THE kings didn't come to play for very long at Montague Island on Tuesday. There was a massive school there just on dawn and 15 minutes later they were gone!

Only got the one legal fish (73cm) and five rats. Michael from Canberra caught his first kingfish and it was the legal one.

Then went to 'Spot x' where we caught a 58cm dolphinfish  which was returned, otherwise very quiet in this area on Tuesday. There was no current and water 21c.

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The highlight of the South Coast offshore fishing scene this week has seen some excellent marlin fishing, with some great fish taken on lures and bait.

Boats from Bermagui, Narooma, Merimbula, and Batemans Bay landed marlin, with a nice 80kg marlin being landed by Nick on Playstation last Saturday.

A marlin was also sighted at Montague Island, so watch out when you are trolling for kings, or you might get spooled.

The hardest decision marlin fishos have had to make has been whether to head north or south.

If you are new to the area, and possibly new to marlin fishing, call into one of the local fishing tackle stores to get the most up to date information on where to go and what to use.

Marlin fishing involves quite a few secrets and skills, the more information you have the better your chances of landing that fish of a lifetime.

Perhaps consider taking a game fishing charter targeting marlin to learn some of these secrets first hand.

For those setting out to the Shelf to chase marlin, there has been a nice school of large slimy mackerel on the north-east corner of Montague Island, they would make the perfect skip bait.

Water temperature at The Island has again been erratic, down to 17c late last week, and back up to 21c by Monday.

The good news is that there are still a few legal kingfish among the schools of undersize kings, and they are taking all types of baits and lures.

A reminder that the Narooma Sport & Gamefishing Club (NSGFC) has a social gathering each Friday from 4pm until 9pm, visitors will be made most welcome, and it is a great place to pick up some secret tips and tricks from some very experienced local fishers.

ANSA Fishing Convention:  The NSGFC will be hosting their annual Australian National Sportsfishing Association Convention on March 6-8.

Sad to hear of the recent passing of a true Australian fishing legend- John Dunphy. John was ‘Mr Shimano’ and built the name and quality of the Shimano brand in Australia. 

Flathead have again been caught in good numbers offshore, with a nice mix of both tiger and sand flathead.

The best areas have been out the front of Kianga and south of ‘Fullers’ south of the Sanctuary Zone.

The 23 to 25 metre depth range has been the most productive

Mowies were quiet for a couple of months, but they are plentiful on the edge of most local reefs at the moment, squid strip baits have been getting the best results.

The summer snapper season has been slow to start, but catches have started to improve since Sunday, with nice pan-sized and larger fish taken at Brou reef and at the Island, fresh yellowtail or slimy strip baits and pilchards combined with a nice berley trail have got the fish in the bag.

Fishing Tip of the Week: When targeting flathead offshore with a paternoster rig, try a leader and hook off the eye of the sinker.

Fishing Myth of the Week: Bad luck linked to bananas on fishing boats. Plenty of myths with this theme. First one is that in the days of sail, boats were in a hurry to get their cargo of bananas back to Europe and travelled at full speed. This haste meant that the boat was going too fast for the crew to catch fresh fish, therefore the negative link between bananas and boats trying to catch fish.

Fishing Soap Box: There is an interesting survey on Commonwealth Marine Reserves at this internet address:  http://www.marinereservesreview.com.au/ The nearest Reserve to us is east of Jervis Bay, but your input is valued, as they may be extended closer to us in the future. Please check the site and have your say!

- John Moore

Narooma Sport & Gamefishing Club report

OUR Monthly Competition last weekend was a bit poor mainly due to the bad weather.

Peter O’kane took out the men's prize with a 35cm whiting and the runners up were Mal Braddeley and John Cathor, both with 40cm flathead.

We had a visit on Monday, January 5 from Allan Dawe of Canberra with his first striped marlin.

It took him about 40 minutes to land the 80kg fish with the skipper, Kevin Duvall also from Canberra.

A great effort, hope to see them again soon.

Congrats to Dennis and Margaret Allnutt for their nuptials at the club on the weekend.

The club is open from 4pm Friday and visitors are welcome.

The club facilities include a bar, cooking areas and meeting areas that are available to members and visitors.

- Jan Hemmingsen

Moruya fishing report: great catches of bream

Moruya River: Moruya has been producing some great catches of bream around the hospital area and up around the boulders.

Diving hard bodied lures like SX 40's and Strada Badja's have been working well along with the new Squidgy 65mm Prawn and Fuze Prawns.

Flathead are being caught from Ryan's creek down to the entrance mainly being caught on white bait , fresh nippers and soft plastics like the Fuze Fin baits.

Whiting are still being caught down on the flats opposite Preddy’s Wharf , drag out your surface lures and fish the rising tide in the shallows for these guys, live nippers are also a great bait.

TW Mark has been down the spur wall catching his beloved luderick on rock cabbage and even donating some floats to big fish.

If its Bass you’re after we are hearing great reports from the pump station up of good numbers being caught on both diving and surface lures.

Tuross: Great reports all week of people bagging out on flatties generally all over the system, so be adventurist and have a look around.

Squidgy fish in the IFISH series have been working well especially in the 70mm Red Bloodworm colour.

A few jewies are being caught down the front in the deep holes but watch your size limit at a minimum of 70 cm.

Let these juvenile fish grow up to be something to brag about. Whiting and bream are also being caught around the shallow edges , same as the flatties get away from the crowds use some small soft plastics like the Fuze Prawns or Sand worms.

Bass up river have been on the chew during these hot muggy days with local Jason catching and releasing 20 fish the best being a massive 47 cm to the fork all caught on cicada surface lures.

Rocks and Beach's: The Break wall has been producing some Salmon, Tailor , Bream and Whiting with a few sharks being frown in during the after dark sessions . The best bait for these fish would be salted pilchards and beach worms.

Try throwing some Arma Metalics for the salmon and tailor as they love to chase lures. Down towards Congo has been fishing well with locals Justin and Matt having a great night earlier in the week catching extra-large Bream , Salmon and some small sharks .

Offshore: The cold water has gone and the fish are starting to chew with good numbers of Snapper , Flathead , Mowies and the occasional kingie thrown in. This is mainly happening out around the 60 to 70 meters of water. Good numbers of Marlin are showing up out wide with 30 odd raised earlier in the week then disappearing as quick as they come. Be patient and you will be rewarded.

Remember every day’s a good day for fishing!

- Graham at TACKLE WORLD MORUYA