Rob and his 9-year-old daughter Hailey have managed to catch three nice jewfish, as well as a few flathead and other species.

Of course there was some filming involved and he is also preparing for his Fishing Australia Family Day to be held from 9am on Sunday, December 17 at the Corrigans Beach Reserve Inclusive Playground.

The Paxevanos family regularly come down for houseboat holidays on the Clyde River and say it is a great way to relax together while doing some fishing. 

The three jewfish this week measured between 75 and 85cm and were caught on either live bait or freshly cut slabs of fish. They kept one of the three fish for the table and also lost a fourth.

The recent rainfall did not interfere with the fishing and most of the fresh water had already made it way down the river and out to sea, he said.

The mouths of the creeks which were flowing after the rain had been good for flathead, but his main mission had been for him and his daughter to catch some jewfish, also known as mulloway.

His tactic has been to anchor up in one of several deeper holes at the change of tide and to wait for the jewfish to emerge and start feeding on the adjacent shallower flats.

“There are at least six headlands between the Batemans Bay bridge and Nelligen where there is deep water next to shallower flats,” he said.

“Look for the deeper water and anchor up one hour either side of high or low tide. Early or late in the day or night is best but the change of the tide is the most important.”

The family had also seen a few dolphins and even a large sea turtle up the river, but the dolphins did not bother him or interfere with the fishing and they caught one of the jewfish just as the dolphins had swum past.

He was excited about the upcoming Fishing Australia Family Day that would involve a presentation and then a question-and-answer session. 

Hailey and Rob in past 12 months published their “Kids Fishing Guide" book, which has been popular with kids and adults.

“It’s just meant to a fun family and community day where we can answer questions and encourage other families to get out on the water,” Rob said. “Every family that comes down will get a copy of Hailey’s book and hopefully learn something that will help them catch more fish.”

After 11am, the idea was for families to spread out and start fishing. The weekend of December 17 good tides for whiting and flathead fishing off Corrigans Beach, only 100 away from the talk site.

Rob will be dropping in to see how people are going , especially at Corrigans Beach and the T-wharf in town.