Steve made the most of the good conditions catching quality reef fish such as this jewfish.
Fantastic flathead and jewfish
F
Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing August 2022
INALLY, I’ve sat down at the computer and haven’t whinged about the weather. And we’ve had sunshine over the past month and some good fishing with it. August often brings a hint of warmth towards the end of the month and a slight change in some of the species. Though, it’s a bit too soon to be looking for mangrove jack yet. That’s not to say you won’t catch a jack, but they aren’t as mobile as they will be in a couple of months. However, this month whiting usually spread through the Tweed River and, being a bigger system, the water temperature remains a little more stable and fish feed reasonably freely. The Brunswick River is a different kettle of fish – pardon the pun. Being highly influenced by ocean temperature and weather, the
Tweed to Byron Bay by GAVIN DOBSON
river water constantly changes temperature and while whiting are in the river, they’re often harder to catch until September-October. Flathead on the other hand will lay up in the shallows and warm themselves with the sun and bite readily. Speaking of flathead, there have already been good numbers in both the Tweed and Brunswick rivers. Toby and Damien Hart have been catching quality fish on lures and live bait recently, with some undersized school jewfish thrown in for fun on the light gear. In the Tweed this month, look for whiting up in the lake systems at Terranora and Cobaki, and from Chinderah to Condong, depending on how fresh it is.
Don’t let a bit of fresh scare you – it is surprising how our saltwater species can tolerate the lack of salinity for a period of time. Bream are still on fire in our lower reaches, with bumper catches coming for those using light line. The clarity of water is fairly clean, especially on an upper tide, so go as light as you dare because these fish are very shy. Offshore has been great, with good weather and flat bar crossings. In close, there have been jew and snapper from the local reefs to Black Rocks. The morning bite seems far better than the evening bite for some reason, so get out there early. continued P36
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