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November Sees Red
  |  First Published: November 2010



Hopefully this month we should start seeing red and jack encounters will become a bit more prolific with the warm weather.

I have found a few hanging on the rock bars in the lower reaches of larger estuaries over the last couple of weeks.

As it gets warmer you should have no problems getting a few to eat lures or livies from around the snags further up the rivers.

Traditionally the smaller systems like Bonville and Moonee get a lot of fishing pressure but our larger systems shouldn’t be overlooked when you want to chase a jack.

The bass are in full swing now and all the rivers up and down the coast are producing great fish.

The lower fresh water reaches of the systems close to Coffs seem to be holding a lot of smaller fish. Bass from 20-35cm are a lot more common than the better quality 40cm+ fish we like to see.

But there are plenty of quality fish still spread through these rivers, you just have to keep on casting!

Our nearby bass devotees from the Nambucca area have had a pretty good run lately, with plenty of better quality fish coming from upper Taylors arm and the Nambucca River.

A few of my fellow kayak fishos have been giving this area lots of attention and have been finding ample good bass from Devils Elbow onwards. It’s worth a drive down that way if you’re looking for a bit of different bass water.

If you’re wading while chasing bass, be extra careful of bullrouts or freshwater stonefish.

These fish frequent NSW and southeast Qld waters and painfully sting unsuspecting anglers who accidentally step on them.

This year I have seen a lot of bullrouts in our local systems. They are very hard to spot if you’re not paying attention and will lie still amongst the rocks even when you are close.

I have been able to touch them with sticks and even catch them in a net before they move, so keep your shoes on in the river – from what I hear, you don’t want to get stung by a bullrout!

Heading to the coast the school jew have put in a good effort over the past month with plenty coming from the rocks and beaches.

Plastics on the rocks are producing a lot of these fish.

Fishing plastics on light gear is a great way to spend an afternoon and might even snag you a few top quality fish.

Further abroad the bluewater crews have been experiencing a mixture of water conditions with temperatures and clarity fluctuating a fair bit.

However there are still mahi mahi (dolphinfish) being regularly found with a few lucky boats bringing tuna and billfish to the surface and occasionally to the boat.

Back in the estuaries there has been some good whiting and flathead on the flats.

Areas with patchy weed beds are the best spot to begin searching for these species. Alternatively try a few deeper holes or channels running through the flats.

I recently fished down south in some fixed oyster lease country and was lucky enough to see some monster flathead, but not quite lucky enough to hook any. Hopefully this month will be more productive.

Until next month and the Christmas holiday rush sneaks into place, good fishing!

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