Summer brings a host of fishing possibilities, a variety of target species and the odd by-catch that brings a smile to your face.

Off the beaches, tailor have been mainly small but numbers have been decent and welcome if other species are a little slow.

Bream have been in good numbers and have been particularly consistent along Lighthouse Beach. Find a good gutter, use fresh bait early morning or just on dusk and the rewards are there.

Mulloway have also been on the beaches. They’d be after the same bait and tucking into a few chopper tailor as well.

Live bait and beach worms have been best although soft plastics also account for some good fish.

The rocks have been hit and miss due to recent rough seas. This month we should see tailor moving to the rocky points.

Drummer have lingered with some spots around Point Plomer and Grants Head producing quality fish.

Those venturing into the deep blue will be chasing a host of species, with juvenile black marlin and some blues coming in. This month we should see some bigger fish moving in closer.

Mahi mahi can still be found around the FAD and this month there should be some kingfish also.

Bottom bouncers have still been doing well on snapper and pearl perch.

Best spots will be off Nobbys Beach, Lake Cathie and the golf course. Any water between Tacking Point Lighthouse and Bonny Hills should have fish if you can find the gravel bottom on your sounder.

Soft plastics, squid and live bait will land fish.

The estuaries have whiting, bream, flathead, luderick and mulloway in good numbers.

For mulloway on bait, the Dennis bridge should be your first port of call. Get there early before the start of a run-out tide. Over the holidays there have been many boats anchored up and sitting it out waiting for the mulloway to come onto the chew.

The majority are decent-sized soapies with the occasional bigger fish.

Those chasing them on 5”-7” hard or soft lures will do well around Narrow Gut, the mouth of King Creek and the Rocks Ferry bridge at Wauchope. Work the lures slowly with hops and pauses.

This month I like to target bream, whiting and flathead on the flats and weed beds. I use very lightly weighted or unweighted soft plastics wafted over the weed beds or I slow-roll shallow crankbaits.

A surface lure worked like a skipping prawn can prove deadly on all three species.

I never tire of catching fish on surface lures. This month I like to have a variety rigged, from poppers to fizzers to pencils in a variety of brands and colours to mix it up and ensure I can crack a pattern quickly.

It also enables me to be able to switch lures extremely quickly.

For example, a fish might rise to chase a surface pencil and shy away. I can immediately cast a smaller popper and work it quickly with a long pause, enough to convert a follow into a hook-up.

Don’t be surprised if you snare a few moses perch or a protected estuary cod this month as surprise by-catch.