Swansea

There’ll be snapper on the Christmas menu

SWANSEA Jason Nunn

Over the last month or so we have started to see a few marlin off the coast, which indicates that in December we should see an array of gamefish. At the time of writing, the water temperature on the shelf is around 20.5°C, and it’s a good colour. Striped marlin are starting to make an appearance, as are a few mahimahi on the shelf.

Along with this, anglers have been encountering an array of sharks, including quite a few tiger sharks, a few mako and more off the shelf. There’s not a lot of current, and we’re hoping this will continue in the coming weeks. There are some big girls swimming around at the moment. Image courtesy of @hook__in.

It’s pretty cool when your brother catches a fish that you had tagged months earlier. Image courtesy of @hook__in.

From page 72 washes, like rock fishing techniques, or head a bit wider and deeper. It really pays to have an open mind and be flexible at this time of year.

Estuary fishing has been going very well in recent weeks. All that rain throughout the year may not have seemed so great at the time, but it’s good for the general health of our waterways, and often sparks a good summer season. I’ve enjoyed a few good shallow water lure casting sessions lately, with bream and flathead being the main players, but a few trevally, tailor and whiting have also come my way. Get out early and hit the shallow flats and bankside structure with shallow running hardbodies, surface lures, small vibes or soft plastics. Tides aren’t so critical in the lakes, but in most cases a rising tide works best around Brisbane Waters when casting lures around the shallows.

Soaking a bait at night is another excellent way of scoring some good estuary fish at this time of year. Fresh mullet, tailor, squid, pike, prawns or pink nippers will all do well. If you want to get more specific about things then try blood worms or beach worms for whiting, or even a live mullet or pike for mulloway in Brisbane Waters or the lower Hawkesbury. A live prawn fished around illuminated structure like a bridge or public wharf will also score flathead in quick time!

In on the inshore reefs such as the Farm in the deeper water, around that 100m line, there have been some pretty good snapper. We’ve had a nice spring/early summer run of snapper, with a lot of fish in the 2-3kg size range, which is great to see. Through November there were some kings still getting caught down south, but in the coming weeks we’ll see that lessening. At present there have been no mahimahi on the Swansea FAD, but it will be worthy of a look closer to Christmas.

Inshore it’s been a real mixed bag. As I write this report, there has been a band of cold water all along the coastline, from Norah Head up to nearly Crowdy Head, and this cold water has taken the edge off some of that inshore fishing (if you see dark, brown water with a lot of sediment, that’s typically the cold water). Fortunately, it’s starting to clear up, and this month we should see more moderate water temperatures with a bit of luck. As a result, the snapper fishing on the inshore reefs should pick up again.

The fishing along our beaches been a little bit quiet, but as we get closer to Christmas, we can expect to see a lot of whiting along our beaches. Mixed in with these guys have been quite a few dart and bream.

There have been a couple of mulloway caught lately by night time anglers. When targeting these fish I prefer either the build-up to a tide or coming off the tide. Up to a full moon is good, but I tend to like the first quarter to half of the moon. A water temp of around 20°C the inshore reefs and rocks, providing a reliable food source for predators like kingfish. Hopefully this month, we should also see snapper being caught off the rocks, plus trevally and kingfish.

Estuary-wise, the fishing been pretty good. Whiting catches have been boosted by the prawn runs, with good catches in the Marks Point dropover area, and Salts Bay, which tends to fire up in December. There have been good numbers of bream throughout the system in the wake of the November prawn run.

Anglers have been catching increasing numbers of flathead in the lake and in the channel, and this month a lot of the larger flathead will move into the shallower water. Remember there’s a no-take on fish above 70cm. If you catch an oversize fish, please don’t hold it vertically with lip-grips. When dangling vertically, a bigger fish can suffer internal damage that will eventually kill it,

or a bit better, combined with a little bit of swell, is perfect.

As the month progresses, we may see a few coastal schools of tailor, and if that happens it will enhance that mulloway situation.

The presence of whiting is good for mulloway too; these big predators will snap up a whiting as readily as a tailor.

Through spring the rock fishing continued to be very good for luderick and drummer, although at the time of writing we’re waiting for the warmer current. Hopefully in December, coastal bonito should start coming into even if it initially swims away strongly. Support the fish under the belly instead. It’s also best to use a damp towel to hold the fish while dehooking it, and moisten the brag mat. These matures help to stop the fish’s protective slime from coming off, so it doesn’t become vulnerable to parasites and bacteria.

We have had a really good run of blue swimmer crabs, and as we move into Christmas that should continue. In the lake, you are currently allowed two round, enclosed traps and four witches hats per person. Female crabs with eggs must be released.

As I write this report, larger vessels still can’t Our problematic with entering the channel at the moment we’re into November there was supposed to be maintenance dredging at the moment larger vessels can’t get to the ocean, or in from the ocean. Hopefully they’ll clear a passage before Christmas to allow our Christmas visitors to come in. problem for bigger game boats. Only around 1m or so at high tide. • Fisherman’s Warehouse Tackle World has a large range fresh and frozen bait as well as a huge range of rods, reels, lures and accessories. They also sell and service outboard motors, and have a competitivelypriced selection of new and second-hand boats. The friendly staff are all

Dr Nick with a few snapper and trag. Image courtesy of Sandy Bottom Boat Charters.

experienced local anglers, and they’re always happy to share their knowledge, whether you’re a novice or experienced angler. Drop in for a chat at 804 Pacific Highway, Marks Point, or give them a call on (02) 4945 2152. You can also find them on Facebook, or check out their website at www. fishermanswarehouse .com.au.