"

Narooma knows good fishing
  |  First Published: October 2015



The Narooma region has received buckets of rain over the last week with an excess of 200mm falling in some areas. This has left the estuary anglers a little light on options in the meantime, but the journey ahead looks nothing short of sensational.

Narooma systems looking good

Every system needs a good flush from time to time and theestuaries that have been closed to the ocean most of the year are now open which is awesome for fishing. Bait anglers fishing the lower sections toward the entrances of lakes such as Mummuga and Corunna Lakes will do extremely well especially for bream. Fresh bait like striped tuna and mullet strips will work better as they sit a little tougher on the hook. This is important as the water will be flowing quite quickly. Use a heavier sinker than normal to keep that bait near the bottom. You might have to change it up a bit as the current slows, but if you get it right you will reap the rewards.

The next few months is exciting fishing for the Narooma and Tuross systems, especially after this rain as both will fire up nicely. October is the start of it all for the mighty mulloway and I can’t wait for them. Jewfish will be on everyone's list with fish up to 15 kilo and possibly bigger to be expected. Both bait and plastic throwers will get amongst them, but I would expect more to be caught by those casting soft plastics and bigger vibed lures. The main basins will be the place to fish -concentrate your efforts around whitebait schools and if tailor are present you’ll do even better. Fishing deep bait is a dynamite way of targeting jewfish here so use your sounder to increase your catch rate. If the jewfish aren’t playing then monster flathead are another option to chase as they head to the lower sections of the systems to do their thing. Fishing the baits schools is again a great way to target them, but I find the weed-fringed edge in 6-8m of water is the best place to start. Using bigger softies around 80-100mm is the go with fish patterns and natural colours are your go to lures. You will get plenty of eating models too so a feed shouldn't be too hard to get. Up at Tuross the river is the place to fish for bream and estuary perch early in the season. Casting smaller hard-bodies and plastics among the snags and various rock-walls that litter the river is a good method The recent rain will do a world of good, although the water may still be a little dirty it will certainly be fishable. Flathead should be a good chase in the shallow parts of the river. I would suggest fishing the slightly deeper gutters around 1.2-2 m and with smaller soft plastics.

Offshore Forecast

Offshore anglers haven’t had the best run of weather especially those fishing wider for early season yellowfin tuna. When it does improve there is certainly an increased chance of finding them, but this will depend on water temperature, current movement, and bait activity. Personally I would be waiting a few more weeks, keep a close eye on reports from fishers to the north of us and maintain knowledge of temperature satellite charts to know when to get out on the water. At Montague Island the kingfish over the winter period have been fairly good, not on fire but some days have been exceptional. This seems quite promising as spring arrives with October - usually the month the jig fish turn up. The fish are generally around that 65-75cm mark and jigs are generally the preferred method. You will still get them on live bait but jigging is easier, you get more time on them and it's a stack of fun even though you have to put your back into it. There's plenty of bonito still at the island and this will continue right through spring and summer, jigs, livies and trolling should see you get as many as you like.

For those after snapper and other bottom eaters you’re in luck as the heavier seas of late has really turned them on. I know a few locals are doing extremely well off Potato Point which is famous as this region’s hot spot for reds. There's so much awesome looking ground up there, with reefs and gravel beds from 20 - 60m all producing at times. The fish don't leave the general area, they might move around a bit and can be tricky to locate but once you do it’s all systems go. Fresh bait like squid, cuttlefish and tuna strips will work, and anglers casting softies when the currents allow will also get among them. You can expect morwong, trevally, pigfish, john dory and heaps of sand and tiger flatheads just off the hard ground. In fact the bottom fishing continues to get better every year now the trawlers are gone.

Those beach anglers after a feed will do well on bream, whiting, and yellow-eye mullet as they patrol the gutters looking for food.A lot of these fish will start to enter the estuaries again so I'd recommend fishing beaches that have an estuary entrance close by. My suggestions would be Brou, Tilba, and Blackfellows towards Tuross. Using beach-worms, pipi and tuna cubes will work and don’t underestimate the chance of mulloway. These silver beasts will be following the blackfish schools as they head back into the estuaries. If you have the patience and time to fish the flooding tides into the evenings with fresh bait you have a serious chance of hooking one. Coila beach is also a great option as it's now open to the ocean after recent heavy rains. Good Luck!

Reads: 2172

Matched Content ... powered by Google




Latest Articles




Fishing Monthly Magazines On Instagram

Digital Editions

Read Digital Editions

Current Magazine - Editorial Content

Western Australia Fishing Monthly
Victoria Fishing Monthly
Queensland Fishing Monthly