Club member, Fiona Beasley, caught this oversized flying gurnard on the weekend fishing out off Tura Heads.  It measured 571mm.

We had great weather over the weekend for a bit of outside flathead and snapper fishing. The outside sand and tiger flathead fishing was excellent over the weekend.  The flatties were biting really well in depths from 40 to 50 metres.  There were boats from Bournda Island right down to the Pinnacles, that we could see.  We caught our flatties just north of Tura Heads.  The sand flathead ranged in size from 38 to 50 centimetres and the tigers were a contant 36 centimetres.  We also found a few flying gurnard, but no gummies.  However, others caught them closer to the reefs.  The water is a dirty green on top at around 18 degrees, but the sinkers were a lot colder when they came up and the current was to the south.

The reefs were a little slower this weekend, but the tide wasn’t quite right.  There were still plenty of snapper caught, but a lot of smaller fish around that 40 centimetre size.  There was also a few morwong, nannygai, sargent bakers and other reef species.  We even caught salmon out in 35 metres of water.  Plastics worked for us, but a bit of burley may have held the fish behind the boat.

The salmon and tailor are feeding well in our estuaries at the moment. There are plenty of smaller 500g fish on the beaches suchs as North Tura and Bournda.  The beaches are very deep with not many banks, which makes them hard to baitfish, but lures have been getting plenty.  Main Beach Merimbula has some nice banks and wave action and is probably worth a try for the bait guys.  Otherwise you will need a boat and to head into the estuaries.

The estuary fishing is pretty busy if you are after salmon and tailor.  The Pambula River has good numbers of salmon and tailor in the river section.  There is also still a few bream and odd trevally along the rock walls.  The Merimbula Lake has salmon and tailor in the front lake and a few bream and odd blackfish were seen on Sunday.  Up the Top Lake the salmon and tailor were gorging on the baitfish on Saturday.  There were a couple of trevally also feeding with the preditors.  The Merimbula Lake’s water temperature is around 16 degrees also.  The Bega River is very dirty and the boat ramp is covered in trees after the recent rains.  If you can get your boat in the water, there are a few bream and odd perch biting up the river and odd salmon and trevally down the front.

The game fishing is showing signs of firing up.  Sunday, a boat out of Tathra found a few small yellowfin.  They didn’t give any details, but it is a positive sign.  There are a few of our local longliners fishing out wide off Mallacoota, well over 50 nautical miles off shore, and that current looks to be travelling up along the 1000 fathom line.  So hopefully, we get a chance at these fish at some stage.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open this Friday night at 6pm.  We have the draw of the monthly species, “snapper” which will take place between 7 and 7.30pm.  Fish must be on the board by 7pm.  The draw is sponsored by Michelin and Son eath works of Eden.  We also have raffle with a meat tray sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and a voucher for the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy and catch up with the locals.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Member, Glen Rollason caught this nice mulloway, just before the rain, in the
Bega River. It measured 960mm.

The fishing over the last week has still been pretty good, and with the rain to dirty up the water, it should get better.

The outside flathead fishing is still fishing well, with good catches of sand and tiger flathead being caught off Long Point in 45 to 55 metres of water and inside the Haycock reef system in depths from 25 to 30 metres.  Fish to 40 centimetres are consistently being caught.  There is also an odd gummy shark and flying gurnard in the mix.  I haven’t had any reports from Tura Heads, but would think if the fish are off Long Point, they would be off Tura as well.

The local reefs are still producing snapper, morwong, nannygai and a quantity of other reef species.  The snapper are ranging in size from 30 to 55 centimetres with odd larger fish occasionally.  I have had reports from North and south Head at Eden, Leonards Island and Haycock reefs.  Over the weekend prior to the rain and swell, anglers were drifting, burleying with float baits which worked a treat.  Casting plastics is also producing a few.

The salmon have been on the bite off the Merimbula Wharf.  There is a also a good patch of salmon and tailor on Main Beach, Merimbula.  They have been going into the lake overnight, so bait fishing and lures early in the morning or late afternoon might catch a fish or two off Mitchies Beach.  The salmon are very skittish once in the lake, but thirteen seals in the lake can do that to any fish.  Other beaches giving up a few salmon are North Tura Beach and Tura Beach.

The lake fishing has slowed up considerably.  After the rain, the lakes have cooled down in water temperature to around 15 degrees.  The Merimbula front lake is struggling with the amount of seals looking for a feed and even with the dirty water on the weekend, the fish were very hard to find.  The Top Lake has a few mulloway, salmon and tailor around the edges and the bream and dusky flathead are hard to find.  With the temperature low, they look like they have bunkered down for winter.  The Bega River at Tathra still has a few bream, perch and odd mulloway biting at the moment and the water is only 13 degrees up there.  Pambula River has some salmon and tailor in the system currently.  

There is nothing to report on any game fishing through the amateur boats, but some of the longliners are currently working off Merimbula, fishing between 25 to 30 nautical miles out.  So, if the weather allows, maybe some boats may get out for a look.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club rooms are open at 6pm this Friday.  We love to see new faces down there.  We have raffles with three meat trays, supported by Goodall’s Butchers, a coffee and cake voucher from the Bar Beach Kiosk, wine and chocolates.  Also, fishing reports and of course plenty of mixed drinks.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow