After a somewhat mild Autumn it’s hard to say how our Winter will roll out; let’s just hope for one thing – no more rain!

In the past few months local waterways have flooded three times to some extent, although not as dramatically as neighbouring rivers to the north.

There have been testing times for anglers and the local commercial fishing industry, let’s just hope for better times this month and for some prime fish.

It hasn’t been all gloom and doom; one big up side to all the fresh has been the mulloway action.

Some absolute beauties have been caught off the walls during the past few runs of fresh water and this month should be no different.

Fish will be in the deeper holes up river and on the beaches.

If you’re looking for bigger specimens, the beach and breakwalls will be your best options.

Quality beach worms will be the best starting point, followed by poddy mullet. Soft plastics and hard lures will also prove valuable on the bigger fish.

If you’re after some fun and some nice school fish, deeper holes in the estuaries will be worth a try.

Good starting points will be along the coal walls, around Dennis Bridge and the deeper drop-offs around Blackmans Point.

I wrote recently about Chris Blanch’s exploits around Dennis Bridge with 6” Berkley sandworms. His most recent outing produced some excellent school mulloway, again proving he’s no mug angler.

This month the run-out tide should be the best time.

Bream and luderick will be consistent targets for bait fishos with morning and evening sessions proving rewarding.

After-dark sessions with lightly weighted baits will also prove most successful.

Fresh strips of mullet and prawns will have you tangling with the bream and yabbies will have both options covered, because the luderick should be very active and ready to eat live baits as well as weed.

During the rising tide it will be shoulder room only along the breakwalls as the luderick anglers line up with their long rods, floats and weed from secret stashes.

Other luderick options this month will include the banks of Stingray Creek on the Camden Haven at Henry Kendal Reserve; along the edges of the oyster leases up Limeburners Creek and a few of the weedy edges just in the Maria River.

Off the beaches, the bream should be firing and hopefully the tailor will also chime in and make outings to the beach good fun.

Morning sessions just as the sun gets up will prove most rewarding.

Lighthouse Beach around the golf course should have some nice gutters.

With the size of recent swells, there should be good formations all the way to Lake Cathie.

Pilchards and mullet will be good baits and don’t forget to try a few soft plastics.

If the tailor are about a few metal slugs should have you tangling with a fish and let’s just hope some big greenbacks grace our shores.

Those venturing to the stones will also do well to invest in some good metal tailor lures like the Spanyid Raider 65 or the good old Halco silver Twisty. Distance is important so go with a size or weight you can comfortably cast to deeper water.

Start with a fast retrieve and regularly slow the retrieve until you hook up and find the speed the fish like.

Once you hit on the right retrieve it’s vital to stick to this and make hay while the sun shines – or, better still, catch tailor till the sun rises. As the sun gets up the action will slow dramatically unless it’s heavily overcast.

Offshore action has been varied with some rat kingfish about and some good snapper.

This month should see some cracker snapper caught. Inshore reefs should start to fire as the bigger fish come in to feed.

If you’re targeting snapper on plastics, a good sounder is vital. Sure, you can find the reef areas and drift and hope but a good sounder and a little time driving about will have you finding fish and targeting specific schools.

Soft plastics will have you tangling with some nice reds while live baits and pilchards or squid will also yield results. By applying the same tactics with the sounder better results will be achieved.

A good sounder is vital to any deep water fishing and I’d be lost without my Humminbird. I recommend anyone fishing offshore, or even in the rivers, spend some time playing with their sounder, reading the manual and making sure you can work it properly to get the best from it.

Just reading the depth of the water is a lost cause, you should be able to identify different types of bottom structure and identify fish and fish schools. Get this happening and you’ll be catching more fish in no time.

So rug up, enjoy the clear days and let’s hope for no more rain!