Don’t let Winter deter you, some excellent fishing still exists for those prepared to put in the time.

June in my books is the pick of the months to fish one of my favourite estuary haunts, Pambula Lake. Winter pelagics like salmon, tailor and big silver trevally call this place home over coming months and the action can be incredible at times. Flathead, yellowfin bream, blackfish and legal snapper are also on the cards and if early indications are anything to go buy, we’re in for some serious fun.

The past few weeks has seen some great captures from this system with the best fish we have caught being a brute of a black bream that went 44cm to the fork. That’s a decent fish for here and it’s certainly not a loner.

There are still some decent flathead up to 85cm around, with a lot of good tailor coming from the main Broadwater. All of the fish we have caught lately have been on soft plastics, with anglers using bait finding it hard to get a feed.

There are quite a few leatherjackets and smaller snapper in the system, causing the bait fishos a little heartache.

Outside, the game boats have had a good time with yellowfin tuna to 70kg captured with a few bigger models winning their freedom. Good-sized albacore are mixed in with the tuna with some fish to 22kg. This action should continue through June with the water still hovering around 19°.

Large schools of slimy mackerel still dominate sounders around the 70-fathom line. This is certainly the place to troll skirted lures or live bait and to cube for yellowfin and albacore. Depending on water temperature, marlin are still possible, it’s happened this late in the season in other years and I think the game seasons are definitely getting later.

Inshore the action has been patchy with sporadic catches of snapper, morwong and flathead. What is being caught is of decent size so it’s certainly still worth a look. Expect the snapper action to get better if last season is anything to go by. We had a ripper winter run with reds to 5kg last year.

Try are Horseshoe and Long Reefs and Lennards Island with fresh cuttlefish, squid and soft plastics.

For the rockhoppers, bread-and-butter species will dominate this month. Blackfish, drummer, yellowfin bream and smaller snapper will make up most bags.

As the water cools further, bigger drummer will attack ab gut and cunjevoi. Spots to try are Short Point and Tura Head.

June is a great month if a decent red off the stones is your caper. Tura Head and the rocks near the main wharf in Merimbula Bay are the pick with fresh squid and cuttlefish the gun baits. It’s even better to target these guys after a heavy blow, when your chances will greatly increase.

Beach anglers have been having a ball will continue to. Almost all beaches are holding fish with Tura, North Tura, Haycock and the mouth of Pambula River firing. Salmon to 3kg are common but some XOS tailor have also played the game.

Expect a few bream on the beaches to as they head out of the estuaries. Paternoster and Ezy Rig combinations on surf rods are ideal for these bigger fish. Pilchards, blue bait and fresh squid are perfect for salmon and tailor, with live beach worms and pipis ideal for the bream.

A lot of the smaller salmon are succumbing to smaller Laser lures up to 30g, producing great fun on lighter tackle with fish averaging 1.5kg.