The seas have calmed down enough for south coast anglers to return to the rocks and beaches – and many have been pleasantly surprised with the fishing they’ve found.
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Salmon and tailor fishing this summer has been woeful, but the wet and windy conditions seem to have sparked the fish into action.
Anglers fishing popular spots such as the breakwalls at Narooma and Moruya, and the rock platform at South Broulee, report good catches of tailor and salmon in the past week.
The tailor are biting at dawn and then quickly receding to the depths once the sun rises, but the salmon will hit baits and lures all day, especially on a rising tide.
Some estuaries have fared better than others in the wake of the East Coast Low.
Lakes Conjola and Burrill, for example, received much-needed flush-outs and are now fishing really well for bream, flathead and whiting.
But systems further south, including Wallaga Lake and Cuttagee Lake, didn’t get the falls they were anticipating and are fishing poorly.
Tuross Lake is a little murky but is yielding dusky flathead and bream near the mouth on soft plastics.
Tuross, meanwhile, has been chosen to play host to a trial Code of Practice for the release of trophy sized flathead.
The trial Code of Practice is also being introduced to St Georges Basin – another noted trophy flathead haunt.
As part of the trial, anglers will be encouraged to release big female flathead over 70cm in length.
The trial will also include surveys, tagging and research to provide more information on dusky flathead populations in these locations.
More information on the trial will be available at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/recreational as the initiative progresses.
