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It’s a prawn paradise
  |  First Published: November 2007



Fishing is only going to get better as we blast into the Summer months.

The fruitfulness of the upcoming season has been set up by the good Winter rains, Estuaries have been replenished with fish stocks that were able to enter open rivers and lakes that had been closed to the ocean for some time.

Along with the fish has come the prawn spawn, setting up one of the best prawning seasons for many years. Wallaga Lake has good prawns and with a little scouting, so would many of the other systems.

For those who like their culinary delights, not only are the prawns and fish very good, so are the oysters. There are also prime lobsters and mussels and you will have to visit to discover the rest.

When the prawns are active in the estuaries is my favourite time to work soft lures. Even though most of these lures resemble small fish, when worked with the proper technique you can manipulate them to kick like a panicked prawn.

Early morning on the bottom of the tide before the wind gets up is a prime time.

At Bermagui, try around the main bridge at night, where the lights fade out over the water. Prawns flooding out on the tide attract lots of predators there and some of the imprints left in the sand the following morning by flathead will leave even the most seasoned anglers gasping.

OFFSHORE

Water temps are changing offshore and just how warm they get will determine how hot the fishing can be early in the season. November is notorious for early-season tuna schools moving along the coast, which can create some of the best lure trolling sessions game fishos can experience.

Unfortunately not a lot of people visit at this time of year but those who do know that there have been plenty of yellowfin and albacore taken around the Melbourne Cup weekend.

Sharks are also prevalent, following the schools of tuna, and many a record mako has been captured at this time of year. Striped marlin can handle relatively cool water and you can expect them to turn up this early because they love to feed on small albacore. There is also plenty of kingfish activity up at Montague Island, where you should have little trouble gaining a feed.

Bottom fishing is at its best now with large tiger flathead providing plenty of tasty fillets. Anywhere from around 40m out over sand should result in flatties. Mixed in are some very nice sand flatties, gurnard, gummy sharks on the moon and plenty of morwong. The close reefs south of Bermagui are still holding reasonable numbers of snapper.

This time of year the north-east wind will kick in around lunchtime so early starts are paramount and if you haven’t got a feed by the time it starts puffing, you’re just not trying.

Providing beach and rock anglers plenty of action, salmon are returning from their northern breeding grounds and some of these fish are close to 4kg. The beauty about salmon is the variety of ways you can target them. Whether you use lures, bait, fly or troll, it’s difficult not to appreciate these hard-pulling sportfish.

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