Fishing action is red hot as the weather cools

Illawarra

Greg

Clarke

I love March as the water is still hot, the days are calm and warm, you don’t have to get up too early and there are swarms of fish of every type available, no matter what type of fishing you pursue.

Offshore is the place to be, but with so many options available it is hard to make up your mind as to which species to chase first. Most are opting for the mahimahi around the FAD, as it seems to be the main attraction. If fisheries are reading this, another in the local area wouldn’t go astray to alleviate the pressure on the one out there at the moment.

Mahimahi from rats of around a kilo to fish over 15kg are providing the bulk of the action, with some larger fish mixing it from time to time.

With so many mahimahi about a few marlin have been hanging around the FAD as well, and they can be tempted with a large slimy mackerel slow trolled around the area, that is if a big mahimahi doesn’t get it first. A small mahimahi doesn’t make a bad live bait either!

Trolling live slimy or frigate mackerel around reefs like Bandit, Wollongong and the southeast grounds off Shellharbour should produce the odd late marlin, while large lures or live striped tuna (if you can find one) trolled out over the shelf around the Kiama Canyons could produce a big blue marlin or a solid black.

On the days when see the mullet start preparing for their run, which generally occurs in mid to late April. In the lead up to this event, the mullet seek each other out and form big schools in the bays and river systems. A school of 20 might become 80, and before you know it there’ll be a mega school of 10 tonnes. Then they run en masse. I’ve seen schools run out of Swansea channel that have been a kilometre long, tailing and jumping. Sometimes they get to the heads and turn back, other times they stream out and get netted, and other times they just go straight to sea. It’s quite a sight.

The mulloway will start to build as well this month because, like many migratory predators, they are tuned into the mullet run. There are already a lot of school mulloway in the lake, and now the bigger mulloway there is a bit of warm blue current about, wahoo, small yellowfin, striped tuna, mackerel tuna and even a stray sailfish or short billed spearfish is not out of the equation.

A few spotty and Spanish mackerel have again been reported around the close in reefs, but many more are missed and passed off as bite-offs from big tailor, so a bit of light wire above the hook after a bite-off may well pay dividends.

Live yellowtail or mackerel baits used early in the morning around the islands have been producing some good kingfish action, but there are plenty of undersized rats for every good fish. If you can find some frigate mackerel and will start to move into the estuary and ambush the mullet schools. With the mullet packed so tight, it’s an unmissable opportunity for predators.

There have been quite a few small snapper in the lake, and it’s likely that will continue. I’ve been getting reports of quite a few fish in the 45-55cm range, with the odd larger specimen in the mix. Over the last couple of seasons there’s been a bit of a resurgence of these lake snapper, which is great to see.

There are still a few crabs around, and March isn’t a bad time to have a crack. Remember that any jennies in berry (carrying eggs) must be released.

Finally, the Big Fish Bonanza has been run and won. A total of 116 keen anglers descended on the town to vie for a host of great prizes this year. There were over 60 marlin tagged, mostly juvenile blacks, and the majority were caught in the top of the bight troll them live in the same area, you could hook a big king, but they are hard to land due to the shallow and rough nature of the territory. Knife jigs are a good bet out on the deeper reefs as an alternative, so there are plenty of kingfish options available.

Don’t be surprised if you hook a stray cobia or two in among the kings, as they seem to show around this time most years.

If you like tossing lures about there is plenty of action all along the coast around the headlands and along the back of the beaches, just keep an eye out for the birds and look for those tell-tale splashes on the water as the big fish chase the baitfish.

Schools of salmon, towards Port Stephens. A few striped and a couple of small blues made up the remainder of marlin catches. Other notable captures included a 367kg tiger shark, a 324kg whaler and a 61.5kg yellowfin tuna. Thanks to all the sponsors for supporting this great annual event. like pigfish and sweep. and even the odd marlin is still possible on live frigate mackerel or big slimies. bonito, tailor, frigate mackerel, trevally, mackerel tuna and kingfish are all on the top sometimes, churning the water to foam. Small slices, tiny baitfish lures and soft plastics cast into the schools can keep you busy for hours.

• 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 competitively-priced selection of new and secondhand boats. The friendly staff are all 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.fishermans warehouse.com.au.

The sand all along the coast has heaps of flathead on the bite, with a few gurnard and even some nice flounder, particularly off Port Kembla and Windang sand patches.

When drifting for the flatties, try a two-hook rig with bait on the bottom hook and a soft plastic on the second. It is amazing how many trevally, small mulloway, and even bigger flathead you can pick up doing this.

Lure tossers have reported for bonito, mac tuna, salmon and a few tailor, there are even a few longtails about very early or in the late afternoon. The tuna have been caught using live yellowtail or slimy mackerel for bait, and they will get better later this month and into April.

Putting down the anchor over the shallow inshore reefs and using some of the tuna for berley and bait has been rewarding for those

On the beaches it is heaven, with warm, still days and heaps of fish. Grab some beachworms for whiting, dart, salmon, flathead and small mulloway and if you add a few pilchards or tuna pieces to the mix, you can expect the same, along with tailor and trevally. Big mulloway are mostly nocturnal, but a few better fish over 10kg have been caught in the daylight hours lately, so anything is possible.

The northern beaches have been producing solid mulloway during the evenings, with plenty of small sharks stealing rigs in between fish. Large soft plastics worked in the deeper gutters have also accounted for a few fish just on dusk.

Which beach to fish? It doesn’t really matter, as

For a bit of fun, head down to the local harbours at Bellambi, Wollongong, Port, Shellharbour and Kiama and join the throng casting tiny slices and baitfish copies for the frigate mackerel as they zoom in and out of the harbours chasing small baitfish. They are great sport and make great bait for bigger fish.

Later this month we should see an increase in big bronze luderick along the ocean rocks as they start moving along the coast to spawn. Just about any wash will hold a few, along with some solid drummer to keep you on your toes. Bread berley works well on both species at this time of the year too, with most choosing to use the crust for bait.

In the lake and Minnamurra, there are still plenty of flathead taking soft plastics and poddies, after snapper, trag and small samsonfish, particularly during the evenings.

There are plenty of nice flatties over the sand and small reddies on the reefs this month.

A few nice mulloway have also been getting in on the act, along with the everpresent hammerheads and whaler sharks that are very active at this time of the year.

Drifting over the reefs off the northern suburbs and around Port Kembla and Kiama has seen plenty of action in the form of small snapper, mowies, trag, trevally and samsonfish, along with the regular reefies all the beaches have been producing over the past few weeks.

Off the rocks it’s more of the same, with surface speedsters headlining the news. Bass Point has bonito and salmon schooling, with frigate mackerel and a few kingfish and tailor, while up at Hill 60 there are bonito, salmon, kingfish, frigate mackerel and even a few mackerel tuna.

Kiama is the pick, with its deep water providing live baiters with good kingfish with heaps of whiting at the entrance to both systems.

In the backwaters there are mullet and garfish available if you use a bit of bread berley, with some solid bream starting to show in the deeper holes.

There were even some decent runs of prawns over summer, so the next dark moon might throw up a few more.

That just about covers it, and if you can’t get a few fish this month, give up and take up lawn bowls!