The ocean flathead bite continues for those fishing during the week. The weekend’s weather was ordinary and only a few boats ventured out early on Saturday morning, and all were seen coming home between 9 and 10 o’clock. From my reports, the flathead are biting in depths off Turingal Head from 35 metres out to 45 metres and back to Tura Heads around that 40 metre depth. Fishing off Tura Beach back to Long Point, the boats are working that 40 to 45 metre depth. The flathead size has dropped off a bit, but fish ranging from 40 to 48 centimetres is common. There are odd flying gurnard and an occasional gummy shark being caught also. The inshore water temperature is sitting around 17 degrees.

The reefs are still giving a good feed of snapper, morwong and odd nannygai, plus all the other species we tend to throw back. The snapper are averaging 40cm and morwong around 35cm. There are still odd larger snapper being caught from that 50 to 60 centimetre size range, but those fish, I’m hearing, are coming from the Eden area to the south. Plastics are still working very well over the reefs and the baits of choice are pilchards and squid pieces with a bit of prawn on the hook also.

The surf fishing has changed a bit over the last two weeks, with the gutters all moving. The beaches that had good gutters that were holding fish have nearly all been filled in by the sand movement. So you’ll have to check those beaches before wetting a line now. Tathra still has some reasonable gutters and I understand a school of salmon also. Bournda has a school of salmon at the Turingal end. Tura has some good gutters and patchy salmon, and at Haycock Beach most of the good gutters have filled in now.

The estuary at Merimbula still has tailor and salmon in the Top Lake. The problem is when the bait is brought to the surface and the birds go in for a feed, there are a couple of seals that come and crash the party and the fish all move on. So as a boater trolling around the lake with a casting lure rod ready to cast at any surface action is a must, I’m told. An 80mm Double Clutch bibbed lure is a perfect trolling lure for the tailor, which goes down around 1.7m, and light metals and blades for casting. There are a few trevally under the bait, so the blades can be let sink for them. The Bega River this week was giving up a few small to medium bream and trevally around the bridge. The estuary water temperature is sitting around 14 degrees at the moment.

The local gamefishing over the last week, from my reports, has been pretty dead. I know of a couple of boats that went out from Tathra and saw plenty of bait and birds around that 100 fathoms of water or shelf line, but the further they went out, the rougher it got and the signs of life all vanished. They ventured out to the 150.30E line, where the current and breeze made it very uncomfortable, and they saw no bird or bait life and got no hits on their lures. The water is sitting around 18 degrees. But you won’t get lucky if you’re not out there trying.

Coming Events for the MBGLAC

• • Salmon Sunday at Tathra Beach, out from the Lion’s Park at Mogareeka – Sunday 2nd August
  • The Presentation Night August 8th at the Lakeview Hotel.
  • The Club AGM August 10th in the club rooms, starting 7pm.

The MBGLAC is open this Friday night from 6pm. Come on down and enjoy a couple of hours chatting with the locals. We have a fully stocked bar, Friday night raffles supported by Goodalls Butchers, the Lakeview Hotel and the Bar Beach Kiosk when it’s open. Catch up on the week’s fishing activity by those who are fishing. Enjoy a quiet evening at the club.

Till next week.
Fishy Fellow.

Great weather over the weekend saw all boat ramps full of cars and boat trailers, with plenty of boats heading out to sea.

The outside flathead fishing is still on fire, with anglers bagging out within an hour when on the flatties. Reports are telling me that the 35 to 50 metre depth is the area to fish, and that is where they are catching both sand and tiger flathead. The sandies are averaging 45 centimetres, with plenty over 50 centimetres, and I heard of the odd fish over 60 centimetres. The best areas are still from Turingal Head back to just south of Tura Head. I have also heard of fish off Long Point and wide of the Haycock reef system. The inshore water temperature is sitting around 16 to 17 degrees, and there is some cooler water coming up in close that should bring up a few gummy sharks.

The reef fishing was on fire over the weekend. It has basically been a month since the Snapper Competition, and the snapper were on the chew again. Baxter Pryor caught a nice 50-plus centimetre snapper off a burley trail down Eden way on Sunday morning. The snapper at Haycock and Long Point reefs have also been very good leading up to the full moon. There are also good numbers of morwong and a mixed bag of nannygai, leatherjackets and other reef species. There are still a few kingfish being seen following lures and chasing smaller fish. The burley trails in the early mornings are accounting for a lot of 40 to 50 centimetre fish, and plastics early and late have also been very good.

The beach fishing for salmon and tailor has been very good of late. There has been a good swell, giving plenty of white water for the fish to feed around. I fished North Tura Beach this week, and it has changed a bit, with a shallow sand bar out the back that the waves are dumping on. Inside there are gutters and holes full of salmon and the odd tailor. There was a school of salmon out the back, which you could see in the forming waves, and they were being caught in closer using half pilchards and lures when the white water settled. There are also schools of salmon at Tathra Beach, at the Mogareeka end, Main Beach Merimbula, and patchy fish on Tura Beach.

The lake fishing is puttering along. The water is very clear, and if you can see fish, they can see you. There are still a few blackfish being caught in the Merimbula front lake, and the odd trevally around the boats and jetties. In the top lake, there are tailor and salmon feeding on the bait schools. Under the bait schools there are trevally, the odd bream, and smaller flatties feeding on pieces drifting to the bottom. Small plastics and vibes, letting them sink down, is the method of choice in the cooler waters. The Bega River at Tathra has some small bream, trevally and the odd dusky around the bridge, with odd bream and duskies on the flats and odd perch along the rock walls. The estuary water temperature is sitting around 14 to 15 degrees this week.

The gamefishing is hit and miss at the moment. There are fish being caught by some boats, but the bulk of those trying are not seeing too much. There have been some bluefin and yellowfin off Tathra and Bermagui, but south has been very hit and miss, with only the odd striped tuna. Boats have been working the waters from 150.30E and wider. There was a good bluefin bite today, Sunday, off Moruya in the afternoon out at 150.36E. You just have to be out there trying, and hopefully luck is on your side.

Coming Events for the Merimbula BGLAC

• • Salmon Sunday – late July, date to be confirmed.
  • The Club Presentation Night will be held on August 8 at the Lake View Hotel.
  • The AGM will be held in the club rooms on August 10 at 7.00pm.

Club Open Friday Night

The MBGLAC is open this Friday night from 6.00pm. Come on down and enjoy a couple of hours chatting with the locals. We have a fully licensed bar and raffles supported by Goodalls Butchers, the Lakeview Hotel and the Bar Beach Kiosk. Catch up on the week’s fishing reports. Come on down and enjoy an evening at the fishing club.

Till next week,
Fishy Fellow.

@sapphirecoasteats catering with Jaz and Damo.  Here, owner Jaz is about to start serving at Saturday night’s annual Seafood Dinner, held at the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club at Spencer Park.  A great feed and night was had by all.

The great fishing continues outside with anglers still catching good numbers of sand and tiger flathead.  I have been getting plenty of reports from anglers that they are catching their bag within one hour over the last week.  The sand flathead are mostly large fish around 50 centimetres and better.  The tiger flathead are a bit smaller up to 45 centimetres.  The best areas to fish from reports are from Tura Heads up to Turingal Head, and out off Tura Beach.  However, they are not catching them as quickly there.  The depths where most of the action has been between 40 and 45 metres.  The boats fishing wider are catching more tiger flathead.  There are also a few flying gurnard and an odd gummy shark being caught in the mix as well.  The inshore water temperature has dropped a little this week, sitting around 17 to 18 degrees.

The snapper fishing has also been good.  There are still good numbers of 40-plus centimetre snapper being caught, with odd larger models periodically.  There has also been good numbers of morwong and a few nannygai and odd leatherjackets.  There have also been a few reports of a few rat kings around the reefs for the lure fishermen.  Bait fishos are using pilchards, yellowtail and squid and the lure fishos are catching more on 4-inch or 5-inch plastics.

The beaches are still fishing well too.  With some nice tailor and salmon being caught on Tathra Beach, Bournda Beach, North Tura Beach and Haycock Beach.  The bait fishos are telling me that whole undamaged pilchards are getting bites.  If the pilchards are damaged, the fish won’t touch them and 30-to-40-gram metal slugs are getting a fair bit of attention for the lure casters.  I’m hearing that the Wapengo Lake system has salmon coming in on the rising tides at the moment also.

The lakes’ fishing is getting slower with the cooling water and the fish are bunkering down.  The Bega River at Tathra’s water temperature has dropped this week down to 13 degrees and the fish have gone quiet.  The water is very clear down the front part and I only have reports of a few undersized bream and trevally from around the bridge piers.  I saw a pic of a small mulloway caught after dark near the bridge also.  There have been a few perch caught whilst targeting bream along the rock walls, but I understand they are only small fish.  Merimbula Lake is fishing a bit better, with a few blackfish being caught around the edges of the front lake on weed and under a float.  There are also a few trevally in the channel and up the top lake they are catching a few tailor trolling and spinning once bait is found.  Anglers are catching tailor, odd salmon and trevally under the bait.  The Merimbula Lake water temperature is sitting around 14 degrees.

There was a bit of game fish action on Saturday just north of Tathra off Bunga with one boat catching 3 yellowfin up to 35 kilogram in size.  There were also a few albacore caught by other boats in the area.  I heard the tuna were caught from 150.33E out the to 150.36E and I know of boats that have trolled out to 150.51E of Tathra and seen and caught only a couple of striped tuna.  The water out wide is sitting around 20 degrees.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club rooms are open this Friday night opening at 6pm.  Come on down and meet the regulars.  Get involved in our Friday raffles sponsored by the Lakeview Hotel and Goodalls Butchers.  There is a fully licensed bar, and nibbles provided.  Hope to see you there.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

The outside flathead bite continues with plenty of boats bagging out in quick times from 30 minutes to an hour on quality sand flathead around 50 centimetres and better. Boats are fishing from Turingal Head, back to off Long Point to catch these fish, but the Tura Head area has been really firing. The best depths are around 40 to 50 metres of water. If you are not catching many fish, keep moving around, you will come on to them eventually. If you still can’t find them, look at your bait! Salmon, salted striped tuna, salted mackerel fillets or anything fresh are the baits of choice. The in-shore water temperature is sitting around 19 degrees. There are also a few gummy sharks being caught also with the flathead.

The reefs are still giving up a good feed of snapper and morwong with the odd nannygai, leatherjackets and an array of other reef bait stealers. The tides are better this week with it rising in the mornings. So, a burley trail is a must for those keen snapper fisher people and hopefully a big one is there waiting to be caught. Plastics are also a good option. There are still a few bonito and odd kingfish getting around the reefs and headlands and fresh bonito is great bait.

Our beaches seem to have salmon and tailor moving around on most of them, but you need to be fishing the rising tide, whether it be bait fishing or casting lures. Tathra Beach still has some salmon schools on it, so too does Bournda Beach and Haycock Beach.

The estuary fishing is slowing up with the water sitting around 15 degrees. The Bega River at Tathra is still giving up a few bream, trevally and an odd small salmon and tailor at different times. Merimbula has a few blackfish being caught around the edges on a high tide down in the front lake and tailor, odd salmon and trevally up the top lake in and around the bait schools when they are active. The yellowfin bream have all but gone now. You don’t see them in the channels at Merimbula, but the seals have scored most of the fish from the front lake now. Trolling the channels might catch you an odd tailor or trevally also, as they are usually hiding under boat moorings looking to ambush a feed as it passes by.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club Seafood night is on this coming Saturday night, 20th June from 6pm. There are still a few seats available for any last-minute decisions. $50 a head for members and $55 a head for non-members. Call Phil on 0403 409 879 to reserve your seat.

The club will be open this Friday night from 6pm. Come along and buy a ticket in the weekly raffles sponsored by the Lakeview Hotel and Goodalls Butchers. Enjoy a bevvy and catch up on the week’s fishing. Bring a crew and make a pre-dinner drink of it.

Till next week.
Fishy Fellow

What a weekend for fishing. The weather was perfect, so too were the sea conditions. The outside excellent flathead fishing continues out in depths from 40 to 50 metres. I’m hearing of great catches from Bournda Beach right down to off the Pinnacles. The fish sizes are excellent with sand and tiger flathead ranging in sizes from 40 to 55 centimetres, which are great table-sized fish. There is also the odd gummy shark being caught in the mix. The inshore water temperature is sitting around 19 degrees and there is not much current.

The reef fishing is still on fire. The snapper are hungry and have been very keen on burley trails over the last week. There are plenty of 40 centimetre snapper on most of the reefs and after burleying for a while there is a chance of bigger fish coming in for a feed. I have had reports, but not confirmed, of fish in the high 70’s taking unweighted drift baits, way back down a burley trail. Plastics are also working a treat in the 5- and 7-inch sizes. The best fishing times are the 2nd alf of the rising tides and the changes. There is also a chance of morwong, nannygai, leatherjackets and even a gummy shark, if you are near the reef edge when burleying. There are also quite a few rat kingfish being caught and there is still a chance of a legal kingfish too, as I had one about one metre long chase up a snapper last weekend. Couldn’t catch it though.

The beaches are still carrying good numbers of salmon with North Tura Beach, Haycock Beach, Long Beach, Short Point and the Merimbula Bar holding schools of salmon and tailor. I saw the Short Point school of salmon being herded on Monday from the rocks onto the beach around high tide, then the school disappeared along the beach into the white water. So, they will be either off Tura Beach in a gutter or back on Short Point in the deeper water along side the white water. There are good gutters and banks on all those beaches mentioned.

The estuary fishing is starting to slow a bit. The Bega River is still giving up a few bream along the rock walls and the shallow edges that hold worms and nippers. The salmon and tailor are hanging around the bait schools and there is still an occasional mulloway being hooked in the river. The Merimbula Lake has trevally and odd bream in the front lake, and trevally, tailor, salmon and odd bream up the top lake around the edges and bait schools, which the birds will show where they are. The estuary water temperature at Tathra and Merimbula is sitting around 15 degrees.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open this Friday night, opening at 6pm. Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy, buy some tickets in our Friday night raffles sponsored by the Lakeview Hotel, Bar Beach Kiosk and Goodalls Butchers. Catch up on the week’s fishing reports and meet some new friends.

Till next week, good fishing.

Fishy Fellow