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Top mulloway season
  |  First Published: April 2013



This is one of my preferred times to be out fishing. You are less likely to get destroyed by the sun, the water is often calm and the fishing can be red-hot.

Water temps are generally still OK, the daytime air temp is more pleasant and the mornings and evenings are now cooling off, but the good fishing keeps coming.

Lake Macquarie is continuing to fish very well for mulloway, in one of the best seasons in many years.

Quality fish over 20kg are falling to baits and lures and some guys are pulling half a dozen quality fish in a session. (Remember the bag limit is five, only two of which can be over 70cm. – Editor). There are loads of fish to 10kg with a reasonable number of 10kg-20kg.

There are some good luderick catches in and around Salts Bay, along with some very good bream. The water here is generally quite clear and relatively shallow, so the lightest line/leader possible and as little sinker as you can get away with will get the best results.

Salts Bay really is the pick of the spots this month, with the annual salmon run also getting under way during April.

These fish are generally 1kg-2kg, great fun on light gear and a fantastic way to get the kids interested in fishing. Use light jig heads such as resin heads and 2”-3” soft plastics.

Some good tailor are about further into the lake, with the Coal Point area producing good catches. Trolling lures is a good way to come across the fish at the moment, then work the schools once they are located.

Now is a good time to start to target some good-sized flathead in the lake. You want to start working the deeper water and drifting bait down deep such as half pilchards, fresh slabs of fish or live baits will certainly reward you with some good captures. Just remember it is best to release these bigger fish once you have a pic or 2 for the photo album.

OFFSHORE

There were some good days offshore but it certainly hasn’t been the season the game fishers were hoping for after last year’s great action.

That’s not to say that there are no marlin out there because April can be a fantastic month to tangle with one. Generally the run of smaller inshore blacks will have moved on but there should be good numbers of striped marlin out a little further and these should keep most anglers entertained for another month or so.

There are still a few mahi mahi around the trap floats and the FADs and with fewer boats hitting them at this time of year, anything floating on the surface is certainly well worth a stop-off on your travels.

There are also very good kingfish to be found offshore but anglers should be now looking to those deeper offshore reefs. As the water cools, the kings move to these wider grounds such as The Farm, the Perch Grounds and similar locations.

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