Member, Glen Rollason caught this nice mulloway, just before the rain, in the
Bega River. It measured 960mm.

The fishing over the last week has still been pretty good, and with the rain to dirty up the water, it should get better.

The outside flathead fishing is still fishing well, with good catches of sand and tiger flathead being caught off Long Point in 45 to 55 metres of water and inside the Haycock reef system in depths from 25 to 30 metres.  Fish to 40 centimetres are consistently being caught.  There is also an odd gummy shark and flying gurnard in the mix.  I haven’t had any reports from Tura Heads, but would think if the fish are off Long Point, they would be off Tura as well.

The local reefs are still producing snapper, morwong, nannygai and a quantity of other reef species.  The snapper are ranging in size from 30 to 55 centimetres with odd larger fish occasionally.  I have had reports from North and south Head at Eden, Leonards Island and Haycock reefs.  Over the weekend prior to the rain and swell, anglers were drifting, burleying with float baits which worked a treat.  Casting plastics is also producing a few.

The salmon have been on the bite off the Merimbula Wharf.  There is a also a good patch of salmon and tailor on Main Beach, Merimbula.  They have been going into the lake overnight, so bait fishing and lures early in the morning or late afternoon might catch a fish or two off Mitchies Beach.  The salmon are very skittish once in the lake, but thirteen seals in the lake can do that to any fish.  Other beaches giving up a few salmon are North Tura Beach and Tura Beach.

The lake fishing has slowed up considerably.  After the rain, the lakes have cooled down in water temperature to around 15 degrees.  The Merimbula front lake is struggling with the amount of seals looking for a feed and even with the dirty water on the weekend, the fish were very hard to find.  The Top Lake has a few mulloway, salmon and tailor around the edges and the bream and dusky flathead are hard to find.  With the temperature low, they look like they have bunkered down for winter.  The Bega River at Tathra still has a few bream, perch and odd mulloway biting at the moment and the water is only 13 degrees up there.  Pambula River has some salmon and tailor in the system currently.  

There is nothing to report on any game fishing through the amateur boats, but some of the longliners are currently working off Merimbula, fishing between 25 to 30 nautical miles out.  So, if the weather allows, maybe some boats may get out for a look.

The Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club rooms are open at 6pm this Friday.  We love to see new faces down there.  We have raffles with three meat trays, supported by Goodall’s Butchers, a coffee and cake voucher from the Bar Beach Kiosk, wine and chocolates.  Also, fishing reports and of course plenty of mixed drinks.

Till next week.

Fishy Fellow