Outside, the fishing has been firing with mackerel still getting around in numbers when the swell plays the game, and trolling has been the best way to get into a few. The translucent pink squid with glitter in them have been the best producing lures on the mackerel.

There has been the odd cobia getting around on the inshore reefs but not as many as in previous months. If you want to target them, livies would be the best bet, but make sure you come prepared with some heavier gear.

The black tip sharks in Shark Bay have still been plentiful if you like a bit of flake. These black tip sharks are great for getting kids into fishing, so if you want to get out and have some fun with the kids, drag the boat down to Shark Bay.

In the river, whiting have been a bit slow, but flathead and muddies have been around in good numbers. If you do want to try for some whiting, night time fishing around the new moon using nippers and live worms on a run-out tide on any of the sand flats in the lower river is your best bet.

On the flathead side of things, the majority of the action will still be in the bottom end of the river. Bright coloured plastics and blades are your best bet with chartreuse being my all time favourite colour to chase a feed of flatties.

The muddies are very active, and any of the offshoots of the lakes like Woolaweyah in Yamba or the Broad Water up past Maclean will be good places to rustle up a feed of crabs. Remember to keep a close eye on your pots as we share the water with plenty of light-fingered people that are not happy with just taking your crabs, but also love to take your pots as well, which can make for an expensive outing.

Upriver, the bass fishing has been very good to say the least. Night time surface sessions have been crazy with larger lures in the 70-90mm range attracting many quality fish.

During the day, slow rolling 4” plastics rigged weedless around the snags has been working a treat as the sun gets high in the sky. If the water has had colour in it due to the rain, a bit of flash and shine with a spinnerbait has made a great difference in enticing a bite.

With the onset of March, it’s time to dust the land-based game gear off and make sure everything is in working order, as we are hitting the prime time of the year to get out and chase those pelagic speedsters off the stones.