Fishing Report week 5, February 2, 2025
The outside sand and tiger flathead fishing is still fishing well.

Merrily Bell caught this beautiful 710mm dusky flathead at Mogareeka last weekend. The fish was released for someone else to catch.
The outside sand and tiger flathead fishing is still fishing well. The best depths over the last week have been between 35 and 45 metres, with fish ranging from 40 to 60 ce3ntimetres. The areas to fish are from Tathra Point back to Long Point. There are also a few nice fish being caught in shallower, but there are also plenty of undersized flathead there as well. Turingal Point to Bournda Island, in 25 to 30 metres, is a good area to try if the wind gets up early and affects the deeper water fishing. I haven’t heard much on the flying gurnard and gummy sharks lately, but I am sure there are a few being caught in the mix.
The reefs are fishing okay. They have slowed up a bit from previous weeks. The snapper are still patchy, with plenty of small to pan size snapper being caught. There are also a mixed bag of nannygai, red rock cod, morwong, sargent baker and other reef species being caught in our local reefs at Long Point, Haycock and Leonard’s Island. Fresh bait is key for plenty of bites and lures for those that know.
The surf fishing has been excellent over the last week, with plenty of salmon and odd tailor being caught on local beaches. I had reports from Tura Beach at the bottom of Tura Beach Drive this week of salmon from 50 to over 70 centimetres in length. Their bait of choice was blue bait and they were catching a dozen fish each trip. Any beach with gutters and sand banks should have salmon on them on the rising tide. I also got reports of salmon being caught on Tathra Beach near the river mouth and also in the river itself. They are also biting on the Tathra Wharf.
Our estuaries are also fishing very well at the moment. Reports from the Bega River at Tathra were, plenty of bream, whiting and dusky flathead up the river and the odd estuary perch and mulloway also. The Merimbula Lake also has good numbers of bream, whiting, blackfish and trevally below the bridge on a falling tide. In the Top Lake on a rising tide they’re catching dusky flathead, trevally, tailor and odd mulloway. I haven’t heard anything from the Pambula Lake system, but I’m sure it’s fishing the same. Bait fisherman are using fresh nippers and the lure fishermen are using wrigglers or paddle tails 80 – 125 millimetres.
The local game fishing is being controlled by our weather at the moment. There are not many good fishable days with all this wind we have been having. The fish are there, it’s just getting out there on the better days. Las Wednesday was a great day and the Merimbula Club had two striped marlin weighed in. One to junior, Jackson Lee, weighing 84Kg and the other to small fry, Noah Walker, weighing 70kg. That’s a first for those boys, so congratulations. Saturday was the next weather window and I heard of two more marlin caught, one being tagged and not sure on the second. I understand the marlin have been on the surface feeding on small bait schools and there have been plenty of sharks present also. The water is around that 22 degree mark, but further north, it’s warmer and that’s where the dolphin fish seem to be at the moment. However, the warmer water will push down eventually.
The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club drew its Monster Raffle over the weekend and the winners were:
1st – Hobie Kayak – Doug Hall – Bairnsdale
2nd – Merida Mountain Track Bike – Dave Mifsod – Traralgon
3rd – Engel 2-way Fridge Freezer – Phoebe Atkins – Beaumaris
4th – Weber Baby Q Premium BBQ – Nicole Straight – Tura Beach
The recording of the live draw is on our Facebook page if you would like to view the drawing. Thank you to everyone who supported our Monster Raffle as all proceeds go to maintaining community assets for all to enjoy.
The MBGLAC club rooms are open every Friday night from 6pm. Come on down and catch up with the locals and also the week’s fishing reports, enjoy a cold bevvy, and support our weekly raffle with some great prizes.
Till next week
Fishy Fellow