WE at the Narooma News and SE Fish Files are pleased to bring you the Ocean Hut Compleat Angler fishing report for the Far South Coast, NSW.
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The expert and detailed fishing report is written by Narooma's own Darren “Dash” Bowater and is well worth a read with not only what is biting but some great tips too…
It is published on the Ocean Hut Compleat Angler Facebook page at the end of each week – please go to the page, “like” it and stay tuned with all the latest fishing reports and competitions.
Now over to Dash and see you at the Ocean Hut in Narooma soon! - The fishing editor Stan Gorton
Ocean Hut Compleat Angler fishing report – June 13, 2014
Looking at this weekend on paper, "cold and wet", is the first thing that comes to mind, followed by "full moon", "king tides", and an attractive Almanac, which I think far outweigh the chilling drips and drops, that are predicted to spoil our weekend.
A "reel" expert will "tackle" anything, and those who possess a bit of "ticker", a raincoat and a pair of thermals, will just about have any place they desire to fish, all to themselves, as most places will be displaying vacant signs, and come Monday when you return to work, as your work mates are about to tell you how "mad", "nutz", "bonkers" and "crazy" you were for doing so, just show them the photos of your successes, followed by the words "this is living".
I must tell you folks, this weekend won’t be for the faint hearted, and those who are a little superstitious, then you might as well lock the doors, draw the curtains and hide under the blankets, for "Friday the 13th", a "full moon" and heaven's chilly waters, will be too much to bare. Yep! this weekend is perfectly designed for the mad keen fisho, who shrugs off bad weather and superstition, like dinner at the "in-laws" on "state of origin" night. Here is your weekend report!
THE BIG BLUE: Last weekend was an awesome long weekend across the big blue, especially being for the month of June, as most commercial, charter, and recreational boats that ventured to the rock, got to enjoy the fruits of Montague, where kingfish and bonito where plentiful, as to snapper and other reef dwellers, well at least when the leatherjackets could be avoided.
The odd boat that ventured out into the open paddock found the temperature was now par with the Island, amazingly, for this time of year, still at around 20 degrees, making the possibility of a yellowfin tuna more realistic. "The Sheriff", was one boat that went the golden mile last Sunday, managing to find a 10kg model, maybe only a "jellybean", but still a yellowfin.
Others that ran the gauntlet, traveling up north to Potato Point and beyond, found some quality snapper, mowies, and some cracking sized pig fish, but unfortunately no kings.
As the week has progressed the kings have slowed a little at the big rock, but the live bait has been much easier to get compared to last week, you know the old saying "when the bait is tough, "the fish are easy", and when the "bait is easy", "the fish are tough".
This week has also seen the opposite of the previous, in that the early bird gets the fish, and anyone that slept in, should have stayed there, where last week it was the mid-morning tide change, before anything would happen. It’s hard to work out and you never know when these iconic fish will chew next, but one thing for sure, is when they do decide, its live bait and Jigs that are doing most of the damage.
On Thursday some customers travelled north to Potato Point, and found that although the Snapper were hard to come by, the mowies and pig fish were in good numbers and size, with stripey tuna and prawns being the bait of choice. They also mentioned that occasionally they drifted across a patch of the buck-toothed, tackle terrorists, which created some frustration, but a short shift in location seem to improve the situation.
The same rule applied for the desert drifters, for those who found a clear path to solid sand, undisturbed by the "yella terra's", managed some quality Flathead for the table, with squid and stripey being the pick of the baits.
BEACH AND ROCK: This arena is normally in its peak around this time of year, with salmon, tailor, bream, drummer, luderick and trevally all making up the mix, but this year is exceptionally better than the "norm", due to the temperature of the water being so warm, all these species plus others that you would not normally hear about this time of year.
Whoever herd of whiting in the middle of June ?, "the gods must be crazy", I can’t ever remember anyone coming into the shop in the middle of June, talking about success with whiting, not here, and defiantly not in June.
If it’s due to the fact that the water is still around 20 degrees along our golden sands, then make the most of it while they are still here I say, grab yourself some live beach worms and get into them before the budget cuts take hold, and the whiting are dropped from our benefits.
If you feel like a bit of a challenge over the weekend, then there are some solid salmon, up around the 5-6lb mark being caught at present, and when found, you’re likely to get them in big numbers as well. The challenge part, is to put away the "stump pulling", 12’0" beach outfit, and swap it for a light 7-9'0" spin outfit. ‘
Grab some 25-30grm metal slugs, then cast them into the salmon infested gutter and "hang on"!, making sure your drag is set firm, but light enough it won't snap under a sudden blistering run and jump pressure. Some great places to try this theory would be Brou/Dalmeny, Tilba, Corunna, and 1080.
With the full moon and king tides during the night this weekend, one would be assuming it to be the perfect time to upgrade to some semi- full on game fishing gear and tackle, head to one of the previously mentioned beaches, hurl out a whole mullet, stripey, or squid, imbed yourself deep in the sand, making sure there is a tree, rock, car, or bridge behind you so you can tie your safety harness to it, then sit and wait, looking like "Quint" ( Robert Shaw) from the movie Jaws.
There has been some "big" fish cruising these beaches of a night lately, and many that have tried, have failed. So if you wish to be successful in the ultimate challenge from the sands, then make sure you have suitable gear to handle the job, best way I can describe it is, "don't take a knife to a gun fight".
For the rock hoppers it’s a great time of year to be chasing bream, drummer, grouper and luderick, so with the monster tides and overcast conditions this weekend, it should make it perfect conditions for finding a few of these tasty delights. If it was me I would have mullet gut and cunjevoi at the top of my, "baits to use" list, and places like Glasshouse rocks, southern side of Narooma bar, Dalmeny Headland, Fullers, and Mystery Bay, will be the best spots to try.
RIVERS, LAKES AND INLETS: The estuaries are starting to slow a little due to the water cooling, but defiantly still worth the effort.
EFFORT being the underlined word here, for as the fishing slows and becomes tougher, more effort is required to succeed. Just like in a game of footy, it’s all the 1%'s, or extra efforts that are made that make it a victory. An example of extra effort in the lure tossing sector, can be such things as a well presented lure suitable for the species you wish to target, a lure that will resemble / imitate the live food that lives with in the area, a scent/ attractant to enhance the lure, longer, lighter fluorocarbon leaders, especially in the clear shallower water.
Making sure the hook(s) and trebles are needle sharp, so even the most subtle take will be rewarded. Keeping a close eye on the braid lying across the water, watching for any sudden twitching movement that may indicate a take, and probably the most important 1%er in the artificial world is the speed in which you retrieve your lure. If there is one thing to keep in mind when retrieving, it’s that there is no such thing as to slow! but there is definitely such thing as too fast!
For the bait vigilantes, such things as live or fresh bait, over easy, convenient frozen bait will make a huge difference, using the right bait in the right location (matching the hatch so to speak), others like the right rig for the species you wish to target, lighter, longer leaders, and ultra-sharp hooks. Burley is another 1%er that can make the difference between a good day, or an awesome day on the water, as there is no such things as a bad day.
A quick run around the stables to give some possible ideas of what and where, Tuross is offering a few bream, flathead, luderick, with the odd tailor and trevally, and it’s around 4 ways, up to Bumbo creek being the pick of the places to concentrate your efforts.
Mummaga Lake has produced a few flathead, bream and snapper, with live nippers doing most of the damage. Brou Lake has a few bream down the front for the persistent angler, as its all quality, not quantity. Live bait would be the secret weapon here as the lords of the fly have struggled, as to the lure bombers.
Wagonga Inlet is hovering around the 16 degrees, which is warmer than most, so one would assume a reasonable amount of action still available here. Bream, luderick, and mullet are still haunting the front half, while the main body has tons of bait throughout, making it the go to place for some assorted action.
Spoke to a couple of local lads that hit Wagonga on Thursday, saying most of the action was around the bait schools in the guts, where they managed a few bream, legal sized snapper, and the odd flathead. Although they seen the big salmon terrorizing these bait schools, were unable to put the hooks into any. Corunna Lake is producing some Flathead for those that put the effort in, meaning for every 3 fish only 1 will be of legal size, making you put in the big hours to earn a feed.
Wallaga Lake is keeping its punters satisfied with a few flathead and bream, mainly up the back half, while the front half has assorted species throughout, with the luderick creating most of the attraction around the bridge.
Hope you all have fantastically awesome weekends fishing! - cheers Dash!
TIDES:
Friday: Low 1:51pm 0.41m
High 8:24pm 2.01m (King tide)
Saturday Low 3:02am 0.24m
2:42pm 0.41m
High 9:00am 1.50m
9:14pm 2.04m (king tide)
Sunday Low 3:53am 0.21m
3:35pm 0.42m
High 9:55am 1.51m
10:04pm 2.02m (king tide)
ALMANAC:
Full moon on Friday, 13th, as well we have 3 King tides this weekend
BEST TIMES:
Friday: 11:26pm
Saturday: 11:56am
Sunday: 12:27am, 12:57pm
For minor times just add 6 hours to the times above.