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 20, 2014
Before I fill you in on the what?, where?, and how?, of the fishing world, in and around this perfect paradise, some of us are lucky enough to call home, can I just say on behalf of every NSW rugby league supporter, a massive congratulations to the mighty cockroach's, finally bringing home the bacon after eight long years of falling short of rugby leagues greatest prize.
If you stop to think for a moment, most mad keen junior rugby league grommets, that look up to these players, one day hoping to fill their shoes, have never seen a NSW, State of Origin series win, never seen their idols holding the shield, symbolizing the premier state, in the battle of the best Australia has to offer.
Now the drought has finally broken, and the covers have been lifted, all the Jnr Rugby League grommets playing throughout NSW have belief, hope, and reason to look forward to one day living the dream, just as their idols lived on Wednesday night.
Here is your weekend fishing report:
THE BIG BLUE: Excitement has hit the camp as whispers of big bluefin, yellowfin and albacore tuna, have crossed most canyon chasers lips.
Last week the Bermagui and Eden fishing co-op's were inundated with long-liners from far and wide, all wanting to unload their fruits of success, where big bluefin of 100kg or more, yellowfin, albacore, striped marlin, broadbill, and mako sharks, all filled the bins, that have now been processed and disbursed throughout the local, Sydney, and export markets.
Most of the commercial fleet have been concentrating their efforts between Bermagui Canyon's to around 100km off green cape near Eden, as that’s where the deviating water temperatures collide, making it ideal for the majority of these species to be.
Yes it is a long way out, and one could say out of reach for most trailer boats, so you'll need to become mates with someone with a larger, more ideal vessel, or with a bit of luck, as the colder water pushes up the coast, the warmer water will be pushed in creating the perfect edge around the shelf making it a more realistic venture for the smaller recreational enthusiasts.
Moving in a little closer to the Hilton Hotel for seals, it seems their annual visitors in the shape of kingfish maybe slowly checking out, as most commercial, charter and recreational vessels have struggled to find more than the odd one or two.
A couple of professionally experienced anglers have mentioned of sounding them up on their LED screens, but were unable to get any result, even after exhausting every method available.
I'm not going to say it's a waste of time pursuing these shoulder dislocating, freight trains, but one must be thinking we are closer to the end of the season, then we are the start.
On the upside, the Island is still housing plenty of bonito, which are known to be receptive to trolled lures, as well as a well-presented live bait meant for a kingfish.
Skirted and diving lures will generally work best on theses underrated, sometimes disregarded tuna species, and If you’re on the negative team and disagree, and you've never tried bonito "smoked", then wash your mouth out with soap, you have no idea what you've been missing, I have personally tried most of our tuna species smoked, and although most are pretty good, I have no hesitation giving bonito the gold medal.
Although the island is producing some reasonable snapper, mowies and other reef dwellers around the usual reefs, Potato Point has won on preferences, for the place to go for a bottom bash, as some cracking snapper up to 4kg have hit the deck, while the consistent 1-2kg fish have made up the numbers.
Mowies, pigfish, and other know reefies have all played their part in the take home platter, with the most productive time being around the tide change.
Squid, tuna fillet, and pillies lead the charge as the best all round bait to use, while those "who dare wins", by sending down a larger bait such as whole sqiud, slimey, yakka, and the likes, have found it’s the key to unlocking the door to the bigger fish.
Another very productive, hardly ever used method (locally) is to fish for snapper with plastics, providing the current isn't too strong, than this method is deadly on the big reds, from as shallow as 5m to around 50m plastics work a treat, and are surprisingly easy to use.
The weapon needed for this style of fishing is a 7-7'6'' graphite rod, a 3000-6000 size spinning reel loaded up with 15-30lb braid, joined at the end with about two meters of 20lb fluorocarbon leader, a suitable weighted jig-head tied to the business end (depending on depth, remembering the lighter you can possibly fish to the conditions, being the best choice. ), then of course a 4-7" plastic resembling a known food source to the area and species in which you are targeting.
An example of the best type of lure to use, would be one that resembles a baitfish, squid, or prawn, in shape and colour, and it pays to take into account what time of year it is and what food source is available at the time.
Now that we have the arsenal sorted, lets run through a couple of simple but effective methods. The most common method is to find your patch of potential reef, whether shallow or deep, cast as far as possible up current, send the bail arm home, take an extra firm grip and hang on!
Yes!, it’s that simple, for in most cases if there are Snapper around and on the chew, your lure wont even reach the bottom, before a big red will be on to it, setting sail for the horizon, leaving you in a broken state if you’re not ready for it.
Another method you can try is anchoring, then after starting a burley trail, simply cast your lure out so it will sink into the burley trail, wind up the slack put your rod firmly into a rod holder, and let the motion of the boat work your lure in amongst the burley trail.
If planning to try option two, remember the more horizontal your rod is to the water, the better this method will work.
#LATE MAIL# The boys from Charter Fish Narooma found some small yellowfin tuna, around the 1000ftm line (second drop off) on Thursday, between Tuross and Bermagui.
Saturday and Sunday look like good days to travel the distance and source these golden barrels, with trolling assorted diving and skirted lures the best option to find a school. If a sizeable fish is located then starting a cube trail could be another great option.
ROCK AND BEACH: Salmon, salmon, and more salmon, if salmon is your thing then it’s time to hit the beaches, lures or bait doesn't seem to matter, they are in big numbers and fussy doesn't enter their vocabulary.
If I had to choose my favourite rig on both sides of the fence, then for the bait, "sit and wait" method, it would be the "trusty old", paternoster rig with a surf popper on the top, and a gang or single hook on the bottom, with either pilchards or beach worms as bait.
If I was feeling energetic and needed a adrenalin fix, then it would be lures all the way. There are thousands of lure possibilities to choose from, but in all honesty you can’t go past a 20-40grm metal slug, they were catching fish back when "Jesus" played halfback for "Bethlehem", and they are still catching fish today.
Best places to get amongst these hard pulling, acrobatic fun barrels, would be Potato Point, Brou/Dalmeny, Corunna, and Tilba beaches. With this weekend bringing our shortest day of the year on Saturday, I would think the late afternoon rise to the top of the tide would be the cream on your cake.
The bonus of chasing salmon at present, is that there are a few tailor around as well so a mixed bag is up for the taking, and if you’re able to use live beach worms then there is also a chance for a bream, trevally, or still the odd whiting.
Rock hoppers are enjoying the winter delights in the shape of drummer, bream and grouper, with the washes around headlands such as Mystery Bay, Corunna, Potato Point, Narooma Golf Course, and Dalmeny, being the best places to succeed. This type of fishing generally gets best results with bait, and if you have mullet gut, cunjevoi, red crabs, or prawns, then you’re in for a real show.
LAKES, RIVERS AND INLETS: If there is one thing about winter, it would definitely be that it sorts the "men from the boys", the "wannabes from doers", and the "crazy from the sane", for only the true die-hard anglers dare brave the brisk, cold and chilly days this time of year.
You can't blame those who wish to stay in a nice warm bed, dreaming about the fish they could of caught, cause that just leaves more spots for the rest of us to enjoy. Yes folks, the fishing definitely does slow this time of year, but if you concentrate your efforts around a couple of species, such as bream, snapper, trevally, tailor and salmon, then you may well be in for a pleasant surprise.
Due to the traffic becoming less and less on most of our inland waterways, it's making it hard to give a positive report on what’s happening around the grounds, unfortunately I can only go by the feedback I receive, so I apologize if I miss out on your favourite fishing hole.
One inlet I know is fishing well, and if you follow some simple rules, then there is a dynamo session waiting for you.
At present Wagonga is full of small bait schools, throughout the main body, as well as Barlows, and Forsters Bay. Once a reasonably sized bait school is found on the big screen, and it looks active, then this will be your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, as snapper, bream, trevally, and eventually salmon will haunt these schools, and when they decide to chew, it will be a smorgasbord of fun, as most of these winter tasties will put up a good fight on light gear.
Best time of day to concentrate your efforts, would around a tide change, and Almanac times written below, and it seems that soft plastics, small vibes, and metals, resembling the bait is the best way to go. These schools move around fairly quickly, so to have success, you will need to stay with it, especially when it comes to the salmon, as by the time you get one in the school could be a hundred or more meters away.
Mummaga Lake is fishing well for a few snapper, but it’s the bait gurus having all the fun. Some nice fresh squid, stripey, or prawns, fished weightless is the way to go, but if you don’t mind getting chilly feet, then live poddies or nippers would be dynamite. Anchoring and delivering a light burley trail can only increase your success rate here.
Corunna Lake is still producing some sized flathead, but it's a tough, slow slog, to get any satisfying results. Lures are winning the battle in the mud, with the darker colours topping the charts. If you like a challenge then this is your lake, and be prepared to move around until a patch is found.
Hope you all have a fantastically awesome weekends fishing! Cheers, Dash!
TIDES:
Friday: High 2:45pm 1.54m
Low 8:50pm 0.64m
Saturday: High 2:55am 1.48m
3:45pm 1.59m
Low 9:16am 0.47m
10:03pm 0.63m
Sunday: High 4:00am 1.41m
4:42pm 1.65m
Low 10:08am 0.50m
11:12pm 0.59m
ALMANAC:
Moon phase is last quarter on the 20th, heading towards the last crescent on Tuesday, 24th.
Winter solstice (shortest day) is on Saturday, 21st.
BEST TIMES:
Friday: 5:26pm
Saturday: 5:51am, 6:16pm
Sunday: 6:41am, 7:05pm
For minor times just add 6 hours.