Keep moving to find the fish

The beaches around Ballina and Lennox Head have been fishing really well and should continue to get better. Look for gutters on Patches Beach and back to South Ballina as well as the beaches along Seven Mile Beach north of Lennox Head. There have been good catches recorded of tarwhine and flathead on both soft plastics and blades (try the 1/4oz weight), although if it’s too windy this might be a struggle.

There are still good numbers of pipis around, and these little fellas are a great fresh bait for most bread-and-butter species. Just remember you’re not allowed to take pipis from the beach.

The mackerel are showing up in OK numbers between Brunswick and Evans, but they are very scattered. You’ll find the mackerel one day and then they’ll have moved on the next. You just have to keep moving to find them, which is very typical of the early season bite.

Livies are still the go at this stage, with yakkas and slimies being the best. Close-in reefs are the go, like Black Head, Flat Rock and Snapper Rock down at Evans Head. There still have been some decent snapper being caught as well on plastics early in the morning, but they seem to be a bit wider out.

The rock walls have produced some good-size mangrove jacks. While not in good numbers like they were in summer, the better size specimens have come out to play in recent times. These guys will become less active now that the water is cooling down, but they can still be caught by persistent anglers.

The break walls have been yielding some good jewies (mulloway) towards the bottom end of the tide. This dirty water has certainly stirred them up, with some really good-size fish being caught. Live mullet seems to be producing the best catches upriver in the holes.

The freshwater stretches of the Richmond and Wilsons river have been patchy of late, as there has just been so much dirty water around through February and early March. The whole system has had a flush, and will be better for it. Hopefully the Aussie bass get a good breeding season this winter after last year’s floods, which would have thrown everything into chaos.

We’ve certainly had a late summer; the heat didn’t really hit until well after Christmas, which has resulted in the surface fishing being even stronger through March than it was in December – and it doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon. Imitation creature baits mimicking prawns, frogs, small lizards and even birds have been catching plenty of bass. It’s such a fun way to fish.

If you’re after a feed of flathead, try the stretches between Pimlico Island and Broadwater. Whitebait and fresh prawns are the go if you can get them. The prawns are on the move at the moment so if you can find them, you’ll find great numbers of these tasty fish. The best hooks for these are a number 1/0 and 2/0 long-shank hooks, such as Gamakatsus. The longer shank in the hook keeps the line away from their teeth. Which while only small, a flatty’s teeth can cut through some pretty tough line. If you’re into throwing hardbody lures, try tolling some Atomic Shiner 75s, which will get down past 3.5m easily in the holes around the Wardell Bridge and areas close by. Bright colours have been working the best. Once you have found the drop-offs, it’s always good idea to have a 3-4” soft plastic with a 1/4oz jighead with 3/0 hook ready to go. Until next month, tight lines.

SAFETY GEAR

T H G I L E B O R T S R V Q W U F U Z E V N R O H R I A V P G T A G I P C Y B M H O C J U J A I R V K I I J Y O K E V H R P B E

E F I R S T A I D K I T H I B M F N N B E R H G G S O R C D A W

I C V R D R I T E E H S V W R H L S A F E T Y L I N E S R X G I

D L L E L I F E J A C K E T F S F Y S S F I R E B L A N K E T T P F K C I T S W O L G W V M Z L K C A S Y R D G A B W O R H T E H C T I W S L L I K F Q R A B C O V L Y H D G R E V A S E F I L K M B F Q H A R N E S S P Y X Z L W G N I L S E F I L B B E L L

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

I M E D I U M D J B S T R I P B

Y K T O T P A U S E H U H D S O

G C J U L I X D O C G S B Z L U

T O T H F N J F T R O L C T A N

U T D N I O S I A I P O N G L C

I T J E K G W T G P O W G Z W E

P H T K H T H J S E R R A T I C

O G P M U T E S E A E O N O O Z

O I F I L R K A P S F L R I V A

N A P P K J H L S E T L S I M H

P R O I N M I I A Q E E H V D X

A T P K I Q V G R W X D T U P V

N S H S S E J Q G T S T E A D Y

S T O P S T A R T L S S V Q F Z

E Z J S W E E P O D E E O K N B

P O O L B B Z H O P L Q R L U U