It’s spring: basking flathead filling baskets

DARRYL at the Narooma Ocean Hut Compleat Angler reports that the estuaries are kicking along nicely as the weather warms up.

There have been several anglers letting him know about good sessions particularly in the shallows targeting flathead that are in the warmer water.

He suggests trying the flats of any of the local estuaries where there is little or no water movement on a warm sunny day and a darker bottom is even better for the fish to warm up.

Poddy mullet continue to be seen in Wagonga Inlet and can be caught as live bait in poddy traps. These small live mullet are ideal for targeting the big flathead.

There have also been a few mulloway or jewies caught in Wagonga. Mulloway need larger baits but remember there are size restrictions on tailor even if you are going to use them as bait.

One good alternative is the new range of large Squidgie soft plastics in the Ridgeback or Mongrel range that are pre-rigged and ready to fish and also come with a tube of S-Factor fish attractant.

There are reports that one of these new soft plastic lures has been responsible for at least one big mulloway in one of the rivers to the south.

The beaches have salmon as always and anglers working the full moon on the weekend apparently got into both gummy and bronze whaler sharks off local beaches.

Sand flathead continue to be plentiful out at the 30m to 40m mark and there are snapper and morwong on the local reefs from Tuross to Montague Island.

The island continues to be quiet for kingfish with only sporadic catches, and, as Darryl says “No flow, no go”, implying that a bit of current is needed for the kingfish come on the chew. But it is just a matter of time before the island fires with some reports of kingfish being caught off Moruya.

Tuross Head Fishing Club report

If you head out of Moruya offshore you’ll be sure to come across plenty of kingies about with some good catches coming in from anglers using jigs about 4km off Moruya Heads.

There are also good reports of snapper outside as well, with members picking up some good-sized smaller reddies.

On the Tuross River, there are plenty of flathead about if you’re lucky to net a decent sized one. One member enjoyed a quick session where they landed three good flathead all around the 68cm mark within half an hour fishing with squidgy wrigglers.

In most cases the little flatties are being caught and released so that they can grow a bit. John from the Tuross Boatshed reports good hits on Z-man grubs for the flatties.

There are decent sized whiting down the front if you’re fishing off the sand and if you head up towards Bumbo Creek and up the back you can land yourself some nice black bream.

If you’re fishing in Tuross you’ll want to keep away from the seals that have found a good resting spot for the time being - much to the horror of local fishermen.

If you’re interested in fishing around Tuross and would like to become a member of the fishing club check out www.turossheadfishingclub.org for more info.

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