If you are into early starts and watching the sunrise, this is the time of year to do it. Although a little chilly, it’s a revitalizing activity and a great way to start your day – especially when you have a rod in your hand!

Salmon have been taken off almost any beach that has a good gutter on it, with either side of high tide the best time to attempt a capture. Combine these tides on a full moon and you will be likely to encounter mulloway, gummy sharks and tailor in the much deeper water. If your baits are coming back tatty, it’s likely there are bream around and you may need to downsize to capture them.

Around the rocks, blackfish and drummer are the most sought after species in the area. Not only does their hard bulldog fighting attract anglers, so too does their eating quality.

The areas from Tathra Wharf through to Kianinny Bay are the prime locations, and for those who wish to do a little more exercise, walk south of Kianinny to find some more remote fishing. How you can fish for them varies too, a lot of the traditionalists like to use a bobby float with either cabbage weed or cunjevoi, while others may use the latter on a no.1 hook with a small ball sinker and drift it among the wash. Prawns, nippers or squid may even account for some, and I have had plenty of success around shallow rocks and adjoining beaches while berleying bream with striped tuna, a school of hard pulling pigs will find this bait to their liking too.

Not only are the pigs on the chew, so are many other species, and luderick will often feature in bags, as will groper, bream, trevally, and wrasse. Keep a spin stick handy, as there are schools of salmon or bonito passing within range for anglers who are prepared.

Most species have been captured around on the wharf with quite a few additional ones too. Yellowtail and mackerel are always good fun for the kids, as are some of the schools of garfish that visit here, while long casts with sinkers fishing the bottom will see some nice sand flathead added to the bag.

In the Bega River, fishing is quiet, although still active enough to lure anglers to the system. The lower reaches have produced the best results, with estuary perch down around the rocky outcrops near the bridge and some lovely solid black bream mixed in. These bream are further up the system too, where they have responded well to lures.

Some flathead have been caught while the cooler water species like trevally and luderick supply the main entertainment for anglers around the bridge.

Pushing out to sea from Kianinny Bay boat ramp, the bottom fishing is solid, if not frustrating. Leatherjacket have caused some problems, and made it hard to find the better species. You may need to move a lot to avoid them or fish closer to shore. The better species that are around will be flathead with sandies making up the bulk of captures out from most beaches. Around the moon, gummy sharks will become a regular capture, and provide some variety to the bag.

The closer reefs are probably the best to avoid jackets, where you can use either baits or jig with soft plastics for snapper and morwong.

The deeper reefs out on the edge of the Continental Shelf have seen some very nice Tassie trumpeter taken with mixtures of ocean perch, large tiger flathead, morwong and snapper. While out wide it’s also worth targeting the tuna in the form of yellowfin and albacore. There are plenty around, and whether you troll for them or berley, you will have a good time. Mako sharks are following the schools of tuna. These fish are one of my favourite, and can be targeted while berleying for tuna or fishing the bottom. Have a trace ready, or bait in the water and enjoy their antics.