Well how time flies when you’re having fun, hey. It’s hard to believe that we are halfway through 2015 already. It’s been a good year fishing-wise for most of us here in the Lake Macquarie region, and around the country as a whole we have seen some fantastic results from anglers. Great numbers of bluefin tuna from South Australia, more of the same and some magic swordfish from our friends down in Tassie, and the good news is that locals in our region have also seen their fair share of great fishing.

It is by no means easy at this time of year and simply getting out of bed is a mission during these cooler months. As far as I’m concerned though, so long as the rewards are on offer I’ll keep getting up and doing what I love doing… and that’s going fishing.

We have had ample rain in the area in recent times and the lake has certainly received a great flush as a result of this. These flushes are fantastic for the health of our system, as it generally has a very poor water volume turnover due to the narrow passageway to the ocean. This rain helps fix that issue to a degree and the fishing reflects that.

The lake continues to produce fantastic fishing. For those anglers like myself who love the challenge of targeting large estuary fish such as mulloway and flathead on lures, now is prime time. There is plenty of bait in the lake in the form of tailor and salmon, and this is great news for anglers who love to chase mulloway. We prove it time and time again every year that you don’t need to sit out there all night long with a live bait out to catch 1. Daytime hours, a good range of soft plastics, and you’re in with a better chance than most.

During these cool months, the good fish will go deep. For us here on Lake Mac’, that means a water depth of around 7-10m. I suggest lures in the 4-6” size range and just enough lead to get beneath the tailor schools. Work the edges of the schools and under them as this is where you will find the large flathead and mulloway. Don’t go overboard with your tackle, as a 2500-3000-size reel, 2-5kg rod and 6-8lb braid is more than enough. We don’t have heavy structure that they will reef you on as a rule, so go light and enjoy the fight. As for lure choices, I like the Keitech Swing Impact Fats range and also the Pro Lure Fish Tails. Both have a great paddle tail action that these fish cannot resist.

Those looking for some fun on the salmon should be able to find them schooling in areas such as Salts Bay, Belmont Bay, Bolton Point, and popping up here and there throughout the lake. Small stickbait style soft plastics like a 7cm Smash Bait is ideal for this type of fishing. Not great on the table, they ate a fantastic sportfish that will offer hours of entertainment.

The bream fishing has been good 1 day and tough the next. We have seen sessions of 5kg bags of 5, and then had others where just getting a few was a challenge in itself. Jayro Tackle had 2 teams in a recent BETS Bream round on the lake and we were fortunate that both our teams managed to secure their bag of 5, but it was not easy, that’s for sure. Myself and fellow Jayro Tackle angler Bryce Oliver managed 28th from 72 boats. We worked a variety of lures, but lately have certainly found the range of Duo lures are proving very effective on the local bream population.

As the weather has now cooled and the bite generally slowed, it is important for lure anglers to remember it’s also a good time to slow down the retrieve and you should find the strike rate increasing.

Offshore fishing has been fairly good. There has been no shortage of rough weather at times and this has stirred things up for anglers chasing a feed of snapper. There are ample reds on offer in that 2-4kg size, and these are fantastic fish for fun on light gear and also very good on the table. Bait anglers are getting best results with squid and pilchard baits. Many reefs from Redhead down to Norah Head are holding good fish and a quality sounder is very handy for those looking for these snapper schools.

The kingfish are also on the chew, however, the inshore run is pretty well over until next summer. Those chasing these brutes are best looking at further offshore locations such as Texas Reef and the Perch Grounds off Terrigal, as well as the offshore reefs out from Port Stephens. Deep-set live baits are the number 1 option and the more adventurous anglers will be getting their share with deepwater jigs. Make sure you have a good variety of colours as what works 1 day may not the next.

Bluewater fishermen are in luck as it’s tuna time of year for those who love their game fishing. Generally the fish are very wide off our part of the coast and you are more than likely going to need to head to locations such as Norah Head Canyons and beyond. Basically, the grounds to work start around 25 miles offshore and anglers will work as wide as 40 miles in some cases to find these tuna feeding. The southern waters off Bermagui and down through South Australia into Tassie have all been on fire and we can only sit, wait and hope that we are into for a little of the same for our game anglers.

Generally, 15-24kg outfits are sufficient for the fish we see, and lures in the 6-9” range are good skirted options. Weighted heads are generally preferred for tuna fishing, as the weather is often a little choppy out there and these bite well in the water and don’t blow out as much.

Rock and beach anglers have some very nice fish on offer as well. There are ample salmon schools passing by their noses, which are fantastic fun for anglers throwing metal lures off the stones and beaches. There have also been plenty of very nice bream taken by bait anglers, and they have informed me that the key to their success has been a steady berley trail during their rock and beach sessions. Peeled prawns and lightly weighted rigs have been the choice for local rock anglers chasing their bags of bream.

I would like to finish off this month by saying that I hope all of our readers and their families and friends have not been too badly impacted by recent storms in our region, and we are thinking of those that were affected. Fingers crossed, all are back on their feet and in their own homes very soon.