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

Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club President, Shane Mayberry has started his dusky flathead season with a respectable 65 centimetre model.

What a great weathered weekend we got given this weekend just been for all avenues of fishing.

The outside flathead fishing is still doing really well.  This last week, anglers have been catching a good feed of sand and tiger flathead in depths from 35 to 60 plus metres.  I’m told there are a lot of undersize fish in the mix and also some flying gurnard.  One downer there is a fair bit of current pushing to the North and when the wind gets up it can be hard to hold bottom.  The best areas have been off Bournda Island, Tura Heads and out from Short Point back to Long Point.  The inshore water temperature is around 14 on the bottom and up to 16 on the top.

The reefs are still giving up a nice feed of snapper and morwong fishing off Long Point and Haycock reefs.  I haven’t heard of any bigger snapper this week but plenty around that 450 millimetre mark.  There are also plenty of Māori wrasse and a few nannygai in the mix.  The current has made it too hard to anchor up, so lures and paternoster rigs, drifting has been working best.

The beach fishing has slowed up due to the lack of surf.  There has been odd salmon and tailor caught fishing on the rising tide on Bournda Beach and Tathra Beach, at the Mogareeka, and Haycock Beach, early in the tide though.

Our estuaries are definitely waking up.  The water temperature is improving rapidly.  The water temperature at Mogareeka on Sunday was 16.5 degrees from the front to the back end.  The fish weren’t easy to catch, but we managed some tailor, dusky flathead, and bream. Pambula still has some salmon up in the lake with odd duskies, trevally and odd bream.  Merimbula Lake is probably quietest with an odd dusky, trevally and occasional tailor.

There are some nice brown trout being caught from our inland lakes at Eucumbene and Jindabyne.  Jindabyne fished best over the weekend with fish being caught off the banks and trolling the boats.  It’s worth a trip to either lake for those that are keen.

The talk this last week has been yellowfin tuna.  Boats fishing out of Bermagui to the northern towns have been having a great time, but for us down here, it’s a bit slower.  Boats fished off Tathra on Saturday and Sunday for albacore only, although on Sunday there were yellowfin seen jumping, but no hook ups.  The water off Merimbula on the shelf was 17.2 degrees.  The ocean currents are pushing the inshore fish further north, so we may have to wait a bit longer for our chance at them.  There is a lot of bait in 35 fathoms off Merimbula. So hopefully it’s just a matter of time for our turn.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open at 6pm this Friday night.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy, win a meat tray, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers or other prizes, including a voucher for the Bar Beach Kiosk.  Catch up with the locals and find out what’s biting and.  

Till next week.

Tight lines.

Fishy Fellow

Small fry member, Riley Holley, captured here a morwong that will go on the board next week for a monthly species prize.

The fishing was great on Friday before the temperature plummeted on Saturday and then cleared up again for Sunday fishers.  The ocean flathead are still biting in depths around 40 metres.  I had reports on Friday off Short Point, Merimbula, of sand and tiger flathead to 40 centimetres in that depth, and Sunday, the boats were a little wider off Long Point and the Haycock reef catching the flathead out to 50 metres.  The inshore water temperature on Sunday was around 14 degrees.  If you feel your sinker when you retrieve your line, it is very cold on the bottom.

Our local reefs off Long Point and Haycock gave up a few fish on Friday and Sunday.  The snapper were either throwbacks or over 50 centimetres, morwong up to 40 centimetres and plenty of other reef species like sargent bakers, nannygai, maori wrasse, and parrotfish.  So, no shortage on bites.  Squid with a piece of prawn over the barb worked great on Sunday.

The salmon and tailor surf fishing is happening on Tura, Bournda and Tathra beaches that I know of.  Bait fishing with pilchards and casting metals are catching a few.  The beaches are very deep, but the sand bars are more visible early in the rising tides.  That’s when the better fishing is done, while the wave action is happening.  So, plan to fish the first 3 to 4 hours of the rising tides, especially if the beaches are deep.

The estuaries are all starting to stir.  Reports on Sunday from Merimbula and Tathra River were positive.  At Merimbula, reports from Sunday were dusky flathead to 60 centimetres and blackfish to 47 centimetres, all on lures.  The Bega River at Tathra had tailor and some bycatch estuary perch.  Pambula also had a few salmon and tailor caught, which is a very positive sign for the start of spring.  The estuary water temperaturs are around 13 degrees at the moment.

The trout are still biting around the edges on lures and baits at Eucumbene and Jindabyne Lakes.  Trolling is also catching a few larger fish using deep diver lures.

The gamefishing is going off from Bermagui to Batemans Bay in water from 50 to 100 metres deep and they’re catching yellowfin around the tide changes casting surface lures when the fin hit the surface feeding on bait.  Fish from 10-50 kilograms is very common at the moment.  Sunday, there had to be a dozen caught that I heard of.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club rooms are open this Friday from 6pm.  Come on down and catch up on the week’s fishing reports.  Buy a ticket in our weekly raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Bar Beach Kiosk.

Hope to see you there.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow