There are a lot of pan-size dusky flathead waking up after winter now and looking for a feed.  They’re up in the shallows in the warm sun daily, waiting for you to catch them.

Another nice weekend for fishing.  Saturday was the pick of the days for all types of fishing and Sunday, with the early morning wind, the estuary fishing was really the only option.

The outside flathead are still biting well in the Merimbula area.  Everyone is getting their bag within an hour and a half.  Fishing depths from 30-50 metres from Turingal Head back to Long Point.  There is still plenty of undersized flatties in the mix, but quality 40 centimetre fish are making up the numbers.  There are also a few flying gurnard and an odd gummy in the mix.  Gummy is the monthly species for the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club, so the days are running out till the end of September.  The water inshore out the front of Merimbula is sitting between 15 and 16 degrees.

The reefs are still fishing okay, with plenty of pan-size snapper, morwong, nannygai and an assortment of other reef species.  There is only an odd larger snapper being caught, if you’re lucky, in that 50 centimetre size range.  There has been a bit of bait surfacing on the high tide change around Long Point region over the last week, so early mornings off Long Point might be advantageous.  Bait fishing has been the most productive, but if there is bait around, lures are well worth a try.

The surf beaches are hard work at the moment.  I had a report from last week from North Tura Beach.  One fish from 4 hours of fishing.  They said that as the tide filled, what wave action they had at the start, just vanished.  Tathra Beach had a bit of wave action on Sunday, and so to did Tura Beach.  As long as you’re outside trying, there is always a chance of catching something.

I fished our three local estuaries over the weekend and here’s my personal report.  Pambula River has a large school of trevally on the rock wall at the river mouth and an odd tailor, trolling up the channel.  The main lake is quiet with only small duskies and pinkies biting.  Then upstream of the boat ramp, there are flatties and tailor.  Water temperature is 16 at the entrance to 18 above the ramp.  Merimbula has very clear water and the temperature is around 17 degrees.  The Top Lake is quiet, with not much bait, but did manage a salmon around 50 centimetres trolling.  Seals were a nuisance everywhere else.  The Bega River at Tathra, around the bridge and banks is very quiet.  Up the river to Thompson’s, bream and tailor on the rock walls, flathead on the shallow edges and further up around the Islands there is flathead, trevally and mullet.  All on lures with the water climbing to 18.5 degrees Sunday.  The clear water makes the fishing so much harder, but it’s nice to be out there.

The game fishing is still going off up north, Narooma to Batemans Bay has been busy all weekend.  Boats headed out from Merimbula on Saturday and ventured north to Tathra Canyons and north of that.  The water was around 17 degrees and no surface action, but trolling produced many albacore ranging in size from 6 kilograms to 18 kilograms.  One boat caught 12 albacore, releasing all but two fish.  The water is changing daily at the moment.  Up north it’s being pushed out to sea by the inshore current pushing north.  The northern current pushing down is intensifying, so fingers crossed we might see some tuna action soon.  The longliners are well south of the Victorian border now, targeting bluefin.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open this Friday night opening at 6pm.  Come on down and chat with the locals, enjoy a cold bevvy, buy a ticket in our Friday night raffle, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk and catch up on the week’s fishing from those that can report.  

Hope to see you there.

Fishy Fellow

Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club President, Shane Mayberry has started his dusky flathead season with a respectable 65 centimetre model.

What a great weathered weekend we got given this weekend just been for all avenues of fishing.

The outside flathead fishing is still doing really well.  This last week, anglers have been catching a good feed of sand and tiger flathead in depths from 35 to 60 plus metres.  I’m told there are a lot of undersize fish in the mix and also some flying gurnard.  One downer there is a fair bit of current pushing to the North and when the wind gets up it can be hard to hold bottom.  The best areas have been off Bournda Island, Tura Heads and out from Short Point back to Long Point.  The inshore water temperature is around 14 on the bottom and up to 16 on the top.

The reefs are still giving up a nice feed of snapper and morwong fishing off Long Point and Haycock reefs.  I haven’t heard of any bigger snapper this week but plenty around that 450 millimetre mark.  There are also plenty of Māori wrasse and a few nannygai in the mix.  The current has made it too hard to anchor up, so lures and paternoster rigs, drifting has been working best.

The beach fishing has slowed up due to the lack of surf.  There has been odd salmon and tailor caught fishing on the rising tide on Bournda Beach and Tathra Beach, at the Mogareeka, and Haycock Beach, early in the tide though.

Our estuaries are definitely waking up.  The water temperature is improving rapidly.  The water temperature at Mogareeka on Sunday was 16.5 degrees from the front to the back end.  The fish weren’t easy to catch, but we managed some tailor, dusky flathead, and bream. Pambula still has some salmon up in the lake with odd duskies, trevally and odd bream.  Merimbula Lake is probably quietest with an odd dusky, trevally and occasional tailor.

There are some nice brown trout being caught from our inland lakes at Eucumbene and Jindabyne.  Jindabyne fished best over the weekend with fish being caught off the banks and trolling the boats.  It’s worth a trip to either lake for those that are keen.

The talk this last week has been yellowfin tuna.  Boats fishing out of Bermagui to the northern towns have been having a great time, but for us down here, it’s a bit slower.  Boats fished off Tathra on Saturday and Sunday for albacore only, although on Sunday there were yellowfin seen jumping, but no hook ups.  The water off Merimbula on the shelf was 17.2 degrees.  The ocean currents are pushing the inshore fish further north, so we may have to wait a bit longer for our chance at them.  There is a lot of bait in 35 fathoms off Merimbula. So hopefully it’s just a matter of time for our turn.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open at 6pm this Friday night.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy, win a meat tray, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers or other prizes, including a voucher for the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Catch up with the locals and find out what’s biting and.  

Till next week.

Tight lines.

Fishy Fellow

Small fry member, Riley Holley, captured here a morwong that will go on the board next week for a monthly species prize.

The fishing was great on Friday before the temperature plummeted on Saturday and then cleared up again for Sunday fishers.  The ocean flathead are still biting in depths around 40 metres.  I had reports on Friday off Short Point, Merimbula, of sand and tiger flathead to 40 centimetres in that depth, and Sunday, the boats were a little wider off Long Point and the Haycock reef catching the flathead out to 50 metres.  The inshore water temperature on Sunday was around 14 degrees.  If you feel your sinker when you retrieve your line, it is very cold on the bottom.

Our local reefs off Long Point and Haycock gave up a few fish on Friday and Sunday.  The snapper were either throwbacks or over 50 centimetres, morwong up to 40 centimetres and plenty of other reef species like sargent bakers, nannygai, maori wrasse, and parrotfish.  So, no shortage on bites.  Squid with a piece of prawn over the barb worked great on Sunday.

The salmon and tailor surf fishing is happening on Tura, Bournda and Tathra beaches that I know of.  Bait fishing with pilchards and casting metals are catching a few.  The beaches are very deep, but the sand bars are more visible early in the rising tides.  That’s when the better fishing is done, while the wave action is happening.  So, plan to fish the first 3 to 4 hours of the rising tides, especially if the beaches are deep.

The estuaries are all starting to stir.  Reports on Sunday from Merimbula and Tathra River were positive.  At Merimbula, reports from Sunday were dusky flathead to 60 centimetres and blackfish to 47 centimetres, all on lures.  The Bega River at Tathra had tailor and some bycatch estuary perch.  Pambula also had a few salmon and tailor caught, which is a very positive sign for the start of spring.  The estuary water temperaturs are around 13 degrees at the moment.

The trout are still biting around the edges on lures and baits at Eucumbene and Jindabyne Lakes.  Trolling is also catching a few larger fish using deep diver lures.

The gamefishing is going off from Bermagui to Batemans Bay in water from 50 to 100 metres deep and they’re catching yellowfin around the tide changes casting surface lures when the fin hit the surface feeding on bait.  Fish from 10-50 kilograms is very common at the moment.  Sunday, there had to be a dozen caught that I heard of.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club rooms are open this Friday from 6pm.  Come on down and catch up on the week’s fishing reports.  Buy a ticket in our weekly raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.

Hope to see you there.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Members Robert Wilson and Riley Holley with a pair of 60 centimetre snapper caught on Saturday morning out the front of Merimbula.

Unfortunately another weekend of inclement weather for fishing however, those fishing during the week for flathead, have not been disappointed.  Reports of quality sand and tiger flathead are still being caught between Turingal Head and Tura Heads, with flathead up to 40 centimetres in depths from 30 to 55 metres.  I also had another report of flathead in 55 to 60 metres of water out off Short Point and down to Haycock.  There are also odd flying gurnard and an odd small gummy shark in the mix.  The water inshore off Merimbula is around 14 to 15 degrees.

The reefs are also fishing well as you can see from this week’s photo.  An early start before the wind picked up and home by 9.30am.  Rob’s fish went 605mm, which was his personal best and Riley’s went 590mm.  They said they caught a number of pan-size models and only took a few home.  There should be a few morwong for those that like drifting.  Baits used were pilchards, squid and Australian salmon.

The beach fishing is still okay with a few salmon being caught off North Tura Beach, Tura Beach and Tathra Beach.  My reports are coming from the lure casters.  Tura Beach looks excellent for bait fishing at the bottom of Tura Beach Drive.  The beach at the entrance to Wallagoot has filled up with sand after all the northeast swells this week, but it may be okay at the other end near Bournda Island.

The estuary fishing is still improving.  Pambula River is still the pick of them with, I’m told, a good patch of salmon moving around the system.  Odd bream, trevally, tailor and an occasional dusky flathead are being caught in the lake area and blades have been working very well.  Merimbula has started to wake up with an odd tailor and trevally being caught around the bait schools, and there is a chance of a mulloway also.  The Bega River is still patchy with an odd tailor and bream around the structured areas.  

There has not been much gamefishing out of the Merimbula port this last week.  Boats out of Batemans Bay and Bermagui have recorded a couple of captures.  It’s just time on the water when the weather allows.  

The trout fishing is still plugging along.  The lakes are rising slowly, so they have been catching a few around the edges on lures and baits and also trolling deep divers, around 30 foot down.  Just be careful if you’re going bank fishing.  Check before driving down towards the water’s edge, as it is very boggy at the moment.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open this Friday night from 6pm.  Everyone is welcome to come on down to enjoy a cold bevvy and support the weekly raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Come and catch up on the week’s fishing reports and enjoy the pleasant atmosphere. 

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club President, Shane Mayberry, with one of three bream he caught at Mogareeka at Tathra recently.

The fishing is pretty slow on all fronts at the moment.

The outside fishing has been hard since last week’s report.  The water temperature in close has dropped to between 14 and 15 degrees and the water quality is a dirty green.  I have a report from one boat out Sunday in the sloppy sea conditions.  They fished for the morning for five flathead.  Fourty metres was their best producing depth.  They also reported that they were having problems keeping bait on their hooks as the red spot (school) whiting were ferocious.

The reefs are pretty slow and patchy also with pansize snapper and morwong being caught, along with snapper into that 40 centimetre range and morwong around that 35 centimetre size.  You need to fish the tides and fresh squid is the bait of choice.  Long Point and Haycock reefs are the reefs to try.

A bit of swell on Sunday should stir up the beach fishing for salmon and tailor.  Tura Beach has some good deep gutters and sand banks to hold the fish.

The estuary fishing is pretty hard right now.  The Pambula Lake has some salmon and tailor in it, but they are moving around.  Thursday afternoon they were up stream off the boat ramp and then they were in the channel between the ramp and the lake.  They are on the move, so keep an eye out for birds working bait or fish busting up.  Merimbula is clear and quiet and Tathra has odd bream and trevally along the rock walls as well as odd salmon around the bridge.  There are a lot of casts between fish.

The game fishing has been slow and the weather hasn’t been good enough.  The water on the shelf is around 16 degrees.  There is hotter water towards Bermagui, around 18 degrees, but it’s out over the second drop off.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lkaes Angling Club has its presentation night next Saturday night at the Lakeview Hotel, starting at 6pm.  We need to know final numbers by Wednesday the 6th August.  Call Shane on 0428 424 496 if you would like to come along.  Following that is the AGM on Monday evening, 11th August, starting at 7pm at the MBGLAC clubroom.

Coming up there is a Tackle Buy Swap Sell night planned for Friday 22nd August and all are welcome.

The club is open this Friday night, opening at 6pm.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy, support our raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Come and catch up on what’s biting.

Till next week. Fishy Fellow

Bernie Vandermay won the biggest salmon again today off Haycock Beach in the Club’s Salmon Sunday competition.  He has now won it three years in a row, with this year’s fish going 560mm.  Congrats Bernie!

The outside flathead fishing has stabilised since last week’s report.  The sand and tiger flathead have been caught over the last week in depths from 20 to 30 metres and the fish size has improved with some very good fish being caught in that 50 centimetre range.  The best areas over the week were off Tura Heads and out off Tura Beach Drive in the depths mentioned.  The fish have been in patches, so short drifts are a must.  There are also a few flying gurnard in the catches as well.  The inshore water temperature is in that 14 to 15 degree range.

The reefs are still giving up a few snapper and morwong.  Nothing overly big, but snapper from 30 to 45 centimetres and morwong in the low 30’s on our local reefs off Merimbula and Haycock.  I have had a report of Greencape also fishing okay with plenty of pan sized snapper and morwong.

Our salmon fishing is still pretty hard.  The weekend Salmon Sunday competition saw the salmon caught between daybreak and 8am in the tide just starting to rise for the first two hours.  After the tide rose more, the dolphins moved in and policed the beach and the bite ended.  I got a report that there was a school of salmon seen on Nelson’s Beach just north of Tathra on Saturday also.  Unfortunately, the beaches only have wave action on the low tide, so fishing from the low tide change till the tide rises about half way up (3 hours) might be the best time for the surf fishing enthusiasts.

The game fishing has improved again last week.  The warm water eddy is being pushed down towards Merimbula slowly again.  It’s centred out off Bermagui with water around 19 degrees and its southern edge is off Tahtra, but out a way, and its water for us in around that 17 degrees.  On Friday we had two boats head out for a half day look and they came home with a 44 kilogram yellowfin and an albacore.  Up off Batemans Bay, there were about 6 yellowfin caught in that 40 kilogram size.  The fish locally were caught off Merimbula on the second drop off.

In coming events, the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is holding its presentation night on the 9th August at the Lakeview Hotel starting at 6pm.  For bookings call Shane on 0428 424 496 or text Fiona on 0412 831 036.  

Then we have the AGM on Monay the 11th August at the clubrooms.  Anyone that has some free time and would like to help out on our committee please reach out to the above numbers.

On Friday August 22nd we have a Tackle buy, swap, sell meet planned at the fishing club starting at 6pm, so get out your gear you might want to get rid of, or just come down and see what is on offer.

The club rooms are open each Friday night at 6pm.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy, support our raffle, sponsored by Goodall’s Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk and catch up on the week’s fishing reports.  We would love to see some new faces.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow