The weekend fishing was affected by the weather, but anglers got their chance on Saturday morning with great conditions.

One of a handful of new club record holders presented at the MBGLAC presentation night.  Club Junior, Bronson Pryor, knocked off the President, Shane Mayberry by 4mm for the brown trout record.

The weekend fishing was affected by the weather, but anglers got their chance on Saturday morning with great conditions.

The flathead fishing outside has fished well all week, with good catches of sand flathead in depths of 30 to 40 metres.  Sand flathead to 40cm are being caught.  These reports come from the Tura Heads region, and I’ve heard that Tathra, off Kianinny boat ramp, is fishing well also.  The odd flying gurnard and gummy sharks are in the mix with the flathead.

Our local reefs at Merimbula and Haycock were a little slow on the weekend.  The odd small snapper and morwong were caught on a floating bait rig using pilchards and squid for bait.  The reefs south of Eden have been fishing very well with snapper to 60cm being caught by anchoring up and burleying early mornings and into the evening.

The beaches have been giving up a few salmon and occasional tailor.  The salmon are averaging 40 cm and being caught on lures when there is some wave activity.  Best Beaches are Dolphin Cove and Tura.

All our estuaries are pretty quiet.  Fishing is hard due to the cold, clear waters at the moment.  Pambula is fishing the best, with plenty of salmon still in the channel from the ocean to the shark hole marker buoy.  The salmon are very spooky at the moment.  There was a school of yellowfin bream and trevally seen moving up the channel last Sunday, but they couldn’t be caught.  Merimbula Lake is very hard at present.  Not many fish can be seen when you’re moving around in a boat.  I understand there are a few dusky flathead and pinkies being caught up the top lake on Squidtrex vibes.  The Bega River is also giving up a few dusky flathead and odd small trevally, fishing around the rock walls.  My reports are from lure fishermen and women.  I have not heard how the bait fishing in the estuaries has been going.

The MBGLAC is open this Friday night.  We have some current fishing reports and raffles of two meat trays, sponsored by Goodall’s Butchers.  Come on down and get involved.  We would love to see you.

Fishy Fellow

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes held their club’s presentation night

 The Small Fry Champion – Riley Holley, Ladies Champion – Leanne Hoath and Junior Champion and Club Champion, Jackson Lee with club President, Shane Mayberry.  Absent, Men’s Champion, Corey Walker.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes held their club’s presentation night on Saturday the 10th August at the Lakeview Hotel, who also are a sponsor of their trophy board.  Around 70 members and guests attended and enjoyed a great night and lovely meals at the Lakeview Hotel.  Jackson Lee, the stand out Junior winner, also taking out the Club Champion of 2023-2024 year.

On the fishing scene, the outside flathead fishing has picked up over the weekend.  I fished Sunday off Tura Heads in prefect conditions.  The water temperature was 15.5 degrees Celsius and the sand flathead bit great.  We fished for 2 hours and bagged out with flathead from 36 to 42cm long.  Bait was the difference catching numbers quick or slowly.  We had fresh salmon fillets and salted mackerel fillets.  The salted mackerel fillets caught 4 fish to 1, compared to the salmon, which was very convincing.  We caught our fish from 40 meters into 30 meters and the better fish were in the deeper water.  We also caught flying gurnard and heard of others catching gummy sharks back towards Merimbula.

The reefs were also fishing well with catches of snapper up to 50 cm and morwong in the 40cm range.  Plastics and bait both caught fish.  Best reefs at the moment are North Head to Leonards Island and the Haycock reef system.

The salmon fishing in Pambula River non stop on the rising tide.  There are so many fish in there, not necessarily big fish, but fish from 40-60cm in length.  You do need a boat to catch them as they’re in the river sections away from land based spots.  There are also odd tailor being caught with the salmon.  There was a very large school of salmon seen heading north around Tura Heads on Saturday.  People that saw the fish, said they were very large in size and estimate 70cm size fish.

Other lakes aren’t fishing very well.  Merimbula Lake, the water is so clear and there is next to nothing to see when hearing up or down the channel.  I heard the top lake at Merimbula gave up a few smallish dusky flathead over the weekend.  The Squidtrex lures getting the job done in 65mm.  The Bega River at Tathra has had the odd jewfish still taking lures, but not much else.

The MBGLAC is open again this Friday night from 6pm.  Come on down and enjoy a beverage, catch up on the week’s fishing reports and support the raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers.  All Welcome

Fishy Fellow

With the weather easing on Friday and the seas settling on Saturday, it allowed boats to head to sea on Sunday to catch a feed.

A pan sized trout caught at Rushy Bay on a recent trip to Lake Eucumbene.  Plenty of bigger trout following lures, but not necessarily wanting to have a go.

With the weather easing on Friday and the seas settling on Saturday, it allowed boats to head to sea on Sunday to catch a feed. The flathead fishing outside was a bit slow on the weekend.  Anglers were only picking up the odd legal fish and having to move around to find a feed.  Comments I received were that the water was very dirty and this would be from all the large seas we have had over the previous weeks.  Maybe heading a bit deeper might catch you a feed.  I had no reports of flying gurnard or gummy sharks.

The reefs around Merimbula fished a little better with anglers catching morwong and snapper.  The fish were spread out.  There was no good bite, just covering ground caught these fish.  Fresh baits of salmon, pilchards and squid are doing the job.

Our estuaries at Merimbula and Tathra are proving very hard to fish at the moment.  The water has cooled to around 11 degrees and the fishing has all but shut down.  There are the odd trevally and tailor and occasional salmon being caught in these estuaries.  The Pambula system on the other hand still has plenty of tailor and salmon down in the channel heading to the mouth.  Fish the rising tide, and drift with the tide, casting metal lures and plastics and you should catch a few.

The surf beaches have settled down, leaving new gutters and sand banks in different places.  There was a small school of salmon on Gillards Beach just before the rough weather came in.  Hopefully, they are still in that vicinity of beaches for anglers to catch.

If there are any keen trout anglers reading, the lakes, Eucumbene and Jindabyne, are fishing pretty well.  It is very cold, but fishing off the banks with worms on casting lures is catching fish.  Trolling hard bodied lures in spotted dog colours or goldy coloured plastics in motor oil are catching fish.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club rooms are CLOSED this Friday night due to a 3 day private booking.  Sorry for any inconvenience.  Hopefully we will be seeing you at our club’s presentation night on Saturday 10th August at the Lakeview Hotel.  If you would like to come along, please call Shane Mayberry on 0428 424 496 with your details or any queries.  We are hoping to finalise numbers by Wednesday 7th August.  Coming up on Monday 12th August will be the AGM, starting at 7pm in the clubrooms.  We would love to see our members there.

Fishy Fellow

A windy cold morning of fishing was had at Haycock Beach on Sunday for only a few small salmon.

Not deterred by the cooler weather, a smaller group of members of the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club attended Salmon Sunday at Haycock Beach.

A windy cold morning of fishing was had at Haycock Beach on Sunday for only a few small salmon.  However, a great little BBQ was had by those who attended.

The outside fishing for ocean flathead was very good on Saturday, with perfect weather.  The, mainly sand flathead, are being caught in 40 meters, just north of Tura Heads with fish up to 45cm in size.  The fish are quite patchy and when you find a patch, there are plenty of fish.  Still the odd gummy shark and flying gurnard being caught in amongst the flatties.

Our reefs are still providing good numbers of morwong, snapper, nannygai and odd leatherjackets.  There was a bit of tide on Saturday, which made fishing a little harder.  Paternoster rigs with fresh baits of pilchards and squid caught the fish.

Our beaches do have salmon on them, but the lack of waves is making it hard to catch any fish.  If you’re after salmon and you have a boat, head down to the Pambula river, as there are so many salmon filling the channel from Severs Beach to the shark hole.  Go on the rising tide with some soft plastics, hard body or even metal lures (not too big though, say 20-40 grams).  Trolling and spinning has the salmon all over them.  I fished there Saturday for 2 hours and caught in excess of 30 fish ranging in size from 40 to over 60cm.

Other lake fishing is pretty hard because of the crystal clear water in our systems at the moment.  There are a few trevally and occasional tailor being caught.  However, a bit of bait fishing in the Merimbula front lake using some fresh nippers as bait could catch you a feed of trevally, bream and maybe some blackfish.

The MBGLAC’s monthly species of July, being salmon, is being drawn this coming Friday 2nd August, so come on down to the club Friday night.  Register your fish by 7pm to be in the draw for the prizes.  While you’re there, you can enjoy a beverage, support our raffle and catch up on the week’s fishing reports.

Out next event is the MBGLAC Presentation night, sponsored by the Lakeview Hotel on the 10th August.  It’s being held at the Lakeview Hotel, starting at 6pm.  Get your names down for a great night by emailing the club at admin@mbglac.com.au with your name and number of attendees.  Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

Well, this windy weather is not helping me get an accurate fishing report compiled for you readers.

Two of the youngest anglers to win prizes at the July winter school holiday fishing competition for the kids.

Well, this windy weather is not helping me get an accurate fishing report compiled for you readers. The boats are not heading to sea, but at least the estuary fishing is still giving results to those that are trying.

Before the windy weather came in, the ocean flathead had been biting pretty well in depths from 30 to 45 meters and areas from Tathra to Eden. Sand and tiger flathead are being caught with the odd flying gurnard and a few gummy sharks in the mix. The boats were catching their bag limits, so hopefully that continues.

The reefs are still giving up a good feed, with plenty of pan size snapper and still the odd big one, with some nice morwong, nannygai and odd leatherjackets. Paternoster fishing is catching the majority of the fish, using fresh baits of slimy mackerel, salmon, and squid.  Lures are still working but you are getting a lot more bumps off the smaller fish. 

Our beaches have been a bit slow of late. There are still a few salmon and tailor being caught on the rising tide at North Tura, Tura and Tathra beaches. Pilchards and surf poppers and small lures about 20 grams are catching the fish. 

Our estuaries have slowed up a bit now, due to the cooler water temperatures and the clear water clarity, so if you can see them, they can see you. Merimbula lake still has trevally, bream and blackfish in the front lake, and trevally, odd bream, and tailor up the top lake. The salmon seem to have left the Merimbula system, but the Pambula river and lake system has plenty. Most of the salmon are in the river part and you really need a boat to access them. Many of the kids fishing the winter holiday competition, fished in Pambula for the salmon with captures to just over 600mm long being caught. There were also some very large black bream caught, best I saw was a 460mm fish caught by Sunny Hulme. Great fish.

The game fishing has gone with the windy weather. It’s all over basically now. There might be small pockets of passing tuna, but the large numbers have passed. So now its time for some deep dropping or boat maintenance. 

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open every Friday night, opening at 6pm. Come down for a quiet beverage, chat with the locals and support the raffle sponsored by Goodalls Butchers Merimbula.

The next club event is Salmon Sunday, on Sunday July 28th, it is at Haycock each oBnly and the club is providing sausages and bread for a BBQ at 12 noon. So come down for a social day at Haycock Beach. The club is also gearing up for its presentation night, being held at the Lakeview Hotel on the Saturday night the 10th of August. Save that date for a good night out. Till next week.

Fishy Fellow

The 2024 Winter Schol Holiday Junior Fishing Competition is fishing very well for the kids participating.

Braydan Sharman caught this salmon in the Pambula River, competing in Winter School Holiday Junior Fishing Competition over the weekend.

The 2024 Winter Schol Holiday Junior Fishing Competition is fishing very well for the kids participating. I am told there is over two hundred entries, which is great to see, and there have been some exceptional catches from pictures being shared on Facebook.

The outside flathead fishing is getting harder, the big sand and tiger flathead are thinning out. There are more undersized flathead being caught in the mix now, still fish to 40cm but fewer of them from reports to me. There are also a few flying gurnard being caught and odd gummy sharks whilst targeting those flathead. The best depths are around that 40-meter mark and just north of Tura Heads to Long Point Merimbula is where most are fishing.

Our reefs are still fishing well, with good numbers of pan size snapper, morwong, nannygai and a few leatherjackets being caught on the reefs from North Head at Eden, to White rocks at Tathra. Fresh squid and fish baits on paternoster rigs are catching these fish.

Our estuaries are still firing. It is so good to see some of the pictures of the different species our kids are catching in this July holidays competition. There is still plenty of salmon being caught in the Pambula river system. There has also been some very nice yellow fin bream being caught down at the river mouth on a falling tide. The Merimbula front lake is giving up some nice bream also, with a few trevally and occasional blackfish. Fresh nippers as bait on a falling tide is catching these fish. The top lake Merimbula is still producing salmon, trevally, a few tailor and odd dusky flathead, fishing a rising tide and using blade and squidtrex lures.

The game fishing looks like it might be over for us, the bluefin are off Sydney at the moment. There might be an odd straggler with some albacore for those that venture out, but the weather seems to be against those that try. 

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club species this month is Australian Salmon drawn at the end of July. The club is also getting ready for its annual Presentation night to be held at the Lake View Hotel on the 10th of August, starting at 6pm, names can be put on a sheet at the club rooms which is open every Friday night, opening at 6pm. Hope to see you there.

Fishy Fellow