Consistent catches from the Clarence n Flathead, jewfish, luderick, bream
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This nice pan-sized flathead bit off more than it could chew when it attacked Mischa’s jewfish lure.
ISHING along the Clarence Coast of northern NSW has improved markedly over the past month, due mainly to the absence of any substantial rain – something I was wondering if I was ever going to be able to say, given the previous six months. From the mighty Clarence River excellent catches of bream are being taken far and wide throughout the lower reaches, with some of the
Cracking close reefs from P38
for winter, live bait have accounted for the bulk of fish at night. The high tide at night has been the most consistent to try your luck, and I suspect this trend will continue for the next couple of months. Unfortunately, luderick haven’t shown up this winter – probably due to the lack of weed after the floods. Though there seem to be quite a few fish hanging around rock platforms such as those at Shelly Beach and Iron Peg. Most anglers are having to use the cabbage that they’ve pulled from these rock platforms as a bait alternative due to no weed being available. The beaches have probably been the most disappointing as-
pect of local fishing over the past month. The formation on the beaches was considerably affected for quite a while and is slowly coming back, but the water quality close to shore was one of the last areas to improve. In recent weeks, we have seen better numbers of bream showing up on the beaches, along with a few flathead that have been sitting in fairly shallow gutters. Soft plastics in 3-4” and white pilchard have been the most effective way to target them, but keep your weight choice light, given the shallow water they seem to be favouring at present. There have also been the occasional dart and whiting that have been keen to attack a pipi or worm.
Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing August 2022
The concerning aspect of beach fishing so far this winter has been the lack of tailor. We are seeing decent numbers north and south of us, so there’s still hope as the season is far from over. My concern is that a large number of tailor stayed wide of the coastline while the floods were happening, and that they moved in closer to shore once they were north of Tweed. I’m hopeful we will see more consistent numbers move up the coast as we continue through winter because I for one am keen to get some sand on my waders this season. Well. that’s about all from me for this month – it is good to have a little normality back, so until next time, tight lines!
Just Jew by TYE PORTER
most consistent catches coming from boat anglers fishing the reef upstream at Browns Rocks or the deep water at the eastern end of the Middle Wall. As the clean water continues to push further upstream with each tide, so too will the fish and, while we did have a minor flood warning issued for the Orara River last month, thankfully it did not send a heap of dirt downstream as it does normally. Both the Yamba and Iluka breakwalls are yielding plenty of bream and school jewfish from the back of the surf, with bait such as yabbies, beachworms or white pillies being the best by far. Luderick are another
species that have finally come on the chew in a big way inside the river, which is to be expected with July and August being the best months of the year for this fish. The old ferry approach at Iluka, both breakwalls and the approaches to Oyster Channel Bridge at Yamba are the pick of the spots for land-based anglers, while those folk with a boat are cleaning up along Middle Wall, Turkeys Nest and Collis Wall over the high-water period. Flathead can be found year-round, both in the river and along the beaches, which is great for those of us who enjoy chasing these tasty little critters. Even though the sea continued P41
Yamba angler Travis Porter couldn’t hide from the pesky little bream on a recent trip to Goodwood Island. www.bnbfishing.com. au
