Summer species start stirring things up
H
ELLO and welcome. Summer has well and truly kicked into gear on the north coast. The typical summer species have already started showing up in numbers and, apart from potentially being a little dry this summer, on the fishing front, it is setting up to be a cracker. With the reasonably dry run of weather we’ve had, the river is currently looking amazing. Some may even say it
Ballina Bait & Tackle by BRETT HYDE
is too clean in the lower reaches of the river – if that’s possible. Bream have begun to make their way upriver for the summer. If the dry weather continues, I expect to see some good numbers upriver around Wardell, and we may even see fish around Broadwater and beyond. As is usually the case at this time of the year,
bream have been favouring the rock walls but have also shown up on the sand flats on rising tides. Most of the fish on the rock walls showed plenty of interest in bait such as prawns, mullet and other cut bait. Deep-diving hardbody lures have also had some success, and I expect to hear about good captures over the next few weeks on lightly weighted soft plastics as well. Small minnows and curl tail grubs will be the best bet to tempt even the fussiest of bream. In clear conditions, more natural-coloured plastics will be the best bet, with a jig head weight of 1/12oz or less. Flathead are making the march towards the mouth of the river in preparation for their breeding run for the season.
BALLINA
BAIT & TACKLE Anthony had fun with mangrove jack.
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At present, the better numbers of fish are still between the ferry and Wardell, though we have seen good captures in the lower reaches of Emigrant and North creeks, as well as the main river. With the weather heating up and, in an attempt to beat the heat to some degree, some of the fish have moved into slightly deeper water. Blades, vibes and soft plastics all had some success of late, particularly those in more natural colours. Over the course of summer, usually flathead will bite on a number of different bait, including prawns, pilchard, mullet, herring and yabbies. I suggest always taking a couple of different options with you because there are no guarantees that flatties are going to be interested in only one particular bait. Whiting and mangrove jack have also popped their heads up in anticipation of summer. I would say that jacks were a little slower than the whiting, but if you’re keen to chase a couple, I suggest targeting the rock walls further up the river, as well as Wardell Bridge and the bridges around Broadwater. Early in the season, suspending hard-body lures is always a great option, as you have the ability to leave the lure in the face of the fish for longer periods of time. The ability to then twitch the lure in close proximity to the fish will often illicit
a strike, as oftentimes, a moving lure may be ignored due their lack of aggression early in the season. Whiting conversely were already keen to attack a moving lure. Small poppers and stickbaits accounted for a number of quality models, with the more transparent and natural colours having the best results so far. A run-out tide in the afternoon has been the best time to target them, however the main thing to note was that most of the fish were in less than 1.5m of water. As we move through the season, they usually push into slightly deeper water due to the heat. When this happens, surface poppers are definitely the best option. Bass have been another species keen to play already. Most of the winter schools have broken up and the fish have moved onto the banks. They seem to be moving upriver as well, with plenty of fish above Coraki now. Early morning and late afternoon offered some surface activity, with frog imitations, fizzers and buzz baits proving effective. Later in the day, diving crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs have all accounted for fish. As for the fish in the lower reaches of the river, lure colour choice has been more natural, except during low-light periods when darker colours also worked quite well. Offshore has been a * continued P36
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