Fiona Beasley, happy with her catch of a sharp beaked gurnard measuring 50 centimetres.  Caught in 80 metres of water off Mrimbula recently

Fishing over the weekend was very limited dur to the weather.

Over the last week the flathead bite has slowed up, probably due to the falling tide in the mornings during the week and also the weather wasn’t the best some days.  However, those that caught fish found a few flatties in that 30 to 45 metre depth off tura Heads back to Long Point.  Size is a mixed bag from just legal at 36 centimetres to 40 centimetres.  There are plenty of small bait stealers in amongst them.  The water temperature in close is between 16 and 17 degrees.

The reefs over the week have been patchy with odd snapper to 50 centimtres, but mostly undersized to just legal fish around 30 centimetres.  There have also been a few morwong and nannygai, but slow fishing over all.  There are a few squid starting to bite around the points and off the wharf for those that are interested.  The heads are great for bait when fresh.

Salmon off the beaches is slow.  Tura Beach has some wave action up the northern end from low tide for about 3 hours.  Once the beach fills, the waves disappear.  There are fish patrolling the shore break, but they are a fish of a thousand casts for lure fishers.  There was a patch off Main Beach, Merimbula.  In the last week, I hadn’t heard if they are still there.  Main Beach, Merimbula has had an odd whiting, occasional bream and trevally being caught on beach worms in the early mornings for those that are keen.  Other beaches for the salmon are Haycock and Quondola, but fish early in the rising tide to increase your chances of catching a fish or two.

Our local estuaries are starting to fish pretty well.  Pambula has dusky flathead, bream, trevally and the odd blackfish being caught around the edges of the weed currently.  Merimbula Lake has duskies, trevally and odd tailor being caught up the Top Lake and odd bream and trevally in the channels.  The Bega River at Tathra has duskies in the shallows on a high tide, odd bream and tailor around the rock walls.  This coming weekend, the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is running its annual Tri-estuary Challenge in these local estuaries, so check out the website for details.  Registration for the event is on Friday evening, starting at 5.00pm in the club rooms at Spencer Park.

Again, the game fishing hasn’t happened this week due to the inclement weather.  The water temperature on the shelf is around 20 degrees.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club will be open from 5pm this Friday, taking tri-estuary registrtions and serving drinks.  There will be a raffle around 7.30pm, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.  So, come on down and enjoy the evening and views from the Club rooms.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

The fish clearning pontoon was delivered to the Merimbula boat ramp today, Sunday 9th, by Chris from South Coast Hire.  It should be up and running again by the end of the week.

The outside flathead fishing is going well.  With good numbers of sand and tiger flathead being caught in the depths from 40 to 50 metres and from Bournda Island and back to Long Point.  There are also flying gurnard and gummy sharks in the mix.  The water is around that 16 degree mark off Merimbula currently.

The reefs are patchy with a few pan-sized snapper , odd morwong, good numbers of nannygai and occasional leatherjackets being caught off Long Point, Haycock and Leonards Island.  Pilchards and fresh squid are the baits of choice.  Lure fishing has been pretty slow.

Our local beaches have changed quite a bit over the last 2 weeks with the unsettled seas.  There is now some banks reforming on Tura Beach, Main Beach Merimbula and most of the beaches heading up the coast.  With the surf coming back, there are a few salmon being caught.  Dolphin Cove Beach and Tura Beach have provided reports of a few salmon being caught on lures.  Also, a report of a large school of salmon on Main Beach Merimbula in the bar area.  There are also the odd whiting, bream and trevally being caught off the surf on beach worms.

Our estuary fishing scene is improving every week, with the water temperature of the estuaries sitting around 17 to 18 degrees.  Pambula River and Lake has bream, dusky flathead, blackfish, trevally and odd tailor and flounder being caught around the lake and river edges to the oyster leases.  Merimbula has trevally, dusky flathead and odd tailor up the Top Lake and in the channel down the front, trevally, odd tailor and odd blackfish.  The Bega River at Tathra is fishing pretty well with bream, trevally, dusky flathead, odd perch and whiting and an occasional mulloway.  The water is very clear in all the systems and the fish are very spooky.  Burley and fresh bait is working the best.  Lures can be slow fishing.

The game fishing has been quiet over the last couple of weeks, but the weather has also been very ordinary.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club has its Tri-Estuary fishing compeition on in 2 weeks There are posters up around the boat ramps and tackle shops.  Over $2500 in prize money for six species of fish caught.  Check out the web site for more details.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club rooms are open at 6pm this Friday night.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy from our licensed bar.  Support our raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Meet the locals and enjoy our lakeside views.  Everyone is welcome.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Marita Brandau with a nice yellowfin bream caught in the Bega River at Tathra last week

Our Spring, Summer weather is upon us, with calm starts to the days then north easterlies building in strength from mid-morning. So, it is an early start to get a feed of ocean flathead for those chasing them. The boats are still catching their bag limits fishing in 40 to 55 metres of water, fishing from Tura Heads back to Long Point. The size range is still around that forty centimetres.

Sand and tiger flathead are in good numbers with boats catching their bag in a couple of hours. There are also a few flying gurnard being caught in the mix.  The inshore water temperature is sitting between 15 and 16 degrees.

The reefs are also fishing okay with good numbers of snapper, unfortunately there are plenty of small ones in between the keepers. The morwong have been biting their heads off also, using fresh squid as bait. There are plenty of other reef species like wrasse, nannygai and sargent bakers to keep you entertained when there is bait on your hooks. Pilchard’s and squid are the preferred baits at the moment. Metal jigs have been working also with a bit of squid on the hooks.

The surf fishing is very slow of late, due to the deep beaches and no wave action. I hear there are not many salmon around the headlands also. I would love to hear if anyone is catching any anywhere.  

The estuaries are all fishing well at the moment. Pambula has good numbers of trevally and dusky flathead, a few bream and odd tailor. Merimbula has trevally, dusky flathead and blackfish, and odd bream and tailor. The Bega River at Tathra has plenty of small dusky flathead and a few bream and odd trevally and blackfish. Most of the flathead are being caught in the shallow areas of each system. Most of my reports are coming from lure fishers who fish these systems. I have a report from the Merimbula fishing club, who went to the Wonboyn Lake Resort over the weekend. They caught plenty of fish with bait and lures. Duskies averaging forty-six centimetres, trevally up to fifty centimetres, lots of small flounder and a few bream up to thirty-nine centimetres. The best dusky flathead for the weekend was caught by Riley Holley with a fish of fifty-six centimetres. Good job Riley.

The game fishing has slowed up since last week’s report. The weather has not been the best or everyone’s freezers are full. I did hear of one yellowfin weighing 52 kilograms, caught off Merimbula by an Eden boat last Monday, and today there was one fish caught out of Bermagui around 40 kilograms I heard of. There should still be yellowfin on the shelf, as there is a temperature break just on the inside of the shelf off Merimbula at the moment. The temperature on the shelf is nineteen plus degrees and around 70 fathoms it drops to 18 degrees, so that is a likely area to try your luck.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open this Friday night, opening at 6pm. Come on down and enjoy a cold beer, support our weekly meat raffle sponsored by Goodall’s Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk, contribute to the fishing report, and enjoy the views.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Member, Nigel Hack,  very happy with his 65.5 kilogram yellowfin tuna, caught on Saturday on the surface.

The tuna bite continues.  Saturday and Sunday, saw many boats come home with quality yellowfin from just over the shelf off Merimbula and Eden.  The fish are still around the 37 line south and 20 line east and there are plenty of them, ranging from 20 kilograms to over 60 kilograms.  There are also some quality albacore in the mix.  Small fry angler, Riley Holley, captured a 20.2 kilogram albacore on 15 kilogram tackle.  Nice catch Riley!  The mornings have been the pick of the best bites as the wind has been getting up in the early afternoon.  Trolling with deep diving lures is catching the albies and odd yellowfin.  However, top water lures and being ready to cast is what’s catching the bulk of the yellowfin at the moment.  The fish seem to be very concentrated.

Other fishing for the inshore fisherman is seeing sand and tiger flathead being caught in depths from 35 to 60 metres this week.  There are plenty of undersized flathead being caught with those quality 40 centimetre models and also some nice 50 centimetre flying gurnard.  The inshore water temperature has cooled over the weekend with a southerly current pushing up past Green Cape, dropping inshore temperatures to between 15 and 16 degrees.  This might bring some gummy sharks up with it, as they like that cooler water.

The reefs at Long Point and Haycock are still giving up a reasonable feed of pan-sized snapper and morwong, a few nannygai and an occasional leatherjacket.

The beaches are still on the slow side around our end of the coastline.  There are only occasional, odd salmon being caught whether you’re bait fishing or casting lures.  All the beaches are very deep, with very little wave action on them.

The estuary fishing has been improving, but on Sunday, Merimbula’s front lake was only 15 degrees, and we did not see a fish in the channel anywhere.  I’m told there are a few trevally, odd dusky flathead, and tailor up in the Top Lake.  The Bega River at Tathra is giving up a few dusky flathead, odd trevally, and bream and Pambula Lake has trevally, bream, dusky flathead and odd tailor being caught at this time.  However, this cooler water moving up the coast could stall the improved fishing until it passes.  After 18 degrees last week and 15 this week, the fishing in these estuaries may go into shock.

Coming events for the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club are:

Mex Williams Memorial Club Trip at Wonboyn Lake Resort – October 24 – 26

Soft plastics and lures Junior Workshop November 1st

Tri-Estuary competition November 22nd – 23rd.

October monthly species is Tailor.

The Merimbula Big Lake and Game Angling club rooms are open every Friday night from 6:00pm.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevy, while chatting to the locals.  But a ticket in our Friday night raffles, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the bar Beach Kiosk and catch up on the week’s fishing reports.  We would love to see some new faces.  All are welcome.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Geoff McMahon, happy about his capture of a 48 kilogram yellowfin, caught out of Eden on Sunday trolling a bibbed lure.

The talk this last week has been yellowfin.  The currents have moved south bringing with it the tuna from up north.  Over the last week, even with the weather we have had, boats have still ventured out chasing tuna.  The waters from Tathra’s Canyons, south down past Green Cape, now have plenty of yellowfin and albacore from 50 fathoms out to 1000 fathoms.  The albacore are all out over the shelf, but the yellowfin have been caught and lost inside the shelf.  I have reports of one boat landing three yellowfin off Tathra in 55 fathoms and another off Merimbula spending 3 hours on a fish estimated to be 70 – 80 kilograms before losing it, boat side, in 60 fathoms.  Then on Sunday, boats fishing on the shelf caught yellowfin to 50 kilograms and albacore around 10 kilograms and plenty of them.  The best area on Sunday, was around that 37 line north south and 20 nautical miles out.  The fish have been in that area for the last week from reports I’ve received.  Trolling bibbed lures has been producing the most, but the stick baits need to be ready if the fish come up.  The change of tide is when the fish are more active.  The water temperature on the shelf is around 18 degrees.

On the table fish side of fishing, the flathead outside are still biting well out in depths from 35 to 50 metres.  There is a mixed bag of flathead being caught, but the better fish are around that 40 centimetres.  There are also a few flying gurnard being caught, but not many gummy sharks.  Working areas from Turingal Head back to Long Point will catch you a feed.

The reef fishing is still producing a feed of pan sized snapper, morwong, nannygai and a mixed bag of other reef species.  The inshore water temperature is sitting around 16 degrees and there are pockets of cooler water in some bays.

Our salmon and tailor fishing off the beaches is pretty patchy at the moment. The beaches are very deep and there is not much wave action to hold the fish.  Although, those that are trying, are catching an odd salmon to keep them interested.

Our local estuaries are all producing a few fish at the moment, with the water temperature climbing to around 18 plus degrees in the shallows.  The Pambula Lake has trevally, tailor, dusky flathead, bream, and an odd flounder on the bite.  Merimbula Lake has trevally, odd bream, dusky flathead, and still the odd salmon and occasional tailor being caught.  The Bega River at Tathra has dusky flathead, bream, odd tailor, trevally, mullet and odd whiting being caught of late.  The dusky flathead seem to be coming right up into the shallows on those sunny days to warm themselves up and feed, so if you’re bank fishing, you could be casting your line way past them.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open this Friday night, opening at 6.00pm.  Come on down and catch up with the locals.  Buy a ticket in our weekly raffle, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Catch up on the week’s fishing while enjoying a cold beverage.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

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