Ocean Hut Compleat Angler weekly fishing report
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I would love to have all the ingredients and recipe to make some more weekends like the one just past, which was an absolute cracker.
Sun was shining, wind was nothing but a refreshing breeze, fish were biting, and to top it off, some exciting footy finals.
Imagine If there was some way we could get mother nature to whip up a few extra batches and pack them away in the freezer for a rainy day, now that would be heaven! Here is your weekly fishing report…
THE BIG BLUE: There was talk filtering through the radios of knowledge that albacore made an appearance over the weekend, but it seems to have been on the playing fields either side of this one, as no confirmation is yet to come from the cleaning tables.
The reefs of Montague, Mystery, Tuross, and Potato Point have continually produced mixed bags of snapper, mowies and other tasties, while the sand dwellers have been the draw card for a take home feed.
Reports of mostly small flathead out there at present, but in amongst those smaller schools are some cracking ones as well, so often a move into a different depth will be the key to the better quality fish.
The decision on deeper or shallower is always the captain’s call, but a well drilled deckie will try different baits and methods to extract these bigger fish.
One thing that has worked in the past is bigger baits, as to trying a soft plastic instead of bait.
For the die-hard snapper fans, it’s been the deeper water on the northern reefs creating the larger smiles.
Starting around the 50m mark and working outwards from there has produced the best results, as presently the deeper the water the bigger the hump. Squid has been at the top of the list for bait of choice, while pilchard, tuna fillet, and slimey have proven their worth also.
One trick to out smarting the bigger better reds is to fish very light, this means light leader around 20lb and a small size No 4 sinker running straight to the hook. Although this is harder to do in deeper water it is food for thought if the chance should arise.
ROCK AND BEACH: Small seas along with small tides put the rock and beach seen a little behind the eight ball over the weekend, but for the guru with sand running though their veins would have spent the darkened hours, along with the better of the rising tides to seek success.
There are some potentially good gutters around on some of our larger beaches at the moment, so as the swell rises a little this week, my guess is that it should make way for some better quality fishing.
If you like to think that the glass is always half full in times like these then the positive of calmer waters means you can get out to that rock/place/platform that always looks better, but usually is impossible during heavier seas
RIVERS, LAKES AND INLETS: It's shaping up nicely for the school holidays folks, as most of our estuaries are up and running, ready to go. I fished Wagonga Inlet on both days over the weekend and I can tell you they were miles apart as far as the success rate went.
Saturday would have gone down as one of the most memorable sessions I've ever had in Wagonga, while Sunday was a lot tougher fishing, although still very productive over the course of the day.
I can never work out how two days, identical weather wise, can fish totally different. I guess it’s one of those things we'll never work out in a million years, therefore it will always be called "Fishing", and never be changed to "Catching".
There is no real secret to fishing Wagonga inlet other than finding bait schools and working in and around them. There are times when you'll find bait, but nothing seems to be happening, my answer to that is plain and simple.
If there is a reasonable amount of bird life in the vicinity, then it’s probably worth the effort of some attention, it just becomes a waiting game. If there is no bird life anywhere to be seen, then going in search of another bait school where there is, will most likely be more productive.
Soft plastics, metals, vibes, and minnow lures all work at one time or another, and some days one lure will seemingly work better then all others in the box, but not necessarily the next. Whether using bait or lure, just keep it reasonably simular to the bait they are feeding on, and a banquet of species is there for the taking.
At present there are plenty of assorted sized tailor and salmon throughout the Inlet and will feed at various times through the day, you can only hope you’re in the right area when they do. Flathead have
Finally woken up and are looking for a feed, so your shot of a trophy croc is on the cards as we speak.
In the past two weeks I've managed two Lizards 70cm plus to the boat and herd of a few others, while each session we have managed half a dozen or more quality school fish in the 40s.
Other species such as Trevally, Bream, Flounder are also making an appearance under the feeding Salmon and Tailor, so there is always a chance of a good mixed assortment in Wagonga.
Going around the grounds, I've herd whispers that Corunna Lake is starting to fire up with a few flathead, so hopefully this will improve over the coming weeks and months.
One thing about Corunna Lake is that it seems to fish better when it’s closed, so for the sake of the fishing and a prawn season, let’s hope this will happen soon.
Mummaga Lake is producing a few flathead, tailor, and bream lately, so this should improve over the coming weeks as well. Water temp is around 15 degrees at present, and Guaranteed when it hits 18 -20 degrees, it will be Croc central and photos of 80cm plus fish will be flooding the Facebook pages.
Wallaga Lake is still waking up, I wouldn't go as far as saying it’s a waste of time, but is definitely a harder slog for a feed. It won't take long to change though as the big heater in the sky is improving its condition every day.
Hope you all have a fantastically awesome weeks fishing, cheers! - Darren “Dash” Bowater
Narooma Sport and Game Fishing Club news
NAROOMA Sport and Game Fishing Club members Les Waldock, Jan Hemmingsen, John Cathor and Phil Cannel headed out once again on Sunday to Tuross Head.
They caught two morwong and 16 decent-sized snapper.
John Cathor caught the catch of the day with a good size snapper all had a fantastic day out, the water almost like a millpond and 20 degrees.
Club member Bob Hirs who is currently on a solo trip up to Townsville caught a heap of barramundi at Lake Kentchen inland from Mackay.
Four were over the metre, the biggest went 1.25m, and a mangrove Jack went 51cm.
Seems he is having a good time, well done Bob, hope to hear more from your trip in the future.
As usual the Narooma Sport and Game Fishing Club rooms, situated on Riverside Drive near the Inlet restaurants and the boat ramp, is open for drinks and snacks from 4pm till 9pm every Friday.
Visitors are most welcome to come along and have a chat with the members, share fish stories (greatly enhanced after the first drink), make some new friends, cook a steak on the barbecue or maybe even some fish. - Jan Hemmingsen
Dalmeny Fishing Club holds presentation
THE Dalmeny fisho’s presentation night was recently held at Club Dalmeny and a great night was had by all, everyone dressed in their finest!
A big thank-you goes to our chef Adrian and staff for a delicious meal.
Huge thanks to our committee for all their hard work they put into our club to make our club run so smoothly.
Thanks to the sponsors: Truss Plus, Woodys Hardware, Joe Cootes, Russell Gotsalks, and the Breust, Rowley and Howick families.
Without these dedicated people our club would not be a success! – Kim