THE water temperature has now risen into the 19.5 -20c range offshore around Montague Island, and up to around 21.5 over the shelf, so a few fishers have been checking their favourite kingfish and tuna spots.
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Unfortunately the kingfish chasers have been disappointed with only rat (undersize) kings, however some of the tuna crews have been rewarded with yellowfin tuna up to 25kg, small albacore and the occasional dolphinfish up to 10kg.
Kenny and John aboard “Its Magic” hosted a tuna fishing trip for local Gavin Mitchell on Sunday. Gavin bagged an 8kg yellowfin on 10kg line after a battle over the shelf in water that Kenny described as “the best colour for years”.
This battle required some careful boat manoeuvring by Kenny before the fish was safely aboard. This was a fantastic achievement for Gavin who has been sent more than his share of challenges (you’re a legend Gav). Kenny and John’s next goal is to guide Gavin onto his first marlin in the coming months.
Reef fishing has been hot and cold this week: Friday saw some great catches of snapper, morwong and flathead on and near all local reefs between Bermagui and Tuross Head: by Saturday and Sunday things had started to quieten on the reefs, with many fishers changing tactics to chase some very nice sand flathead in the 30-40 metre depths.
Benny and Nick aboard “Playstation” found the perfect conditions on Friday for some deep water soft plastic action landing snapper up to 3.5kg wide of Tuross Head on pink Gulp plastics.
If you are thinking about taking the challenge of using soft plastic lures, they are constantly being improved so for more details see the staff at one of the local tackle shops and learn from their experience and detailed tackle knowledge.
Mako sharks have been a real bonus to fishers chasing snapper and flathead, with the mako coming to check out berley buckets. A small mako was also seen (and photographed) just inside a local inlet last week. Remember that if you catch a mako to bleed it immediately and put on ice, this will guarantee some quality flake for the table .
There are still plenty of large schools of slimy mackerel and pilchards around, with the water temp rising the large pelagics might only be a day away?
On the estuary front Lake Corunna has been a hot spot lately, with some excellent dusky flathead fishing and has also been producing some nice bait sized prawns. If you are after a bit larger prawn, then Wallaga is worth a look.
The flatties have been very selective with their tastes: one day they are going on lures, then pilchards, then nippers, etc, etc, so the secret is to be prepared with a variety of baits.
Fishing joke of the week: Why is fishing better than making love? Because when you go fishing and you catch something, that's good. If you're making love and you catch something, that's bad.
Fishing tip of the week: When getting your outboard serviced, check the labour hourly rate for the service against the “fixed price”. Some dealers are charging $25 an hour or more over “fixed price” servicing rates. Owning a boat is expensive enough, so any saving is a bonus.
Fishing soap box: Both “thumbs up” and a “thumbs down” this week. “Thumbs Up” to Eurobodalla Shire with a definite “well done” for offering written support to the proposal for an offshore artificial reef between Kianga and Dalmeny. This reef is to replace the reef which was degraded by trawling.
“Thumbs Down” to the Marine Parks Authority, because it has been more than 12 months since the local community lost its representatives on the Batemans Marine Park advisory committee. This is despite government promising that locals would have input into the way the Batemans Marine Park is run.