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Calm seas, hungry fish, happy anglers
  |  First Published: July 2007



Mallacoota’s beaches, lakes and offshore scene have all been firing, which means that most local anglers have smiles on their faces.

The beaches have been fishing well for salmon, tailor, gummy sharks and the odd yellowfin bream. Good gutters are to be found from the entrance of the lake through to Bastion Point, with Tip Beach to Betka Beach also fishing well.

Metal lures and soft plastics have been working well on salmon and tailor, while bait fishers using pilchards with ganged hooks have been able to catch their bag limits.

The best fishing for gummy sharks is to be had after dark in the same gutters that have been producing good salmon and tailor, and the top bait is actually a fresh fillet of either fish. When you’re fishing an evening at this time of year make sure you rug up because once the sun goes down it doesn’t take long to get cold.

The past month has seen some excellent conditions for those wanting to launch a boat and head offshore, with calm seas and light winds allowing for great fishing. Sand flathead have been biting well with good numbers of big fish about.

At times, the amount of squid out there has made it hard to get a bait to the bottom. If you drop a squid jig over the side, you will end up with a good feed in no time.

Some good gummy sharks are being caught while fishing for flathead. Try staying close to the reef edges because plenty of pan-sized snapper have been on the bite. Strangely, it has been rare to catch a fish over 1kg.

Fishing in the rivers and lakes has been good with the Bottom and Top lakes fishing well. Above Gypsy Point there have been plenty of small bream, along with the odd big flathead.

BIGGER TREVALLY

The best fishing has been at the front of the system with good catches of trevally, tailor and yellowfin bream coming from the channel leading out to the John Bull marker. Winter sees a bigger size of trevally with 1kg fish the norm.

Some tailor to 2kg are also in the lake; these fish move fast and tend to be here one day and gone the next. Good-sized salmon have also been caught in the lake and the best fish weighed over 2kg. Anglers bait fishing the Bottom Lake have caught some good snapper and fish to 38cm are not uncommon.

Plenty of flathead are being caught by those fishing with soft plastics in the Bottom and Top lakes. The majority of fish are under 50cm although the odd fish to 5kg has been caught.

Bait and lure fishers are catching some beaut black and yellowfin bream. Good-sized fish can be found around the margins of the lakes; try using hard-bodied lures such as the Rapala Husky Jerk, Bushy’s Stiffy and the Strike Pro Pygmy. Some quality bream are also being caught on Firebait Longtail Minnows and bloodworm Squidgies.

Fishing in the Betka River has slowed down and flathead are not as common. However, those fishing the bridge with fresh bait have caught some good bream.

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