Bream catches slowly improving
NSW Fishing Monthly editor Tony Zann reports on the local fishing scene …
Bruce at Dave’s Bait Shop says the bream are starting to come into the river but they’re still mostly fairly small, although there have been a couple of better fish. At night on the big tides baits like mullet and mullet gut have been effective while the plastic-tossers have been picking up a few during the day.
Blackfish moving in in droves so they should be great over the next few weeks. A few decent lizards in the lower reaches on live baits and big plastics. Whiting still going OK well up river to Woodburn but their condition is getting poor.
Jewfish have been good around the walls and the lower reaches as the mullet have been on the move, with jewies to 16kg on live mullet each night.Tailor are doing well from the beaches and most headlands and the size seems to be improving. Not a lot of reports from outside but if the sea flattens off over the weekend the wider grounds should have good pearlies and snapper.
At Evans Head offshore conditions have been marginal, with few boats venturing past Joggly in the southerly regime. Are the mackerel still out there? Who knows? The beaches have been fishing quite well for mixed bags and the baitfish are still about, though in lesser numbers. Good results fishing the close gutters with soft plastics with bream, flathead, dart and chopper tailor going quite well.
Good bream on bait with the best of the tailor after dark along with a few school jew.
Nice tides this weekend for the beach and the estuary, where the bream are in good numbers but typically shy during the day.
