Windy August may be unpleasant and cold but the fishing can be rewarding for those who brave the elements and pick optimum times to wet a line.

Those on the beaches will enjoy some fun with bream and mulloway.

The northern beaches are proving best for mulloway, with live beach worms the optimum bait. Good gutters should be easy to spot and are best fished either side of the top of the tide.

Bream anglers will do well after dark, early mornings and late in the day.

So rugging up is really important and a good set of waders will definitely allow you to stay dryer and warmer.

A good spot to try this month is the stretch of Lighthouse Beach between the golf course and Lake Cathie. Best baits will be fresh slabs of mullet and bonito, pipis and beach worms.

Three species will be on rockhoppers’ minds, although each responds to very different techniques.

Bream will be hunting the washes and should fall prey to lightly weighted whole pilchards, fresh cunjevoi and slabs of mullet and bonito.

Tailor will be cruising in the half-light hours and should take whole pilchards and garfish along with metal spinners. Mixing up the retrieve speed until you hit pay dirt will be the key.

Drummer are third on the hit list, with the best bait fresh cunjevoi.

Two top places to target drummer this month will be Grants Head at Bonny Hills and Point Perpendicular at Laurieton.

A good berley trail will get things rolling; try a cunjevoi casing stuffed with breadcrumbs.

Offshore action will really kick into gear this month.

Bottom bouncers wanting an easy feed with little hassle need look no further than straight out from the Port Macquarie bar in 50m for a healthy flathead session.

Soft plastics will work fine, along with slab and cube baits.

If you’re looking to warm the muscles and get some quality table fish in the esky, snapper will be the go.

This month good reds should be moving in close to feed up on baits and soft plastics.

The reefs close off Shelly Beach will be the best starting points, while those wishing to venture further south will definitely want to give the reefs at the Golf Course and Lake Cathie a good working over. This area has a vast amount of reef and drifting between the two areas can produce good fish.

As always, a good sounder and a GPS are vital to make sure you’re in the right location. Pick up the schools on the sounder and then mark the active fish for repeated drifts.

For those wanting to fish the estuary, the bottom reaches should prove best for the majority of species.

Bream will line up on the wall this month and should be easy targets on bait, soft plastics and vibes.

Mulloway will be hunting the breakwalls and live poddy mullet and yakkas will be excellent, along with live worms and soft plastics.

Up-river, the mulloway will be easier to fool with soft plastics and vibes, with the Dennis Bridge and Rawdon Island Bridge two popular and successful places to target them.

Flathead will be spread out and this time of year I like to target them upstream on weed beds on the top of the tide in shallow areas as they look for warmer water to hunt and cruise for an easy meal.

The weed beds around the mouth of the Maria River and just upstream are prime spots for Winter flathead.

Luderick should be thick and good anglers will more than likely bag out regularly outings this month.

Just remember to take what you need, not your limit. All too often I hear stories of anglers getting their bag limit, taking it home, having a quick snack and then heading back for another limit.

Weed will be the primary bait, but that could become scarce this month. Peeled prawns and live nippers will also prove effective.

Best spots will be along the breakwalls and in Limeburners Creek.

Enjoy the last of the Winter fishing this month as we move closer to Spring and another change of fishing seasons.