AS THE CURRENT turns north and cools a little, the fish that were taken down south a month ago should be around our coastline now.

May is a time when all sorts of spawning runs are on the cards: Big bream have started to move out of the estuaries onto the beaches and, along with the mullet and luderick, larger jewfish also move around at this time.

You can nearly guarantee that if the mullet run is good this year the sharks and jewfish will be around in better numbers. I spotted a few hammerheads and two 2.5-metre bronze whalers not so long back and a number of hammerheads have been taken by anglers from Stockton and Newcastle lately.

May is a great on the beaches and headlands as schools of fish travel and they have to bump into you somewhere, such as a rocky outcrop, wharf or beach. If you can’t bear the thought of walking and you have a boat, the close reefs along the coast or off deeper headlands are also resting spots for big predator fish. Jewfish rest during the day and travel little, but live-baiting near these reefs at times can help them grab a free easy feed. Be around these areas at dawn or dusk and a little moon can really pay even more.

Big Ben Reef, under Nobbys Wall at the mouth of the Hunter River, has structure close enough to hold good jewfish and sharks. The travelling fish that have to pass this point make for a good small reef system to fish around. Heavy rain affects this area. You could also try the close reefs, such as The Limes, North Reef and the Sailing Boat (which also produces some big catches of bream).

The luderick haven’t really left this area all year but are gaining momentum. I have read somewhere that the more pollution we end up with in the water, the more the weed grows and the more luderick we end up with. It makes sense to me. Sydney was alive with them a few years ago and they have such a following in Newcastle that it’s sometimes hard to get a rock around the walls and wharves near Horseshoe Beach this month. But there’s plenty of room on the two big walls and they give up just as many fish as the pylon wharf.

It’s been a big squid year so far with great catches taken in the quiet water up from the sailing club to the mouth of the harbour. North Reef has also turned up some big one. Smart jewie anglers use these squid on the beach or off the two walls in the harbour. Squid is a great bait as the pickers tend to leave it alone.

So bream, luderick, jewfish and sharks should be the target this month. Remember, the fresher the bait the better the chances.

• Freddy’s Fishing World got right recently held two informative seminars for customers. Steve Starling and Peter Pakula put on a great session and took the time to speak to the locals. Everyone was happy about the discounts and a number of top fishing reps showed the latest in technology. Hopefully there will be more of these great days.

No 1,

Arnold Joseph with a huge bull mahi mahi. These oceanic fish roam in close enough to target when warm water hangs off the coast.

No 2,

Two reef jewfish taken on live yellowtail baits, the big fellows should be around this month in good numbers.

No 3,

The boys from Freddy’s Fishing World, Josh and Aaron, had Steve Starling in for a seminar on bream spinning.

Hi Tony I hope your feeling a lot better, you sounded bloody shockin on the phone, sorry to bug ya the other day mate.

I have put the photo in of my snapper taken from the rocks on a baitrunner, if you think it’s okay to use as a cover I will add a few more snapper photo’s for that month, their have been a few around, I lost another one around 3kg it was only lip hooked, let me know what month so I can get some photo’s up to you if ya decide to go with it.