Fishing Report week 6, February 9, 2025

 Lucas Holley, Dad and Riley Holley with a couple of bream they caught on the weekend in the Merimbula front lake using nippers as bait.

The outside flathead bite is still going very well with good catches of sand and tiger flathead being caught off the Tathra Pub, back to Turingal Point, and Bournda Island back to Tura Beach Drive.  The best depth is around that 40 to 45 metres, with the fish sizes being 40 to 55 centimetres.  There are still odd flying gurnard and very occasional small gummy sharks.  There are also schools of frigate mackerel being seen on the surface around Tura Heads and in the Bournda Island bay.  So, trolling some small stripey lures or saltwater flies might catch you some great flathead bait.

Our reefs are still fishing well from reports.  Not many large snapper, but reasonable numbers of pan size snapper, morwong, some quality nannygai and a mixed bag of sargent bakers, red rock cod and leatherjackets.  Baits of choice are fresh squid, pilchards and tuna strips (bonito and frigate mackerel).  Patternoster rigs and float baiting are the preferred rigs.

The beach fishing for salmon has been excellent.  There are plenty of large salmon being caught to 60 centimetres in length off Tathra, Tura, Bournda beaches and south at Haycock Beach.  The best baits are pilchards and blue bait.  Lures are also catching plenty.  Use stick baits and weighted lures in that 30 to 40 gram size.  There are also schools of salmon hanging around the headlands at Tura Point, Long Point, Haycock Point and at the Merimbula Wharf.

The lake fishing, after all the rain we have had over the weekend and what is forecast for the new week, is going to be on fire.  All the fresh water run off will force all the lake species like bream, blackfish, trevally, dusky flathead, whiting and tailor into the fronts of all the estuaries, towards the ocean entrances, looking for the saltier water.  Bait is the preferred method to fish with baits like nippers, tuna pieces and even garden worms will catch fish.  All the estuary systems will be affected the same.

The game fishing over the weekend was great.  Tathra Amateur Fishing Club held its first marlin competition on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The marlin bit very well on Friday north of Tathra with reports of 29 marlin between 14 boats.  On Saturday, around 20 marlin were caught and then, due to the weather decline, there were fish caught Sunday morning, but many boats stayed home.  I also heard reports of dolphin fish and sharks being caught.  Reports of the ocean currents that were getting stronger were making the fishing conditions not so good.  The water temperature on the shelf is around 23 degrees celsius with the current running to the south.  Bait was patchy early and it came to the surface at low tide in the middle of the day with the feeding marlin.  The forecast for the next week is not the best, but that water will get closer to the Merimbula grounds.

Coming events for the MBGLAC are the:  

Dusky Challenge, February 15th and 16th

Kids Introduction to Game fishing workshop February 23rd 

Brogo Big Bass, February 28th and March 1st and 2nd

March Marlin, March 1st to 31st 

Check out the MBGLAC website at www.mbglac.com.au for details.  The club rooms are open next Friday night from 5.30pm for registration for the Dusky Challenge.  The bar will be open also.  Come on down, even if you are not planning on fishing and enjoy a bevvy, support our raffles sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and Bar Beach Kiosk.  Have a chat with the locals and catch up on the week’s fishing reports.  Everyone is welcome.  

Hope to see you there.

Fishy Fellow

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

 Anglers are only getting a couple of fishable days outside each week.

Alex Bell, showing off a nice estuary perch caught in a local estuary over the holidays.

The wind is still the controlling factor to our outside fishing.  Anglers are only getting a couple of fishable days outside each week.  Over the Australia Day weekend the weather was great for the most part.  The outside flathead were being caught in depths from 30 to 55 metres, the better catches were still in that 40 metre depth.  The sand and tiger flathead are ranging from 40 to over 50 centimetres.  There are also a few flying gurnard and gummy sharks in the mix.

The reefs have been still producing a mixed bag of species including morwong, nannygai and leatherjackets.  The snapper are on the small side, with many undersize.  There have been a few bonito caught over the reefy areas off Long Point and Haycock, trolling bibbed lures around 100 to 150mm long, targeting the headlands and structure points will hopefully find a couple.  You might find a few salmon also.

The surf fishing has been good.  There have been good numbers of salmon being caught on most beaches from Tathra river mouth down to the Pinnacles.  There was a very large school on Tura Beach last week for a few days, but I heard they moved off Long Point, but were hugging the rocks and spread over 500 metres around the point over the Australia Day weekend.  There have also been a couple of mulloway caught along the Tathra Beach.  Whole pilchards as bait and 25 gram lures are catching these fish.

Our lakes are still producing a good feed of bream, whiting, blackfish, dusky flathead and tailor.  The Merimbula front lake, Bega River at Tathra and Pambula Lake are all worth a go at the moment.  Fresh nippers are the best bait, but some small live prawns will be just as good.  With that the prawns are running this week, so charge your lights up and as soon as it’s dark, it’s time.

The game fishing is happening but the weather is not playing the game for us.  Saturday was a good day and a few local boats ventured out.  The reports I received were that there was good quantities of bait to the south of the Merimbula Canyons.  It was on the shelf, so that 100 fathom line.  Odd marlin came up to trolled lures, but they weren’t keen and disappeared.  The water is around 22 degrees and the current is slow.  At Bermagui over the weekend, there were quite a lot of marlin tagged, dolphin fish caught and 2 yellowfin tuna, around 40 kg.  These fish were Saturday’s fish caught in the Blue Water Classic fishing competition, so that water is on the way down to us.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open every Friday night, opening at 6pm.  Come on down to the club rooms at Spencer Park, Merimbula and meet the locals.  Support our weekly raffle, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and Bar Beach Kiosk, catch up on the week’s fishing reports and enjoy a cold beverage with beautiful views over the lake.  Information is now available on our website and on our socials about upcoming events. The Dusky Challenge in February and the members social event, Brogo Big Bass, the weekend at the end of February, beginning of March.  Check out www.mbglac.com.au for details, or become a member of the club.  

See you at the club.

Fishy Fellow

After a week of large, unsettled seas and not much fishing out at sea

On holidays in Merimbula, Manny caught this lovely dusky flathead fishing on the MBGLAC’s jetty at Spencer Park on the weekend.

After a week of large, unsettled seas and not much fishing out at sea, with winds stopping most people from even fishing in the estuaries, this week the weather is looking pretty good for most of the week.

The ocean flathead on Monday last week, before the weather came in, was very good.  The sand and tiger flathead were in good numbers in 40 metres of water, from Tura Heads back to Long Point.  Flathead to 50 centimetres were a consistent capture as well as the odd gummy shark.  The water temperature inshore is around 22 degrees on the surface and it’s looking like a cooler current is coming around Green Cape, around 19 degrees underneath.  So, there might be a chance of a few more gummy sharks over this week.

The reefs also fished okay on Monday with a few pan sized snapper, morwong, nannygai and a selection of other reef species.  The squid also turned up in numbers around Haycock Point, Tura Heads and Long Point.

The beach fishing improved last week with the increased seas.  Catches of salmon and tailor were caught at Quandolo and Haycock beaches and Tathra Beach near the river mouth.  They were catching salmon and an occasional mulloway.  The best baits were pilchards and surf poppers.

The estuaries are still fishing well.  The Merimbula front lake has good numbers of bream, dusky flathead, blackfish and whiting.  The cover photo of Manny, who caught that dusky flathead, also caught a bream off the Spencer Park jetty.  The Top Lake at Merimbula has good numbers of dusky flathead, tailor, trevally and mulloway being caught on the rising tide.  The Bega River at Tathra has good numbers of bream being caught around the bridge.  Mulloway and a few dusky flathead and estuary perch are being caught around the rock walls up the river system.

There is nothing to report on the game fishing scene due to the bad weather of late, but the water temperature is perfect on the shelf, so hopefully, this week’s weather will allow the boats to get back out to fish.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open every Friday night from 6pm.  Come on down and enjoy a cold beverage, support our weekly raffles sponsored by Goodall’s Butchers and our new sponsor, Bar Beach Kiosk.  Thanks guys.  Catch up on the week’s fishing reports and meet the locals.  Lookout for club members who will be cooking up a storm again on Australia Day, 26th January in Spencer Park where you can grab a sausage sanga, Zooper Dooper or cold drink.  It is also your last chance to grab your tickets in our Monster Raffle that will be drawn on 2nd February at 3.30pm at the club.  There are great prizes to be won, the Hobie kayak, Merida Mountain Track bike, Engel fridge/freezer and Weber Premium Baby Q.  Upcoming events being run by the club include the Dusky Challenge, February 15th and 16th, Brogo Big Bass social event for members, 28th Feb to March 2nd,  and Family Game fishing workshop 23rd February. Check out the details for these events and more on our website at www.mbglac.com.au 

Till next week. 

Fishy Fellow

Fishing over the last week has been pretty good but the weather for outside fishing has been unsettled.

Some of the Merimbula Club members hard at work selling Monster Raffle tickets at the Pambula Market on Sunday.  Raffle to be drawn on February 2nd at 3pm in the MBGLAC clubrooms at Spencer Park.

Fishing over the last week has been pretty good but the weather for outside fishing has been unsettled.  The southerly winds and the northerly ocean currents have left the ocean very unsettled and now the wind is back to the north east, the sea is still very joggle-y.  However, the boats are still heading out into the inshore fishing grounds.  The sand and tiger flathead have been biting off Bournda Island back to Long Point.  The best depths have been 30 metres out to 45 metres with the flathead ranging around 38 to 42 centimetres.  Fresh fish baits are best to catch these fish.  Baits like slimy mackerel, salmon, yellowtail and mullet are good choices.  There is also a chance of catching an occasional flying gurnard and an odd gummy shark if you’re lucky.  The water inshore is a bit warm for these species, with it hovering around 21 degrees Celsius.

The reefs have been a bit choppy with the unsettled weather, but those that are trying have been catching a few pan sized snapper and morwong and a mixed bag of nannygai, leatherjackets and other reef species.  I also heard of a few squid being caught around the Haycock Point area.  Pilchards and fresh squid have been the stand out baits on the reefs.

The surf fishing has been a bit quiet over the last week, but I did hear of a small school of salmon up the northern end of Tura Beach.  I also heard of a few whiting being caught on Main Beach, Merimbula and also the odd legal length sand flathead being caught in the gutters on the rising tide.  There is a bit of weed out the back of some of the gutters, so check it out before setting up.  The whiting are eating beach worms and the flathead are eating white bait.

The Merimbula Lake is fishing very well with a lot of bream, trevally and whiting in the channels around 35 centimetres long.  The Top Lake has tailor, dusky flathead and trevally being caught around the weed edges.  There has also been good numbers of blue swimmer crabs being caught in the Top Lake.  Pambula Lake is also fishing well with dusky flathead, bream, whiting and trevally being caught.  The Bega River at Tathra has dusky flathead, whiting, mulloway and a few estuary perch being caught.  Nippers as bait is a good choice at the moment.  With all the boat movement and clear water in the estuary systems, fish are a bit spooky.  I fished the Short Point back lake one morning last week for 5 dusky flathead averaging 40 centimetres and one bream around 30 centimetres.  It is somewhere to escape the north east winds to have a fish.

The game fishing looks pretty good out wide at the moment when the conditions allow.  The water temperature is around 23 degrees.  There is a bit of current and I heard the bait is pretty thin.  Miss Behavin tagged 1 striped marlin early in the week, but the weather is the controlling factor at the moment.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Club room is open every Friday night, opening at 6pm.  Come on down and enjoy a cold bevvy, catch up on the week’s fishing reports from fellow fishos and support the weekly meat raffle, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers.  Everyone is welcome.  Hope to see you there.

Fishy Fellow

Well, here we are in 2025 and the fishing is great on most fronts.

Lachlan Wilkins with a nice dusky flathead caught in the Merimbula Top Lake over the weekend.

Well, here we are in 2025 and the fishing is great on most fronts, but the constant windy conditions is the only dampener.  So, an early start and early home is in order.

The outside flathead fishing is still very good, but it can be patchy.  The flathead this week have been caught off Bournda Island, Tura Heads and off Tura Beach.  They’re biting in a variety of depths, ranging from 30 metres, out to 50 metres.  I’ve had good reports from 40 metres just north of Tura Heads with fish averaging 40 centimetres in length.  I also got a report of a great catch of fish coming from 30 metres, off Bournda Beach and those fish were up to 45 centimetres in length.  There has also been plenty of slimy mackerel schools rippling off the surface in the flathead grounds which is great bait fresh if you can catch a few.

The reefs have still been fishing pretty well and with the big high tides, the snapper have been biting very well with fish to 40 plus centimetres.  There are also morwong and an array of other reef species being caught.  Fresh bait is best, so if you can troll a salmon up from around a headland or catch some squid prior to fishing, it should give you the advantage.

The surf fishing is a bit slower.  There are still salmon patrolling the beaches, but not the big schools like we had.  The lack of waves on some beaches is not helping things, but fishing with some beach worms using a running sinker rig, with a number 4 long shanked hook, you have a good chance of catching whiting, bream and still salmon.  Fish in the gutters at the start of the rising tide in the early mornings and at dusk.  Also try beside the rocks and headland ends of the beaches.

The lakes and estuaries are still producing good numbers of fish, with trevally, bream, whiting, dusky flathead, blackfish and the odd jewfish being caught in Pambula Lake and River, Merimbula front and Top Lake and Tathra’s Bega River.  Lures and baits such as nippers are your best chance of catching a feed.  For lures you’ll need a 3/8 head with a 2/0 or 3/0 hook and try some 80mm paddle tails in black/silver, black/gold or plastics with white bellies.

The game fishing has been very good out wide on the shelf.  Unfortunately the wind has made it difficult for our local boats to get out there.  The water temperature is around that 22 degree mark and the best areas are just north of Merimbula to North of Tathra.  Bait has been patchy but trolling from 70 fathoms with a spread of lures and bait jigs ready in case you cross paths with some bait down below is the way to go. 

The weather is the enemy, not giving many fishable days per week. The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is open every Friday night, opening at 6pm.  Come on down and catch up on the week’s fishing reports, support our raffle, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers, enjoy a cold bevvy and chat with the locals.  This month’s monthly species is Ocean Flathead.

Our next club event is the Dusky Challenge on February 15th and 16th.  Keep an eye out for our members selling the Monster Raffle tickets at Woolworths Tura Beach on Wednesday and Friday this week.  We appreciate your support with our major fundraiser for the year.  Till next week.

Fishy Fellow