The flathead fishing outside has changed a bit over the last week. There is a cooler current still pushing up from the south on the bottom and now the warmer surface water coming from the north.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With that, there are oceanic toads speeding around mid-water biting off your rigs. Sometimes you will have to move spots just to get away from them.
However, the sand flathead are still there in depths of 30 to 50 meters. The tiger flathead have thinned out due to the warmer currents. Best areas are Bournda Island down to the southern side of Tura Heads and out from the Tathra boat ramp. Best baits are still fresh salmon and striped tuna.
The reefs have slowed up with the warmer water pushing down. There is a lot of small leatherjacket activity around the bottom for paternoster fishers. Float baiting with pilchards or fresh yellow tail fillets might get you a snapper before the leatherjackets do.
Trawling around the headlands lately, anglers are catching some quality bonito and salmon. Best lures are 100mm pink skirted lures or, if you're game, a 100mm bibbed Rapala lure with a blue back. Bonito love them if they won't take the skirted lures and there is a chance of a kingfish too.
Our beaches are still giving up a few salmon and some monster tailor I've heard. I understand there was a 700 plus millimeter tailor caught recently off Bournda beach on a lure, which is a great capture. I saw a school of salmon out behind the waves swimming north slowly last Friday. So, if there is a decent gutter along the beach or other beaches they could still be there. If you are a lure fishermen try a popper or a smaller stick bait instead of a heavy metal lure, that might just entice that larger fish.
The Merimbula lake is fishing well. With good numbers of trevally and bream being caught in the front lake using nippers for bait on the bottom of the run-out tide. The top lake is a bit slower, but flathead, trevally and tailor are being caught on the rising tide. Fishing around the channel entrance on the rising tide using pilchard bits, or whole white bait, or prawns will give you the best chance of catching a few. Tailor can also be caught trawling silver flashing lures, trawling at about 2 knots.
Trout fishing is slow with most fish being caught on dusk or after dark or at first light. The lakes are dropping with Eucumbene down to 58 per cent. The trout are still being caught on mudeyes but around the deeper banks now. Flyfishing, using a muddler fly after dark is a good option also.
The local game fishing is in full swing. The MBGLAC March Marlin competition has 14 entries already. Some anglers have already caught four marlin each. The water temperature is rising, between 23 and 24 degrees, and the marlin are around the shelf or 100 fathoms. The bait is thin so many are being caught trawling lures. There are dolphin fish around the FAD also. Local boat Moose Knuckle tagged two fish on Friday before the wind got up over the weekend.
