. The best fishing is for Flathead on the inshore grounds close to most beaches. North off Tilba is providing the best with a few good quality Gummy Sharks also being taken.

Game
Fluctuating water temps has a changing of the guards offshore in the form of lots of small to medium Yellowfin Tuna being taken around the edge of the Continental Shelf. There are also plenty of Striped Tuna and the odd Albacore, while the Marlin are still hanging in there with several fish being captured recently with the best 145 Kg.

Estuary
Cooling weather is starting to see the Estuaries slow down with most of the better fish being taken in the lower reaches of the tidal estuaries on the change of the tide with the first of the run in. Bream, Flathead and Trevally have been the main stay while the purists fishing for Luderick are achieving nice bags on the last of the run out.

Freshwater
Things are starting to get difficult with the land mass and water temps cooling. Trolling in Brogo Dam is probably the most productive at present although Lures of an evening after a warm day will still produce fish in the shallower margins. Again those cooling conditions are having an effect in the mountains with the fish not rising as regularly as they were a month ago. Nymph fishing is still producing on the lakes for the Fly Fishos, while trolling is the most effective form of fishing at present.

Rock and Beach
Salmon are dominating most captures both off the rocks and beach whether you use lure or bait. There are plenty of Bream, Mullet and Tailor adjacent to the rocks meeting the beach with a variety of baits working, like Tuna, Pilchards and Worms. With the cooling water some reasonable Drummer are being captured from the rocks.

If you are planing a trip down Darren’s way check out his web site at http://bermifishinghut.com.au/aboutus.htm You could also give Darren and the boys a ring on (02) 6493 4688 to find out what is coming up in the next week or so.

I never thought that the DVD’s that are put out by Offshore Productions from Tewantin in Queensland would have been much. Boy was I so far from the truth. I now have the 10 DVD’s that have been produced by this company and I can tell you, I haven’t just watched them once. I have viewed them several times. Over the next few reports I will let you what is in each of them and then you may like to go to your local tackle shop or new agency to get yourself a copy.

Not only do they have some great footage and fishing information, they also have information on how to use your sounder, boat and motor tests, 4 wheel drive tips, plus much more.

DVD Review

The Fishing DVD Number 5 has the following titles;

Northern Territory

Mulwala Murray Cod

Top Water Bream

Baitfish and Predators

Cania Dam in South East Queensland

Salmon off the Rocks

DVD Review

The Fishing DVD Number 6 has the following titles;

Deepwater Salmon

Fly fishing in impoundments

Northern Territory Bluewater

Catching Tailor

Impoundment Barra on Squidgies

How to go Jigging Wrecks

The DVD’ run for around 120 minutes and only cost between $10 to $12 each.

Paul Martin from Rock Marine Bait and Tackle (rocksmarine@tsn.cc) reports that
it has been a tough week at the Rocks with conditions outside horrible. Another week of southerlies meant most fisho’s stayed in the close grounds. Grassy has had no spotted Mackerel over the last week just the odd Snapper while guys are heading further north past Scotts for fair catches of Trag, Sampson fish, Snapper and Pearl Perch.

There are still tons of Mac Tuna with the odd Yellow fin around down towards Fish Rock. Trolling metals are working on Tailor in close and around Green Island with some nice Green Backs amongst them. The Lighthouse or Flathead grounds have been producing good numbers of flathead, just remember you bag limits. The Gaol Peak Grounds has been giving up a few Cobia and one or two Wahoo if you put in the hours.

There has been good tailor coming in off the Breakwall over the last week with late afternoon being productive. There’s always a good chance of Bream feeding under them. Flathead are about along the walls with some early local Blackfish. Bass are on the bite from Fredo to Kempsey smashing a wide variety of lures. There has been some reports good Bream and Flathead around Smithtown.

Poor conditions on the beaches have slowed the catches with Hat Head end of Smoky beach fishing well for tailor, dart, some small whiting and the odd flathead. The Rock ledges have been slow apart from a few tailor about.

For daily reports and special call Paul on (02) 6566 6726.

Weekly report 4/4/08

Adam Sczepaniak fished the Parramatta River last week and managed to get 24 yellowfin bream on Saturday and 31 on Sunday the biggest was 41cm and Adam also got busted off 3 times. I hope that these bream are around when Carl and I fish the Parramatta River in the Squidgie Grand Final in April. Yellowfin bream have also been coming in front the Sow and Pigs, Balmoral, Manly Cove, the Spit Bridge, Bradley’s Head, Luna Park and Pier 1. Most fish have been caught on either blood worms, pink nippers or pilly tails.

There are still a number of kingfish about, but there are more responsive during the quieter parts of the weekend. During the week would be a better time to chase them in the harbour. There have been a few schools of Australian salmon, tailor and bonito feeding between the heads and just offshore. Frigate mackerel, kingfish and tailor have been chasing the bait schools around in Middle Harbour.

Dusky flathead and mulloway have been on the chew up past the Roseville Bridge. Leatherjackets and luderick have been feeding along the shoreline on the eastern side of the Spit Bridge.

The kingfish in Botany Bay have been breaking some angler’s hearts and rods. Mark Higginbottom is using 40 kilo braid and a 50 kilo leader to try and stop some of the kingfish that are holding up in the bay. So far this year he has lost 20 kings, but has still managed to land a good number of them.

There are plenty of silver trevally, yellowfin bream, slimy mackerel, tailor and dusky flathead about in the bay. Try the usual places, but if you are not berleying you are behind the eight ball before you start. Just try tossing a few chicken pellets over every 5 minutes, this should do the job. If you have a berley bucket that is attached to your boat I would be putting them in the bucket along with some smashed up pilchards and a bit of bread.

FISHING CLASSES

I will be running another class starting on the Thursday the 5th of June at 7.00pm. The cost of $95.00 includes a fish barbeque and the class. To book in and pay you will need to either ring the shop or pay them a visit.

Windybanks Bait and Tackle
523 Pacific Hwy Mt Colah NSW 2079
Ph (02) 9477 1501
Annette

My next class will start on Wednesday the 2nd of July at 7.00pm and run for 3 consecutive Wednesday nights. The cost will be $80.00 per person. To book in and pay you will need to either ring the shop or pay them a visit at

Absolutely Hooked
174 Merrylands Road
Merrylands
Ph (02) 9897 3474
Mike

NEW PRODUCT RELEASE from TTLures

“SWITCHBLADE”

The new 1/8th ounce “SWITCHBLADE” vibration lure from TT Lures is the latest weapon of choice for anglers who simply want to catch more fish.

An extensive colour range has been developed and rigorously tested by many of the TT Lures tournament team anglers. Tim “the bream” Morgan, Darren “dizzy” Borg, and recent ABT Bream Grand Final winner, Ben Godfrey, are just a few of the team members overwhelmed by the increased numbers of fish that they are catching with this exciting new lure.

The edge that the Switchblade has when compared to similar lures is that it has three tow points which gives the lure three very different actions. This enables the lure to be cast and retrieved shallow, slow rolled deep and vertically jigged on deep structure.
Available in ten “must have” colours, rigged with Owner trebles and a quick change snap clip, this lure is ready to go, straight out of the box!

If you would like to view a colour chart of these great lures you can go to Bream at http://www.bream.com.au/ and click on the colour chart to have a look. These lures will be on the market in 2 weeks time.

Ron Osman from Estuary Fishing and Tours http://www.estuaryfishingtours.com.au/ reports that there are heaps of squid in Pittwater and Brisbane waters they have been catching 6 or more an hour just inside Pittwater on jigs and catching some in Brisbane waters while flicking plastics for flatties.

There are still some good kingies to 78cm and lots of small rats at west head, Barrenjoey and inside Pittwater on live squid and yellowtail, best day last week they got 6 keepers and 5 throw backs in a few hours in the morning. Ron has caught some nice bream to 38cm at Lion Island with a few tailor (not schooling) to 45cm on squid and peeled prawns in our burly trail.

There are heaps of mullet around at the moment at iron ladders and Patonga. We are still getting flatties to 50cm and a few flounder on plastics at lobster beach, pretty beach and hardies bay with the best day 8 keepers and about 5 throw backs in 2 hours with 4 people fishing, run out is usually the best.

There are a few frigate mackerel at flint and steel and Lion Island but you have to be quick. The jewies have been quiet this week with only small throw backs from Mooney creek and everywhere else is very quiet.

If you are after more information about Ron’s estuary fishing and tours you can either have a look at his web site http://www.estuaryfishingtours.com.au/ , email him at ron@estuaryfishingtours.com.au or phone Ron on 0407 661 397

Jason and Virginia Isaac from Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle jasned@ozemail.com.au reports that on the beaches, tailor are now better than they have been for many months, with most beaches now holding fish. Best results locally have come from around Lake Cathie; however the beaches further south have been producing a better grade of fish. Lures, pilchards and whitebait have all proven effective. Bream numbers remain reasonable as to are whiting, although we are drawing towards the end of the better whiting period. For those drifting baits around the edges of close in gutters, there are stacks of flathead about, with an unusually high proportion of them being legal. Mulloway however remain most disappointing, however with good quantities of food now present, and plenty of fish holding formations, it is hopefully only a matter of time until these after fish revisit our shoreline in better numbers.

Off the rocks, tailor numbers are now excellent with most local headlands now producing fish during dawn and evening sessions. To date, most fish are only in the chopper class, however there is the odd greenback now haunting the washes along with good numbers of small to medium bonito. Bream numbers remain reasonable and will only improve with the passing of the full moon, whilst those fishing the washed during the day report big numbers of blackfish and better than usual numbers of drummer. On the land based game front, longtail tuna are pretty well everywhere and will most likely stay for a while longer given the quantity of bait around at present. For those looking to try their luck with these terrific land based sport fish, best bet would be to head south to either Bonny Hills or Point Perpendicular.

In the estuary, blackfish have been reasonable off the break walls with some solid bronzies to around a kilo on the chew. Despite the full moon, bream numbers remain excellent and should further improve from this point onwards. Flathead numbers remain reasonable, as too have whiting, whilst garfish schools remain abundant around the police station and Pelican Island. Reports have also come in of plenty of mullet moving into the lower reaches, with their annual seaward migration now not too far off. Plenty of crabs still about for those keen to set the traps, with areas upstream producing solid muddies, whilst the blue swimmers have noticeably improved from Blackman’s Point downstream.

Offshore reports have been quite good with snapper to over 4 kilos from the close in reefs off Nobby’s, Lake Cathie and Plommer. Wider out, pearl perch to 3 kilos have been taken from northern reefs, with a few solid kings mixed in with them. For those keen on some pelagic action, Barries Bay has been worth investigation with cobia and longtail tuna to around 20 kilos, and a few isolated spanish mackerel mixed for good measure. As usual, live slimies, yakka’s or pike have been the offerings of choice.

On the beaches, tailor dominate catches with most beaches now producing well. Lures, pillies, garfish and whitebait have been equally successful, with dawn and dusk producing the better catches as normally is the case. Bream numbers are also on the improve with north beach and Lighthouse giving some nice fish, whilst the beaches around Laurieton and south have been yielding some bumper specimens to around one and a half kilos. Day time angler’s report whiting numbers are steady at best, although soaking a live worm over a shallow sand spit at high should continue to produce a few fish over the next month or so. On the mulloway front, a few whispers are beginning to surface from both North Beach and Dunbogan, although by and large the consistency is not what is generally the norm for this time of year. However with the amount of baitfish and tailor increasing almost daily, don’t be at all surprised if the action picks up noticeably in the latter part of this moon phase.

Off the rocks, tailor and bonito are common, with Point Plommer and surrounds producing some better quality fish. A few reports on drummer continue to filter in, whilst blackfish numbers remain solid, with several quality fish and bags taken. Bream numbers too remain above average, with Racecourse among other ledges giving up some nice fish. From land based game perspective, longtail tuna remain active around most renowned ledges, with fish taken from Hat Head, Point Perpendicular and Grants Head throughout the past week. Live bait has been the most successful option, however big lures or popper are also worth a go for the energetic.

In the estuary, good bream are again on the chew following the recent full moon, with the break walls and Limeburners giving up some nice fish during evening sessions. Live yabbies and either chicken or mullet gut have produced the better results. Flathead numbers remain reasonable although the better action now appears to be coming from upstream of the Dennis Bridge, whilst garfish and mullet schools remain abundant in the lower reaches. Blackfish numbers are on the improve, and judging by the numbers of fish congregating around our headlands at present, the season ahead could be a cracker. For those keen on tangling with a decent mulloway, live mullet, break walls and change of tide are the three main phrases you should fish by for the next month or so.

On the prawning front, Lake Cathie is now producing as well as has been seen for some years. As is usually the case, word spreads pretty quickly with the participation rate doubling just about every night over the past week. Anywhere from the Perch Hole down to where the entrance was is worth a look, however a bit of patience and courtesy will be key requisites in the more congested locations.

Offshore reports have been quite good, bottom bouncers reporting good numbers of snapper from the closer reefs, along with the usual assorted reef species. The best action however remains in Barries Bay, with cobia to around 20 kilos in good numbers along with mac tuna and longtail tuna. With the waters still quite warm and plenty of bait schools still about, the action should continue for some time yet.

When you are next up in Port Macquarie call into the shop and have a look at their great selection of tackle and bait they have on offer. You could also ask Jason and Virginia for their daily report on what’s happening on the fishing front. Call them on (02) 6583 8318.

Scotty Lyons from Southern Sydney Fishing Tours (http://www.fishingsydney.com.au/.) reports he has Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th are both free for a morning trips. You can fish Botany Bay targeting a wide verity of species or head offshore and fish the FADs for Dolphin Fish and live bait the Peak for Kingies.

Two out standing days out on the water, the weather was spot on and the fishing was up there to, Bream are still on the bite wide from Towra Point and Scott found both the run out tide on both Saturday and Sunday early morning the best time and they seemed to slow a little as the sun got higher in the sky, Nippers for bait.Still no surface action from one end of the Bay to the other. They also trolled lures along the Runway on Saturday to see if the odd tailor could be found but still no good, Scott hasn`t trolled a fish up in the Bay for about month.

Trevally slow, but most fish are around .7 to 1kg in size and loads of fun on light tackle. Scott did well around the Drums both days on Nippers and cut Pilchards on the run in tide. Spinning with Squidgies both days while targeting flathead proved a winner with a few fish caught the best was about 55cms on Sunday, Sorry no photos this week as my camera decided to play up.

Scott and his crew fished both days looking for kingies but no good and this is from one end of the Bay to the other. Mick from Fishing World scored one nice fish that smashed a popper, but he said that was the only action he had on them. But Scott still thinks we will have one last wave of Kingie action before Winter sets in. Nathan headed off shore on Sunday afternoon and did rather well with a mixed bag of fish, No Dolphin Fish from the FADs as they would have liked and the Kingies are hiding some were, Nathan and the boy head back in closer and work the reef areas for a mixed bag and did rather well.

Dylan Skinns from Western Australia fished with a few of his mates at Exmouth and managed these couple of beauties.

Darren from Bermagui Ocean Hut Fishing Tackle, Dive and Charter Fishing Service
mailto:%20(%20enquiries@bermifishinghut.com.au reports that there have been a number of great catches over the past week or two.

Reef
Reef fishing has probably been the pick of all forms of angling although the Leatherjackets can at times be annoying. There are some nice Snapper on most reefs with some good Morwong mixed in, while over the sand there are plenty of Flathead, both Sand and Tigers, with the odd Gummy Shark and Red Gurnard mixed in.

Game
Game Fishing has been poor to say the least, there are a few Marlin being captured most days, the odd small Yellowfin, some Striped Tuna and Dolphin fish, plus if you burley there has been a few Makos coming up the trails. Kingfish are in good numbers at Montague Island, although you have to do some weeding for the better sized fish.

Estuary

Recently in the Estuaries fishing has been difficult mainly due to a drop in water temp. However things seem to be stabilizing bringing both Blackfish and Bream back on the chew. Flathead are in the lower parts of the estuaries now as are some very nice Tailor which seem to be concentrating near where the entrance normally would be in Wallaga.

Freshwater
Up at Brogo Dam Bass are still on the chew and seem to be feeding more in daylight hours. Casting lures or fly early of a morning is producing fish, while trolling or going to bait throughout the day will keep on producing. Below in the river the fishing is not good in the upper reaches.

Rock and Beach
Some very nice calm autumn weather is allowing easy access to both the Rocks and the Beach. Large schools of Salmon are frequenting both areas where they can be taken on either bait or lures, with fish reaching up to 4 Kg. Mixed in has been some lovely Southern Yellowfin Bream and quite a few small Jewfish.

If you are planing a trip down Darren’s way check out his web site at http://bermifishinghut.com.au/aboutus.htm You could also give Darren and the boys a ring on (02) 6493 4688 to find out what is coming up in the next week or so.

I never thought that the DVD’s that are put out by Offshore Productions from Tewantin in Queensland would have been much. Boy was I so far from the truth. I now have the 10 DVD’s that have been produced by this company and I can tell you, I haven’t just watched them once. I have viewed them several times. Over the next few reports I will let you what is in each of them and then you may like to go to your local tackle shop or new agency to get yourself a copy.

Not only do they have some great footage and fishing information, they also have information on how to use your sounder, boat and motor tests, 4 wheel drive tips, plus much more.

Video Review

The Fishing DVD Number 3 has the following titles;

Stanage Bay with Ed Vander Kruk and Lumpy Millson who give you tips and techniques on catching a variety of tropical species in an area that remains relatively untouched.

Steve Starling takes you drummer fishing off a south coast fishing spot. He shows you how easy it is to add a little bread to your berley to get those drummer on the chew.

Shannon Watson and Leanne and Rob Payne explain how to target dusky flathead while casting and trolling lures during the spring time.

Steve Starling chases one of his favourite estuary fish species, the Estuary perch.

Peter Morse joins his old mate Alan Philliskirk for an incredible session using fast sinking fly line around bait school for Spanish mackerel.

Shannon Watson and Ed Vander Kruk fishing for Australian Bass while using spinner baits.

Video Review

The Fishing DVD Number 4 has the following titles;

Lure casting for Impoundment Barra

Sand Whiting on Wriggler worms

Mangrove jacks on lures
Soft Plastics at Narooma

Trout in Small Streams on dry flies

Fishing at Hervey Bay with Maniacs and Raider lures

The DVD’s run for around 120 minutes and only cost between $10 to $12 each.

Paul Martin from Rock Marine Bait and Tackle (rocksmarine@tsn.cc) reports that they have great conditions here at the moment, nice blue water, good currents and a mixed bag of fish coming in. Spotted Mackerel were very finicky last week making them hard to hook up but there were the odd quality fish caught. Wahoo are about in good numbers up to 20 kilo off Grassy down to Fish Rock smashing live baits. Snapper fishos are using plastic baits for great results early morning with some monster Pearlies finding their way into the fish box. Yellow fin and Mac tuna are also in good numbers while Fish Rock has the odd King like Denis Morton’s 19.2 kilo cracker one of the biggest. Cobia have been coming in off the gaol Peak with some around the 30 kilo mark.

Fishing the beaches has been a mixed bag with Whiting on Smoky with some nice Trevally caught late last week. There were a few Tailor caught along the beach while flathead have been pulled out at the Hat head end of smoky. Still down at the Hat some big Tuna have been coming in of the rock ledges.

It has been a little tough in the river over the week with fishos battling to find a productive area. Flathead are in fair numbers, Whiting are in good numbers around the oyster barn at Rainbow while if you’re chasing Bream, drifting the north wall to the Cut has been successful. Good reports from Smithtown for Whiting and Flathead and Bass are on the bite from Kempsey up smashing surface lures. If you haven’t tried that before I highly recommend it.

South West Rocks has had some Quality fish coming in over the last week but most fisho’s are saying there’s too much ocean between them. Dirk Mittor and Don Murray on Sea Scout charter hooked a 21and 36 kilo cobia off Grassy. Mac Tuna are around in big numbers while Yellow Fin are hitting lures and live bait up to about 6 kilo with a few bigger units to 15 kilo. Spotted Mackerel are doing what they do best and that’s frustrating fisho’s with their on and off feeding. The odd Wahoo are still smashing baits up north while a few good Snapper are being caught despite the amount of traps in that area. The Gaol Peak and Black Rock has been producing some Cobia while Fish Rock has had Snapper, a few Kings and plenty of Tuna.

Smoky Beach is fishing well for Tailor early morning, Bream, Whiting and some monster Dart while good numbers of Flathead have come in along the beach. There has been some Whiting on Main Beach at Trial Bay. Rock hoppers are getting the odd Drummer, Tailor and a few Tuna but they are working hard for them.

The Fisho’s around Stuarts Point are getting early Blackfish and some nice Flathead. Closer to home The Break wall has been the spot for some nice Flathead and the odd Bream. The locals have forgotten what a Jew fish looks like so with the river crystal clear again low tide should be the go. Spear fishermen are working the Break wall, this is illegal so put the fisheries number in you mobile and call them.

For daily reports and special call Paul on (02) 6566 6726.