After a crazy period, where we saw more water come into the system than we’d normally see in a few years, the river is really starting to fire. The ocean water is pushing back into the river on the run in tide and is getting up around the RSL. By the start of this month, the whole system’s water quality should have returned to normal.

Currently, this fresh seawater has meant that the flathead and bream have been pushing up past the ferry and into the lower reaches of Emigrant Creek. Most of the bream are still hugging the rock walls and the odd one can be found out on some of the sand flats during the run in tides.

There seem to be some good quality fish amongst them. With the water starting to drop in temperature, the big snows can’t be far off. A lot of the flathead have been in fairly shallow water due to the recent cooler weather as well, so North Creek, Mobbs Bay and some of the sand flats above the ferry will be the likely spots to try.

Brightly coloured soft plastics, as well as pilchards, prawns and mullet have all attracted them this week. Bright is definitely key for plastics and smelly is the go for the bait. The run in tide has also produced some luderick along the walls on cabbage during the incoming tide. Peeled prawns or yabbies work well on the run out.

If you can find any weed flies it’s worth giving them a crack too. Try these either under a float or fished on a very light weight like you would float an unweighted soft plastic down a wall. A few bass and estuary perch are showing up in the upper reaches of Emigrant Creek and are taking hardbody lures and soft plastics in darker colours.

They have been patchy recently and they should be really firing soon. You can get 30 one day and not boat a single one the next. Offshore has been okay with decent catches of snapper off the close in reef likes Reardons and do up towards Lennox Point.

The beaches will be a little tough, but there have been a few whiting and bream around Flat Rock. Some chopper tailor have come from some of the rock platforms towards Lennox as well. The south wall has produced a few mulloway and Patchs Beach will be worth a look for a few chopper tailor and bream. Try metal slugs for the tailor and a few pipis from the beach for the bream. Tight Lines.