The poor kayak has been neglected of late. In fact since we purchased Tudo (our 4m estuary boat) last year I can probably count the number of kayak trips on two fingers. Unlike the kayak, Tudo allows me to fish with someone else (more social), to control the drift around snags and structure with the electric (more effective) and to…
Category: Estuary
Seals, spiky fish, salmon, surf and sun; A weird and wonderful weekend at Wallaga
Winter is over folks! I’m happy to call it. I spent nearly all of last weekend on the south coast of NSW in board shorts and thongs – and at last count I still have ten fingers and ten toes. With another winter behind us it’s time to cast our minds (and our lures) forward to 9 glorious months of…
The Temptation of Tuross lake – the winter Mulloway day trip
Sitting in the office all week, I felt the itch. And it got worse and worse as the week went on. Sitting inside does something to me. Immersed in a world of computers and email, it makes me feel disconnected from the ‘real’ world – it makes me want to be outside! With an eagle eye on the wind forecast…
Estuary fishing in winter – find one fish, find em all
Pick the right day and a fishing session on the NSW south coast in the middle of winter can be a beautiful thing. Pick the wrong day and you will wonder why you ever left the comfort of the leather recliner – you know the footy is on right? Fortunately the human brain, or perhaps just an overly-keen angler’s brain,…
Mythical monsters; dusky flathead over a metre
Metre long flathead. Alongside catching a Mulloway, they are the holy grail, the pinnacle of sports fishing on light gear in our estuaries. They might not be as difficult to tempt as bream in sparkling clear water, but nothing else can compare with the sheer size and prehistoric features, especially the enormous head and mouth, of a big crocodile. After…
Lures or bait? The choice is as clear as mud
Anglers can be a funny lot. They can be very stubborn about what style of fishing they prefer and rarely give the others a go. I should know, I’m one of the stubborn ones. It has been years since I’ve used bait in salt water, and except for carp fishing with my niece and nephew (they were fishing, not the…
Tuross tournament testing but rewards with trophy fish
Last weekend the 4th annual Tuross head flathead and bream tournament was held on the NSW south coast. 258 anglers, including Flick & Fly’s own Lee and Graz, enjoyed good conditions, a full moon and favourable tides with plenty of water moving in and out of the lake each day. The competition was strictly catch-and-release and fish could only be…
Capturing the lifetime of a fish
I caught a fish last weekend. That’s not particularly surprising I suppose given I go fishing and write about fishing quite often. But this fish was different to usual. In fact it was really quite special. It wasn’t unique because it was a particularly big fish for a south coast estuary, I would say it was only medium sized –…
Worth their weight in salt – highlights from the estuaries in 2014
Nostalgia is a wonderful thing isn’t it? It was while looking back through the images and articles of 2014 for this weeks newspaper column that I realised just how much fun we’ve had this year fishing the estuaries. They never cease to amaze for the quality and diversity of fish on offer. As a young fella starting to learn about…
From hot to shot, NSW estuary fishing at Christmas
After reading the amazing report from the boys’ trip to NZ here, it seems like a bit of an anti-climax to be reporting on the fishing along the NSW far south coast. While they contended with torrential rain, finicky trophy trout, and clear-felled forestry coups, all we had to contend with was a flooded river, a failed river crossing and…
The enigmatic (and often elusive) estuary perch – open season report
Lee and I teamed up with good friends of the blog Liam and Stu recently for a trip to the Clyde river (Bhundoo). The closed season for estuary perch (EP) had just lifted so we all agreed we wanted to chase these awesome Aussie fish. EPs have strong migration patterns, moving to the mouths of the estuaries and rivers…
Hunting the great hunters of the estuary
An amazing Attenborough moment and quick how-to guide for Dusky flathead Perfectly camouflaged and lightly covered in sand, it is virtually invisible. It lies waiting, watching with eyes on the top of its head. An unsuspecting mullet swims pass. With a puff of sand the buried fish explodes off the bottom, its long and powerful tail propelling it towards the hapless…