Fishing has been sort of strange lately: Winter fish are still showing up and a few Summer varieties are here, too.

There have been trevally on the reefs one day, nannygai the next, then bonito and jewfish, so it’s lotto offshore.

Off the beach there should be nice whiting for the taking by the time you read this, and I have heard night fishing has been good for medium bream from the sand. So closer to Christmas the whole beach fishing scene should have really picked up.

I have been getting heaps of reports of squid, they seem to be everywhere.

I have been using pink lumo jigs and those new jigs with lights in them and both seem to work OK. Razorbacks, with extra hooks to hold the tentacles, are my favourite.

Off the rocks, drummer and bream are mixing with luderick, which are still around. There should be some bigger kingfish around closer to the end of the month; schoolies have been in the washes around Newcastle.

In the Hunter River some good-sized flathead and bream have been taken on lures and bait and I am still hearing of a few blue swimmer crabs, although I missed out on them on a recent trip. I love chasing crabs through Summer and spend a lot of time doing it.

I really don’t know what has happened to all the jewfish that usually in the harbour.

My Stockton connections are saying the going is very slow and it’s hard to get live bait. Maybe once the slimy mackerel move in things will change.

As I mentioned, the reefs have been a lotto.

I would be trying drifting over them first, just to scope what is down there.

At this time of year we should be getting good bags of squire, bream, kingfish, teraglin and the odd jewfish.

I did hear of a good kingfish estimated around 12kg taken under Swansea Bridge. It grabbed a huge squid and stretched the angler for a long time. Hopefully this is a sign of what’s to come.

So this month I would drift over the inshore reefs and gravel patches with soft plastics as well as baits, just to see what is there, then target the most prevalent fish.

It’s also worth a ride up the Hunter river tossing hardbodies and softies because there are flathead around.

The beaches are an afternoon proposition. Pipis are best for the schools of bream that are moving through.