A very windy weekend just gone, but those who got out early on Saturday caught some nice fish before the wind came in.

Local angler Glen with a couple of bream caught early on Saturday morning in the Bega River at Tathra.

A very windy weekend just gone, but those who got out early on Saturday caught some nice fish before the wind came in.

Those that got up early on Saturday caught a good feed of sand and tiger flathead from Tura Heads to down off The Pinnacles. The fish are a bit smaller in length, ranging from 36cm to 40cm. There is also and odd flying gurnard and occasional gummy shark being caught. The best depth to find these fish is between 35 and 45 metres.

The reefs were a bit slow on Saturday morning because the tides were wrong. I did hear of a couple of nannygai, sergeant bakers and morwong, but no snapper.

The beaches at Tathra and Tura Beach have a few salmon on them. Fishing the rising tide with pilchards and a surf popper on the line, this should catch you a feed. And lures around the sand banks where the waves are breaking into the deeper water is another option for those lure fishers.

The lakes are fishing better, unfortunately the crystal clear water is making it harder to catch a feed. The Merimbula Front Lake is very quiet at the moment, only the odd trevally being caught. But the Top Lake is fishing better with a few dusky flathead moving around and being caught on slow retrieved plastics and smaller swim baits. Look around the shallow edges with weed patches, as the fish will be laying in these areas sunning themselves. This is also the case in the Pambula Lake along with odd trevally being caught around the edges. The Bega River at Tathra has duskies, odd bream and odd estuary perch being caught by the lure fishermen, there is a lot of water between fish, but at least there are fish to be caught.

The trout fishing at Lake Eucumbene is still fishing well with some nice brown trout to 60cm and rainbow trout to 40cm. It is very cold so prepare for the worst if heading up there. All the trout at the moment are full of yabbies, so some slow rolled yabby-coloured plastics around the edges are worth a try.

This coming Friday at the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is the Monthly Species draw for September. Gummy shark was the species of September, which is sponsored by John Michelin & Son Earth Works, so get your captures onto the board by 7pm on Friday to be in the draw. There will be some hot food on offer as well, for a gold coin donation. The Club rooms are open at 6pm so come on down to catch up on the week’s fishing reports, support our raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers, and chat with the locals. Everyone is welcome, hope to see you there.

Fishy Fellow

The weekend saw so many Australian salmon all schooled up and feeding

Many tonnes of Australian salmon seen here feeding on small bait fish or possibly krill out off Haycock Point on Sunday morning.

The weekend saw so many Australian salmon all schooled up and feeding around the Tura Beach Bay on Saturday afternoon and then off Haycock Point on Sunday morning, the salmon ranging from 45cm to over 60cm in length. They will take a cast lure like a squidgee and will eat a pilchard, but they were very selective in what they were eating over the weekend.

The flathead fishing was a little quieter on Sunday. The water temperature is going up, with it being 15.3 degrees. Sand and tiger flathead were being caught a bit deeper, from 40 to 55 metres, the fish being caught from Tura Heads down to Leonards Island. Fish sizes are a bit smaller this week also, from 35cm to 40cm with odd larger fish. I did not hear of any gummy sharks or flying gurnard this week – that might be due to the water quality as it is a dirty green and gritty, the water does not look inviting.

The reefs fished very well over the weekend with some quality snapper up to 55cm. Also, some nice morwong, plenty of red rock cod and a few nannygai. Lures worked best for the snapper this weekend, and the fresh salmon caught everything else.

There could not possibly be any salmon left on the beaches after seeing what is out in the bays over the weekend, but I did get some reports of smaller salmon being caught off North Tura Beach and Bournda beaches. There has not been much swell lately, so there is not much to draw them into the beaches.

The lake fishing at Merimbula is very slow in the front lake but up the top lake, a few dusky flathead and trevally can be caught around the edges. I heard of plenty of small fish being caught in Pambula Lake, but nothing of size, also a lot of distance between each fish. The Bega River at Tathra fished the best over the weekend with a few dusky flathead, perch, and trevally on the bite.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open at 6pm every Friday night. Come and meet the locals, catch up on the weekly fishing report, enjoy a cold beverage and support the weekly raffle. The Club’s annual trip away is on again in October, the weekend of 25th-27th – we are off to the Wonboyn Lake Resort. Contact the Club for details if you are interested in attending. 

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Another windy weekend stopping anglers from hitting the water.

David Lee winning the first of the Goodall Butchers meat trays. Raffle on Friday nights at the MBGLA club rooms.

Well, another windy weekend stopping anglers from hitting the water to catch their feed of fish for the week.

Reports from a couple of boats that fished the end of the week and early Saturday morning found flathead of Tura headlands, Tura Beach and down wide off Haycock Point. Depth ranged from 30 to 45 metres and the flathead sizes were up to 45cm. No one caught any Gummy sharks, but there were a few flying gurnard caught.

There was also snapper being caught on the reefs at Haycock with a few Morwong and leatherjackets. The snapper sizes were up to 50cm but lots of undersized models were caught on bait with plenty of red rock cods. The water temperature is still sitting around 14 degrees Celsius. There are plenty of whales being seen, so take a bit of care if you are near them.

The beaches will fish better with the swells that have come up with the wind over the weekend. The salmon have been on Tathra Beach, Dolphin Cove and Quondola Beaches. 

The lakes fishing is still pretty slow. The water temperature is not helping the fishing. Did hear of a few trevally being caught around the edges on lures over in the Boggy Creek side of Merimbula Lake. The Bega River is still slow with only the odd tailor and trevally being caught. 

The Merimbula Wharf over the last week has had some large slimy mackerel hanging around, so there is an opening to go and top up the bait supplies if you are keen. There have also been a few squid caught in the late afternoons.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open at 6pm every Friday night. Come on down and catch up on the week’s fishing by members, support the raffle sponsored by Goodall’s Butchers and catch up with the locals. This month’s species to catch is Gummy Shark: drawn on the first Friday night in October, fish must be caught in September to be eligible. 

Coming events: Club trip to Wonboyn Resort (October 25-27); Tri-Estuary Challenge (November 23-24).

Fishy Fellow

The weekend’s fishing happened early each day before the wind got up.

Small Fry member Riley Holley with a 1.2 metre gummy shark he caught whilst snapper fishing.

The weekend’s fishing happened early each day before the wind got up.  An early start for the fishermen chasing flathead outside paid off.  Good numbers of sand flathead were being caught off Tura Heads down to Long Point on Saturday and Sunday.  With the water temperature dropping to around 14 degrees, fish to 45 cm were caught quickly with flying gurnard and the odd gummy shark.

The reefs are still fishing very well.  Snapper, morwong, leather jackets and odd gummy sharks are being caught.  Sunday saw a lot more small snapper being caught on bait and I heard of a 73cm beast snapper caught on a lure off Merimbula’s reefs today.  A trophy fish for one lucky angler.

Our beaches are still holding plenty of salmon.  Casting lures are the preferred way of catching these fish, walking the beaches, casting into the gutters and retrieving at a steady speed.  Making your lure break the surface periodically, should excite the fish and will entice a bite.

Lake fishing is still slow at the moment with the cooler waters entering them this week.  Even the dusky flathead have slowed up.  The estuaries are only giving up the odd trevally, flathead, tailor and an occasional jewfish.  Although, last Thursday afternoon at Tathra, heading up the Bega River, when the flying ants were on the move, the bream were seen out in the open sucking the ants off the surface of the water.  Unfortunately, they would not take any lure presentations.

The MBGLAC clubrooms are open at 6pm every Friday night.  Come on down and meet the crew, catch up on the week’s fishing reports, support our raffle, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers Merimbula and find out what’s happening within the club.  

Coming events are, Gone Fishing Day at Spencer Park on October 13th from 10am to 2pm, watch this space for more details.  Also, the annual club trip at Wonboyn Lake Resort from 25th – 27th October and the Tri-Estuary fishing competition 23rd – 24th November 2024.

Fishy Fellow

The windy weather made the fishing outside over the weekend difficult for those that did venture out.

MBGLAC member, Fiona Beasley, showing off her first ever caught legal drummer going 43.5cm.

The windy weather made the fishing outside over the weekend difficult for those that did venture out.  The outside flathead fishing was limited over the weekend.  The few keen boaters that were out early on Saturday and Sunday caught sand flathead out off Tura Heads and back to Short Point, drifting in that 20-to-40-meter range.  Fish to 40 cm were caught with the odd flying gurnard and an occasional gummy shark.  The water temperature has dropped a little bit this weekend, sitting between 14 and 15 degrees.  These cooler waters might bring a flurry of gummy sharks up with it.  Let’s hope this wind backs off soon to allow the boats to stay out a little longer in the mornings.

The reefs are still giving up some nice snapper to 50 plus centimeters, as well as morwong, the odd leatherjacket and sargent bakers.  Bait fishing with pilchards and squid is catching the bulk of the fish, but those that understand the lure fishing are catching their share. Also, something to try now the Spring time is upon us, suspend a metal jig about 3 meters off the bottom and let the boats motion jig it around.  Snapper will take them and red dory.  They’re not overly large, but very tasty.

It looks like the salmon in the Pambula River may have finally moved on, with reports during the week that there were no salmon to be seen or caught in the river part of the Pambula Lake system.  They may have just been outside the bar on those days or up in the lake itself.  Otherwise, head out onto the surf beaches for a spin on the rising tide.  I’m told that Dolphin Cove has had plenty there, fish in the 40cm range and Bournda Beach, also has fish in the 40cm range.  Other beaches with fish on them are Tathra Beach and Quondola Beach to the Pinnacles.  These fish will very likely be around the headlands on the low tide for the boaters.

The estuary fishing is still on the slow side.  The Bega River at Tathra has the odd perch, and jewfish being caught along the rock walls and small dusky flathead being caught along the shallow edges using vibe lures.  The other estuaries at Pambula and Merimbula are suffering from the clear water, but the odd dusky are being caught using vibes as well.

The MBGLAC club rooms are open every Friday night from 6pm.  This Friday we have the draw for last month’s monthly species, being morwong.  Bring your pics down and log them by 7pm to be in the draw for the prize money donated by Michelins of Eden.  There will be dinner provided for a god coin donation, raffles and reports from the week’s fishing activities of members.  All are welcome.  Come on down.

Fishy Fellow