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Plenty of fish left
  |  First Published: February 2004



THE LAST month of Summer, is usually good for anglers in our area.

The annual influx of holiday anglers and water sport buffs has abated and I have no doubt they have left plenty of fish for us poor locals. However, there is an increasing trend, particularly from Sydney people, to set up their caravans in the local parks and leave them there permanently. And who can blame them? A couple of hours’ drive from the city puts the keen angler right at one of the best waterholes in the State. The fishing in our area has been a little up and down during the so-called warmer months, mainly due to the cold, wet and windy conditions that prevailed during Spring and early Summer.

But I’ll stick my head on the block and predict February, March and April to produce some of the best fishing we have seen in this area for a long time.

Whiting, bream and tailor have been haunting Blacksmiths beach On a day-on, day-off basis for some time. When conditions are right, the fishing can be quite exciting; other times, staying in bed was probably the better option.

CHANNEL WHITING

The whiting have also returned to Swansea channel. The best way to nail a feed of those elbow-slapping whiting is to anchor the boat in one of the shallow channels that run into the main channel from between the sand islands opposite Pelican Marina and the aerodrome.

Blood or tube worms, combined with a steady berley trail, will do the trick. Land-based fishos have been snaring quality fish from the northern breakwall, the training wall between the heads and the Granny Pool. Tailor, bream and flathead are also getting in the act around these areas.

For the boat angler, drifting any part of the channel from the heads to the drop-over into Lake Macquarie can be very productive. Species that can be expected are flathead, bream and flounder on the drift. Trolling for tailor and kingfish close to the northern breakwall can also be productive, but beware – this area can become pretty rugged when the wind and tide are coming from the wrong direction.

Not a boat owner? Don’t worry, there are plenty of land-based anglers who catch quality whiting, bream and flathead by wading the shallows and casting lures and baits to the deeper runs.

Blue swimmer crabs have been around in numbers and are always a great bonus in the Lake Macquarie area. Witch’s-hat nets or drop nets are the way to catch a feed of these beauties. Traps of any design are not allowed in Lake Macquarie. Best crab baits are fresh fish frames, but any meaty bits will work. I have even baited up with the small tins of cat food from the supermarket. Just punch a few holes in the can and hang it in the net. It works, and sure beats wasting money on the moggy.

Quality prawns have also been on the run, with catches of a couple of kilograms and better per session the norm. The way the weather is shaping up, I predict the prawn run will continue well into April.

Swansea Channel and Lake Macquarie are looking clean and healthy at this stage and heaps of undersized fish are being caught and released, and little fish grow up to be big fish.

No 1.

Blacksmiths Beach, a popular location for beach anglers. Bream, whiting, tailor and salmon cruise the gutters in this area when conditions are right.

No 2.

A nice dish for breakfast, bream and whiting caught from Blacksmiths Beach.

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