Fishing Monthly Magazines : Beaches take a pounding

The coast has really taken a pounding over the past four months and the beaches in our area are severely eroded.

The seas have cut the beaches back to the larger trees on the dunes and even some of these have been washed away.

Crowdy

each is washed by the waves at high tide and the water collects at the back of the beach. The beach is lower at the dunes than at the front edge and the water lies at the back of the beach and seeps through the sand to the ocean, making the sand very soft and dangerous to drive when the tide is half-in or more.

The only safe time to drive the beach is when the tide is near low and you can get on the slope of the beach near the water, where the sand is firm and provides a good driving surface.

ESTUARY

The Manning River has fished extremely well for the past few months and is continuing to do so.

Bream, luderick, flathead, whiting and small school jew have been on the bite from the retaining walls at the mouth of the river.

The bream are biting much better at night, while the luderick can be caught during daylight hours on weed or cabbage or at night on live yabbies.

The flathead are taking live herring, which are plentiful around the

antry and out along the sea wall.

The herring are easily caught on jigs and live for quite a while if kept in a bucket with frequent changes of water. The water must not be allowed to get too warm or it will soon kill the bait.

Whiting are being caught on the sand flats at the mouth of the river on yabbies, beach worms and squirt worms. The school jew like live yabbies best of all.

Returns from the beach have been poor with only the occasional tailor being taken.

There are heaps of salmon from the beaches taking lures and pilchards. Some of the fish are up around 5kg and put up a terrific fight on light line.

he Christmas tailor should be starting to arrive this month to provide a bit of action for the spin brigade.

The rocks have produced some small pigs and the occasional nice groper.

OFF SHORE

ome good fish have been caught down south and out wide.

Snapper to 8kg have been taken from the southern grounds near Old Bar, while some big bar cod have been landed in 150m of water.

Some good kings have been jigged out wide and pearl perch have been caught from the northern grounds.

Flathead are still plentiful on the drift

October is traditionally the time to score a mulloway of 20kg or better. Years ago we would look forward to catching a sixty-pounder or two around the full moon.

Fresh slabs of tailor or bonito will suffice for bait but, if possible, the head of a big squid impaled on a 10/0 or 12/0 hook would be even better.

Jewfish can be caught from the rock walls at the mouth of the river or from the headlands and beaches.