NSW
It’s pretty hard to go wrong COFFS COAST
Rob Taylor
While we’re likely faced with the disappointing reality of being in the midst of another La Niña weather
just around the corner. Offshore, we’re still seeing good catches of snapper, trag, mulloway and pearl perch for the plonkers. Also, the gamefishing fraternity are rolling out of their winter doldrums as the
first striped marlin arrive out on the shelf (including a rather large one I lost after an hour, the memory of which still haunts me). Now we’re finally back into shorts and thongs, let’s take a look at what November
An unusually early mahimahi for the author bodes well for a bumper year on these popular fish.
Some really fun fish turn up in the washes at this time of year. This pinky brought a smile to Luke Giovanetti’s face while chasing bigger targets.
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drummer, groper, tailor, snapper, mulloway and bream in the wash zones off the beaches and headlands. Whiting and dart have already been caught in the beach gutters, so they will start to definitely increase in numbers this month. Nothing beats walking beach gutters at low tide and flicking lightly-weighted baits such as fresh worms or yabbies, or casting out small plastics. At this time of year it can really fire. Although they will be thinning in numbers somewhat, tailor and salmon are always dependable at this
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anticipation for this time of year, and for good reason, as the creeks and rivers really turn on some epic fishing. Some very big flathead will be eating lures and baits this month, and it’s no coincidence that the big flathead competition at Urunga is on at this time of year. ROCKS AND BEACHES We’re really moving into summer proper around the rocks and beaches, but it will be a couple more months before the land-based game season starts and the first pelagics arrive. Until then, you will still be able to catch
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There are good numbers of mulloway around the local rocks. Luke Giovanetti has been landing plenty on plastics.
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cycle, the fishing of late has been surprisingly good. When not too fresh and brown, local rivers and creeks have been producing whiting, bream and flathead in solid numbers. The first smattering of jacks and GTs has signalled the onset of the summer fishing season with a bang, and the bass fishing in the fresh has been, at the time of writing, the best I’ve seen in years. The rocks and beaches have also been fishing quite well for this time of year, with plenty of mulloway, tailor and bream in the wash zones. The first dart and summer whiting have also started to infiltrate the gutter systems, so summer really is
holds for such style masters. CREEKS, RIVERS AND ESTUARIES As mentioned, the start of this bass season has been nothing short of phenomenal. Every man and his dog have been getting PBs, smashing records, and landing 50+ fish – and little finesse has been required. The Clarence in particular has been the system of choice as the fish were holed up at the choke point that is The Gorge. It was pretty much shooting fish in a barrel. We’ve had large river rises since then, so it’s likely the fish are now upriver and will be more spread out, but they are all big, hungry and there for the taking (and releasing) if you can find them. Smaller systems such as the Bellinger and Macleay rivers will also be fishing well now for bass. Grab a kayak and go. In the salt reaches, a lot of the excitement has centred on the start of the mangrove jack and GT season. Plenty of anglers wait in great
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