With Christmas upon us the town will see plenty of tourists here enjoying all that the area has to offer, like fishing, swimming, bushwalking and just kicking back and relaxing.

It can often pay to get an early start, whether fishing offshore or in the lake, as Christmas is a windy time.

When launching at Bastion Point to head offshore, check the tides because it can be a bit tricky launching and retrieving at low tide.

Over the past month we have seen the fishing start to pick up offshore with good catches of gummy sharks and flathead and things will only improve over coming months.

The beach fishing has been good with a few yellowfin bream caught around the scattered rocks off Betka Beach and around the entrance at Bastion Point.

Salmon are still being caught, with gummy sharks mixed in amongst them at night.

This time of year the flathead are on the chew in the lake. Remember to stick to the bag limit of five, as these fish are under a lot of pressure and we want to ensure good fishing in the future.

There has been some great fishing for yellowfin bream and black bream in the Top and Bottom lakes.

Big fish will be chasing a feed along the shallow edges, with dawn and dusk the best times to expect to catch these bruisers.

On bright, sunny days it pays to fish out a bit deeper as the bream are more likely to bite where there is less strong light.

Silver trevally are likely to turn up anywhere in the Bottom Lake with bait and lure anglers catching fish.

During Summer jewfish are good targets but it’s best to chase them at night to avoid hot days in the sun. The Narrows is as good a spot as any to catch a jewfish.

There are plenty of tailor in the lake so getting a few fish for bait doesn’t take long.

Another great bait for the jewies is octopus, and with plenty available in the lake, it’s just a matter of going to the effort of securing good fresh bait to tempt the elusive jewfish.

Plenty of good-sized garfish are also in the lake with anglers from the local jetties getting among these fish.

Berleying bring the garfish in and keeps them biting.

The Betka River has been fishing well with good numbers of flathead caught by those wading the edges and casting soft plastic lures.

Dawn and dusk have been good for bream, which are taking frozen prawns.

For anglers keen to head out on a charter over the holidays, there is now a new local charter operation up and running.

Anglers can chose to fish inshore for species like gummy shark and flathead or out wide for marlin and kingfish. Any enquiries phone Kevin on 03 5158 0605.