Last weekend’s Eden Whale Festival was held in fine weather and was blessed with an abundance of whales on their return journey to Antarctica. We expect the last of them will be past by the end of November and then await their return in May 2018. The most common whale along our coast is the humpback and this is one of the few places in the world where we can see humpbacks’ lateral lunge feeding on baitfish like pilchards.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The port dredging at Eden is now well under way. Spoil is being taken to sea and dumped in waters of around 38 fathoms approximately 10km out from Twofold Bay at 150 degrees, 1 minute and 50 seconds East and 37 degrees 5 minutes South, the same area used when building the naval wharf. Anglers must not interfere with works but the sediment plume has certainly brought some large snapper & flathead onto the chew.
Flathead, both sand and tiger, are biting at all the local spots, Haycock, Tura beach White Rock, Kianinny and Nelsons. Size is a problem and we await warmer currents to bring in the annual run of larger fish. Try 25 fathoms at White Rock and Tura Headland.
Snapper and morwong can be targeted along our local reefs and respond to both bait and soft plastics. Off Long Point 22 fathoms can bring results. Good snapper are also reported from Lennards down to North head and the Boyds Tower reef. Over the full moon gummys are about and good catches reported from Long Point and Haycock. You generally need to anchor and berley to entice good gummys onto the bite. We expect the annual run of luderick to commence at the Merimbula Fishing Platform with best results from cabbage weed and artificial lures, early morning and evening.
In the estuaries tailor are active early morning and evening. Try trolling in the Pambula Broadwater and across the deeper holes in the cross channel using silver lures. All the estuaries are returning bream and trevally. Dusky flathead are responding to soft plastics as well as hard body lures. For beach fishing try Aslings Beach, Haycock and Tura Beach near Bournda Island for Australian salmon. Best bait remains whole pilchard set on a gang hook.
With a new format and a prize pool of some $7700 for more than 50 prizes, the Merimbula Big Game & Lakes Angling Club will be holding its annual Tackle World Tri-Estuary Challenge over the weekend of December 2-3. This fishing competition is catch and release only with fish length photographed on a “brag mat”. This event is open to all anglers. Entry forms from the Club, McKays Oysters and Tackle World Merimbula and Fyshwick.