The Easter weekend fishing outside for flathead was not easy. The flathead were around, but only average sized fish up to 42cm with an occasional larger one.
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The flathead off Tura Head to Turingal Point were patchy in depths from 40-60 metres and the ocean currents made it hard to hold bottom. To also add to the difficulty, there were schools of oceanic toads, buzzing around, chopping off rigs.
Our reefs have really slowed up with not many snapper being caught, the odd morwong and very few other table fish. There are a few bonito being caught while float baiting for snapper over the reefy areas.
Bonito and salmon are also being caught trawling skirted lures and hard body lures about 100mm long. Trawling around the headlands at Long Point, Merimbula, Haycock Point, Tura Heads and along the rocks from Turingal Point to the wharf at Tathra. There is also a chance of a kingfish while chasing these fish this way.
The beaches at Tura, North Tura, Main Beach, all have salmon and tailor all along in the gutters on a rising tide. Lures and pilchards have been catching plenty of fish.
There is still bass being caught at Brogo Dam and some of our local rivers fishing early mornings and late afternoons. This is when they are biting best. Lake Eucumbene is also giving up a few trout using mudeyes and black crickets around the lake edges under bubble floats.
Estuaries at Merimbula, Pambula and Tathra are all still fishing well, with bream, trevally and dusky flathead still biting. The waters are very clear, so the fish are very easily spooked. Fresh nippers and pilchard pieces are the baits of choice.
Whiting are still being caught, but mainly on the beaches as well as the odd bream using beach worms for bait and a running sinker rig.
The game fishing has slowed up out of Merimbula. All boats are heading northwards to Tathra where they are able to catch bait and find a few marlin. The water is around 21 to 22.5 degrees and a lovely blue. The Merimbula FAD is holding good numbers of dolphin fish in many sizes. I have heard of fish up to 12kg caught over the Easter weekend.
This coming weekend, the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club is hosting the Grudge Match event, with the Eden Amateur Fishing Club and the Pambula Fishing Club. Fishing starts at 4pm Friday and concludes at noon on Sunday, with Merimbula providing lunch to those who have booked in.
