According to commercial anglers, there’s plenty of them out there – they just don’t appear overly interested in taking baits and lures.

There’s a school of thought (pardon the pun) that these fish are more interested in spawning than eating right now, and will come on the chew when they’ve finished following their natural urges.

With one or two very promising reports of salmon filtering in over the last couple of days from the far south coast – around Wallaga Lake and Bermagui – it may not be long before normal service is restored.

Marlin fishing, as predicted, has improved markedly this week, with some crews describing the action over the Shelf as ‘exceptional’.

There have been lots of reports of boats tagging multiple fish – five or six per session – and raising plenty more.

A few intrepid anglers have also been throwing flies at marlin, with a couple to 70kg caught off Narooma. That’s an outstanding fish on fly gear.

Solid dolphinfish to 30kg have also been reported.

South coast estuaries are fishing steadily. The Moruya River is producing bream and perch on blades and the Bega River is yielding a few nice flathead and tailor.

Canberra’s urban lakes remain lively, with golden perch and redfin biting, especially at Ginninderra and Burley Griffin.

Googong is clear and fishing reasonably well, too. Deeper water, beyond the weed-beds and drops offs, is the best area to focus.