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).…
Tag: bream
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…
Back to basics – bait fishing off the beach
I spent the long weekend at Arugunnu, a campground in the Mimosa Rocks National Park on the far south coast of NSW. It is a special place for me, as it’s where I caught my first fish and spent a lot of time camping with my family as a kid. The thing I notice most when I get close is…
Fly fishing notes from a Tassie holiday
I was lucky enough to spend 10 days in Tassie over New Years with my partners family (and my folks for the first few days), celebrating my father in laws 70th. The trip was a joy, revolving around tennis, walks, swims, food, hanging out and finska and was a chance for the extended family to spend an extended amount of…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Flooding rain brings crocodiles to the surface and sends bream down deep
Flooding rain brings crocodiles to the surface and sends bream down deep During the autumn months the South Coast of NSW has been drenched. In March alone, Batemans Bay received 160mm, Merimbula 175mm, Ulladulla 223mm, and Jervis Bay a whopping 376mm of rain. These volumes of freshwater flowing into your favourite fishing spot will certainly affect how and where you…
Fishing estuaries more effectively: lighten up
Part 1: tides Part 2: structure When fishing an estuary what would you think about 6lb leader? Light? Heavy? All rounder? Well, obviously it depends on what you are fishing for. For average flathead its probably a pretty good choice. Flatheads abrasive little teeth can go through lighter leaders pretty quickly. If you are chasing bigger models you may even…