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Snap into action!
  |  First Published: October 2015



After a bit of a slow tuna run we are looking at targeting inshore snapper and deep dropping for blue eye trevalla. Hands up who is sick of wintery conditions! The colder months aren’t so bad if the fish are biting and the tuna are running, because it’s not long after a hook-up that the layers come off and you’re in a T-shirt and loving life. Especially if it’s also a sunny day, then it’s magic! Winter is very bearable when you get days like that. This past winter was a bit slow though, and it’s only now that we’re seeing some good water returning, giving us hope for some yellowfin and albacore.

Don't rule out a bluefin as the odd one is still showing up, and off the rocks around Jervis Bay they are swimming around in all depths. However, if I was heading offshore now I'd be getting out to the 151 line and looking for albacore with a chance of yellowfin. I would also be putting the electric to work as the fish on the bottom have been exceptional this winter, coming into spring. We have seen some very good catches of blue-eye trevalla and some gemfish. Some grenadier, bar cod and the usual ocean perch are around as well, and they seem to be much bigger than they usually are.

The Ulladulla and Jervis Bay area is performing well, and Batemans to Bermi has had good bottom fish also. So winter hasn’t been all doom and gloom, although it would have been good to have seen more bluefin. We can move on more easily now that we have more daylight and sun shining on us. What also helps is a good showing of snapper in the 60-90m depths. This depth has had some very good schools of late.

The cuttlefish are in and we expect a good bite in close, and the plastic flicking crew are looking to catching that elusive 8kg monster. However, lately the depths have been producing, and our customer and all-round good bloke Miro got a few nice ones to 7kg+ out a bit wider. So it might be a good idea to give a flick in close, and if that doesn’t yield results then have the gear to head out deeper and try for some of the larger schools out wide. The flathead run seems to have eased but are always a possibility.

Off the stones there has been the odd snapper but you’re more likely to catch a salmon or tailor. If you want a feed off the stones, drummer are the performer and are more reliable. A lot of people have been getting a few grouper as well.

Don’t even consider a kingfish at this stage. Who knows where they have gone!

The beaches have been producing salmon and tailor, and there are still good bream in coastal bays. Tailor have been the standout species of late, and they’re probably what the mulloway have been chasing. The mulloway seem to have moved out or quietened down, but lately there’s been an increase in captures… and losses. John Hillyear hooked up to the biggest fish he has ever caught out of the Clyde only to be cut off by someone else’s line. Not mentioning any names… JOSH! They didn’t speak for days!

The mulloway should start moving into the estuary again soon, as should the bait, as spring approaches. A bit further into the estuary the perch have been abundant, and they have been big and fat.

We have had a massive amount of rain leading into spring but let’s hope this year we get the right amount and the system will flourish and be loaded with bait. Last year the rain seemed to wipe it out, pouring through November into December. Here’s hoping it runs enough but not as much as last year.

Well, I'm about to fly out to Singapore and have my annual two-week break. Enjoy the new season’s fishing!

If you want up to the minute info on what’s biting, see Anthony and the team at Compleat Angler Batemans Bay at 65A Orient St, Batemans Bay, or phone them on 02 4472 2559.

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