After such a mild Autumn, it’s amazing to think that the shortest day of the year occurs this month.

Warm, almost hot days and very few crisp mornings have made a big difference to normal water temperatures in the ocean and the estuaries and this has kept the fishing action warm as well.

Offshore, the Eden area has been fishing well. On the continental shelf the yellowfin tuna have been fired up along with striped marlin and plenty of sharks.

The yellowfin have been caught by trolling lures and a few boats have had success cubing in a berley trail. Most of these fish have been only small, around 7kg to 8kg, although one exceptional fish of 75kg has been caught. Tangling with such a fish, one would wonder who has caught whom!

As the season moves on, cubing in the berley trail could be the way to go because in the past this has been a deadly technique on yellowfin and albacore.

Most of the marlin have been caught by those switch-baiting or slowly trolling live baits.

Kingfish have been caught around South Head and Mowarry Point along with a light scattering of bonito.

Plenty of snapper, leatherjackets morwong and flathead have been caught around the inshore reefs on squid and slimy mackerel.

The rock fishing has been excellent with the good spots around South Head and North head yielding plenty of good drummer and a few nice bream.

Big schools of salmon are around, visiting the headlands and beaches along with some good-sized tailor.

The Nullica and Kiah rivers have been a bit quiet of late with only the odd flathead and a few nice bream. A bit of rain is what is needed to liven up the river fishing.

The same could be said of Wonboyn Lake and the river, with fishing there also a little quiet. Without some rain, this system will soon become crystal-clear, making for tough fishing.

The beaches in the area have been going well for salmon and tailor. Those fishing in Disaster Bay have encountered some beautiful windless days, allowing for some good catches of flathead and snapper.

Stephen Ball with a big silver drummer caught while holidaying in the area.