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

The junior and small fry winners who caught fish for the two weeks of fishing for the kids winter fishing competition.  Congratulations!

The outside fishing has slowed up over the last week.  With the ocean flathead thinning out.  Catches of sand and tiger flathead were geing caught in shallower depths of 20 to 30 metres with fish ranging from 33 to 36 centimetres.  The fish that were being caught in deeper water have gone to ground.  The tides might be the cause of the morning bite being so slow, with the low tide being around 10.30am on the weekend.  The water temperature inshore outside is around 15 degrees at the moment.

The snapper fishing is still happeneing with a lot more pan-sized snapper and morwong.  The cooler waters are definitely affecting the reef fishing although the Merimbula and Haycock reefs are slow, there are still a few more snapper and morwong being caught down south around Mowarry Point and Greencape for those that are keen.  Reports off Mowarry Point are the bite is out in depths of 50 to 60 metres, with fresh squid for bait.

The salmon and tailor fishing is a bit funny at the moment.  I’ve had reports of an odd fish being caught off North Tura and Tura Beaches, but only small fish.  I also heard of a couple of salmon caught Sunday from boats trolling back around Long Point through the bar and into the lake.  Pambula Lake has salmon and tailor in the lake section.  They are deep and have been caught casting vibes and letting them sink to the bottom and then retrieving them aggressively with pauses included.  There might be some salmon on Main Beach at Merimbula, hearing of fish being caught in the bar area over the weekend.

The lake fishing is very quiet in Merimbula Lake.  No reports from anyone catching any fish.  Pambula Lake is producing a few trevally, odd flathead and the salmon and tailor which I’ve spoken about.  Vibes seem to be the main option that are catching fish, however with the treble hooks being so small, many salmon are being lost, so try swapping the rear hook for a single or assist hooks.  It might just be the difference between having a fish on and landing it.  The Bega River is still quite dirty but there has been a few bream caught over the weekend on lures and a few salmon around the bridge.  The estuary water temps vary a bit from 9-10 degrees.

Coming Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club Events:

• Salmon Sunday – Next Sunday, 27th July.  Daylight till 12 noon, with a sausage sizzle for lunch.  BYO chairs, drinks and fishing gear.  At Haycock Beach in Beowa National Park.
• Presentation Night – Saturday August 9th at the Lakeview Hotel.  Numbers needed by the 6th August to admin@mbglac.com.au or to Shane on 0428 424 496 or Fiona on 0412 831 036.
• AGM – Monday 11th August at the clubrooms.  Nomination forms have been sent out and need to be returned no later than Monday 4th August at 11.59pm.  There are some vacancies coming up on the committee, so please consider nominating.
• Tackle Swap Meet – Friday 29th August.  Tackle buy, swap, sell night being planned at the club rooms, so watch this space.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Club rooms are open every Friday night, from 6pm  We have had good numbers of late and we would love to see a afew etra.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy, support our raffle, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Catch up on the week’s fishing reports and chat with the locals.  All are welcome.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Ben Hulme with a lovely snapper he caught in dreadful conditions on Saturday.  The fish measured 67 centimetres.

Unfortunately, our weekend’s weather forecast was excellent wind wise, but the rough seas didn’t subside quickly enough to run the snapper competition.  Some people still fished Saturday and caught fish.  However, Sunday was the pick of the days.  The reefs were slow fishing, which was due to the churned up waters from the stormy weather prior to the weekend and that churned up water went out to sea till we got to 50 metres off Long Point.  We caught snapper to 50 centimetres off the Haycock Reef on plastics and that’s basically all that was caught.  The water in close was 13.5 degrees and out over 50 metres, it rose to 15.5 degrees.  Burleying in close was a better option.  The fish in this week’s photo was caught in this way and they caught 9 snapper in total burleying.

We got sand and tiger flathead from 48 to 51 metres as we went further out the bites stopped.  There were a lot of undersized fish in between keepers and plenty of bites which we found out were red spot whiting.  There are also some nice flying gurnard up to 50 centimetres, but no gummy’s.  The flathead ranged in size from 35 to 50 centimetres. There wasn’t much drift.  Maybe fishing off Tura Heads and north a bit might be a better option to get away from the milky water to catch some flathead.

Salmon seem to be very scarce at the moment.  The estuaries only have odd fish in them and the beaches have changed again with some gutters and sand banks forming after last week’s weather, so surf fishing might be worth a try on Tura Beach and North Tura Beach.  I did get reports of a possible large school of salmon off the Dolphin Cove end of the beach on Friday.  That is another possibility for surf fishing.

Our estuary fishing has basically shut down.  Fishers are seeing bream around the oyster racks, but told it’s very hard to get a reaction on lures or bait.  The estuary water in the Merimbula Top Lake is around 10.5 degrees after the rain.

Gamefishing saw a few boats head out off Bermagui today for odd fish.  Reports are that the tuna were erupting near boats but not many caught.  Maybe after this next blow, the weather might settle enough to allow a few more boats outside to test the waters.  Reports are that 17.5 degrees is what the tuna are hanging in so that’s a good starting point when heading out.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open this Friday night, opening at 6pm.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevy, support our raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk, catch up on the week’s fishing reports.  Love to see some new faces there.  Don’t forget the junior winter holiday fishing competition that is running at the moment in our estuaries.  Get into to Merimbula Tackle World or Boss Outdoors to enter and get your showbag of goodies. 

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Trevor, an MBGLAC member, with an excellent capture on Sunday of a yellowfin tuna weighing 66.3 kilograms.  Great capture Trevor! Congrats!

The calm before the storm this weekend just gone.  Saturday, Sunday and Monday, have seen and will see excellent weather for off shore fishing on the far south coast.  However, by Tuesday, we will be getting ready for an east coast low weather system to hit us in the morning hours of Wednesday.

We will start with our game fishing report this week.  Saturday and Sunday were both excellent days to head wide from Bermagui down to Eden.  Saturday saw lots of smaller fish from 15 to 30 kg caught, trolling and casting surface lures at rising fish.  Sunday was the same again but a late afternoon bite saw some excellent fish over 60 kilograms being taken on the troll.  The water temperature is ranging from 16 degrees on the shelf to 18.5 out over the second drop off with the current pushing out to sea.  Our members caught a couple of better fish, with the caption photo of Trevor with his 66.3 kilogram fish.  Geoff caught a 57.1 kilogram fish and Peter caught a 43 kilogram fish.  There were also a couple of smaller 30 kilogram fish caught which are all great eating.  These fish were all caught in that east range from 25 to 28 depth.

In shore, in the flathead grounds, the water is hovering around 15 degrees.  There is next to no drift as the wind is not blowing and the flathead are still biting very well from Bournda Island back to off the Horseshoe Reef in depths around that 40 to 50 metres of water.  Sand and tiger flathead are being caught.  There are quality fish being caught from 40 to over 50 centimetres consistently.  There is also an odd flying gurnard and an occasional gummy shark.

The reefs are still fishing well with some quality snapper being caught to 60 centimetres and also morwong and an array of other reef fish.  Next weekend is the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club’s rescheduled Snapper Classic and with the east coast low coming during the week, it should stir up the seas and improve the fishing.  Fingers crossed the seas settle quickly once it passes.

The salmon and tailor fishing are still spread very thinly.  I haven’t had any reports or seen any schools on the beaches.  I heard that Wapengo or Bithry Inlet have fish still moving up that system.  Pambula River, there are none in the channels, but there is an odd fish upstream off the boat ramp.  Merimbula is very quiet, but last Wednesday afternoon there was a small school seen inside the boats around Mitchie’s Beach, which was being worked by some seals.

The lake fishing is all but non-existent.  There is an odd salmon being caught off Merimbula’s Mitchies beach fishing the rising tide using pilchards as bait.  The Top Lake’s water temperature is 12 degrees and crystal clear and the bait is all over the place.  So, trolling deep diving lures might find you a fish.  Good luck.  The Bega River at Tathra has been dead this last week with nothing reported and Pambula has only had those couple of salmon up the river reported to me.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club held its seafood night on Saturday and was a great success.  Thanks to Proteins Australia for supplying the ling and squid, Merimbula Gourmet Oyster for their delicious oysters and the QLD tiger prawns from BidFood, Pambula.  Also to Jaz, Damo and Lorraine from Sapphire Eats for putting it all together. 

Snapper Classic registrations are this Friday night starting at 5.30pm.  We do have our raffle at 7.00pm, so come on down and support the club with a few bevies, fishing report and a short briefing.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Nobby and Riley Holley with a great morning’s catch out from Merimbula on the weekend.  Riley’s snapper he is holding is just under 80 centimetres.  Great fish Riley!.

A great weekend’s weather and the fishing was great also.

The outside flathead fishing is still giving up a good feed of sand and tiger flathead.  The flathead can be found in depths from 40 to 50  metres of water in areas from Turingal Head back to Leonard’s Island.  The flathead are a consistent 40 plus centimetres with odd bigger fish in the mix.  There are also a few flying gurnard and an odd gummy shark being caught.  The inshore water temperature is sitting around 16 degrees.

The reefs are fishing very well of late and Riley and Nobby proved that on Saturday.  The reefs off Long Point, Haycock and Leonard’s Island are all giving up reasonable numbers of snapper ranging from 35 to 55 centimetres and an occasional monster.  There are also some nice morwong and still a few nannygai being caught.  The reefs south of Eden also have plenty of snapper, pigfish, morwong and nannygai being caught.  Drifting with patternoster rigs is working well to find the fish, then plastics are taking over when targeting the snapper.

The salmon and tailor fishing has slowed up.  The headlands, with these calm seas, are a good chance for the land based anglers and also the boats trolling.  The beaches have a smaller number of smaller salmon in that 500 gram size and odd larger fish.  The salmon in our estuaries are now confined to the Pambula Lake system.  The Merimbula Lake’s fish have left, which I found out on Sunday afternoon.

The estuary fishing has basically shut down for the bread and butter fish like bream, whiting and flathead etc.  There is an odd black bream still being caught in the Bega River, but with the water temperatures hovering around 12 degrees, the majority of fish have lost their appetite to feed and with the water being so clear and cold it is hard to entice a bite.

On a brighter note, the gamefishing fired up over the weekend with numbers of yellowfin tuna caught in the rescheduled Canberra Yellowfin competition.  Tuna were caught from 15 to 60 plus kilograms, all out of Bermagui.  There were a few tuna caught out off Tathra to Merimbula up to 50 kilograms.  Trolling hard bodied lures and Montague jigs caught the majority.  The boats were fishing from the shelf out to 35 nautical mile line.  The water temperature out wide is around 19 to 20 degrees.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is holding its seafood dinner next Saturday night starting at 6pm.  For last minute bookings please call Shane on 0428 424 496.  Other events coming up are:

• Tuna Bash – throughout June and finishing on July 31st.
• Snapper Classic – July 5th and 6th
• Junior Winter School Holidays competition – July 5th – 18th

The club rooms are open this Friday night opening at 6pm.  Come on down and get involved with the weekly raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Find out what’s biting and where, enjoy a cold bevvy whilst chatting to the locals.  Hope to see your there.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow