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