One of the things I love about fishing with lures is the hunt. Trying to work out where the fish are going to be and why. Coastal lakes and rivers are big places and to cover them effectively with lures could take hours or even days. Throw in the variables of tides, cloud cover, recent rain, time of day and…
Category: Estuary
Tournament time – a litmus test for us anglers
The annual Tuross flathead and bream tournament is just around the corner. Never heard of it? That’s understandable. This tournament on the south cost of NSW is a relatively low-key event run by the local fishing club to increase visitation to the small town of Tuross during non-peak periods. There are a stack of rods, reels, lures, an electric motor…
Trolling up a storm – kayak trolling for estuary staples
Trolling is a really effective way to cover LOTS of water and catch fish. But when you’ve spent years casting lures or flies and constantly hunting and searching for fish as I have, trolling seems like a really passive way to go about our passion. Put the lures out, start moving and wait for the fish to climb on. Trolling…
It’s the vibe of the thing – Bream on vibes
One of the most famous scenes from the classic Australian movie ‘the Castle’ is the courtroom scene. A small town lawyer tries to stop an aussie family’s house from being re-possessed by the nearby airport. He constructs his case around ‘the vibe of the thing’ and a tenuous link to Mabo (a famous native land title case for indigenous Australians).…
A winter fishing wonderland
It’s winter. It’s cold. The trout streams are closed, the ski fields are open and there is nothing better to do that curl up in front of the fire with a nice glass of something warming and hibernate until the spring. Right? It’s only a couple of months to go … What if I told you the last few weeks…
The best estuary fishing spots in south-east New South Wales
As keen anglers we are frequently asked for advice on where to go to find a decent coastal fishing spot within 2-3 hours drive from Canberra. As many of you will know, it’s both an easy and a difficult question to answer, because pretty much any beach, rock formation, estuary or coastal river will produce good (or terrible) fishing at…
The best worst day of fishing – Hawaiian bonefish, broken leaders and the curse of the banana
The alarm sounded at 5:30am but I didn’t need it, I was already awake and bristling with anticipation and nervous energy. The kayak from the hire shop was strapped to the roof of the car, the esky was full of ice and two rods and a backpack waited by the door. I grabbed my belongings, say goodbye to my dozing…
Rediscovering the NSW south coast estuaries; Merimbula lake fishing report
Down in numbers, but all of good size – early spring fishing in Merimbula lake What a treat to be able to spend the labor day long weekend down on the NSW south coast at Merimbula. Our extended family had gathered to celebrate the old man’s 70th birthday and accordingly we had splurged on some nice cabins and were treated…
The little things
As I get older, I feel like life is getting busier. I think this is a feeling shared by many. I’m not sure entirely why it happens; is it manufactured or real? Nonetheless, there seems to be less time for fishing. The good thing about it is that I’m starting to appreciate being in the great outdoors more than ever.…
Tuross Flathead and Bream Comp 2016
After the enjoyment of the 2015 Tuross Flathead and Bream comp, in which a few mates enjoyed considerable success, to say the anticipation around the 2016 competition was high would be an understatement. However, all the reports were that the fishing had been tough at Tuross, and they weren’t wrong. Graz and I were lucky enough to arrive on the…
How to catch fish in heavily pressured estuaries and beat the “February blues”.
Graz and I started discussing whether the fish along the coast are actually any harder to catch during and just after the summer holiday peak. From mid December to the end of January, literally thousands of holiday makers make their way down to the south coast of NSW to wet a line. Graz had just got back from a tough…
Why Mulloway fishermen should care about freshwater inflows.
I’ve written before about how important great habitat is if we want great fisheries. I strongly believe that as fishers, being custodians for the environments we spend so much time enjoying is vital. One area that is sometimes overlooked is the importance of freshwater inflows for the health and vitality of our estuary fisheries. This is especially important on regulated…