NSW
It’s all about the tailor COFFS COAST
Rob Taylor
Are lockdown restrictions still on? If they are, no-one has told the tailor about it. Nor do the tailor schools seem to be aware of social distancing rules as every beach gutter, rock ledge and island wash is currently a tailor hotspot. Pretty much any type of metal
hottest tailor spinning action this year. As well as tailor, the beaches and headlands have been yielding winter whiting and bream, and a 50lb jew was taken from a local beach a few days before this report was written. In the saltwater reaches of the local creeks and rivers there have been some good catches of flathead and bream for those willing to
500m line, a spattering of solid yellowfin have been taken, with fish between 30-50kg taken either cubing or fast trolling pushers and jet heads. Looking ahead, plenty of good fishing is on the cards for those keen enough to take on the last of this year’s cold starts. Estuaries will be producing plenty of bream and luderick, and some solid flathead will also be moving about the lower reaches. Drifting or wading the shallow flats is the best way to target these fish as they seek the warmth of the sun in the shallows. Hardbodies, 2-3” grub or paddletail plastics, and even surface lures will entice lizards in just 1-2ft of water. Although whiting are somewhat scarce, their absence is more
Gavin Hackett with a solid land-based red. Anything can turn up off the rocks at this time of year.
Luderick are a reliable target throughout September. Look to the headlands, rock walls or the local marina for a bag of these battlers. lure, from old faithfuls such as Tobies and Twisties to modern Raider shapes, will produce fish if cast into white water and retrieved at a medium to quick pace. Fish sizes range from 30cm choppers through to horse greenbacks, with recent weeks seeing some of the
52
SEPTEMBER 2021
put some time in. Offshore is all about snapper at this time of year, with some solid fish coming from both the shallow and deeper reefs. Trag and pearlies have also been taken by those anglers prepared for frosty starts before sunrise. Further out around the
The author with a solid tailor taken off the rocks. It has been a bumper year for choppers.
than compensated for by excellent numbers of bream, which will take both lures and baits without hesitation. Lightly-weighted fresh yabbies are a certainty when chasing bream. Most of the rock walls of the bigger local systems have good catches of luderick and this will continue during the winter. As always, cabbage, hair or even flies will get a bite out of a luderick. The Coffs marina is always a sure bet for a catch of blackfish too. On the headlands and beaches, it’s going to be tailor, tailor, tailor as the hot bite shows no signs of abating just yet. If you do tire of spinning tailor, some good drummer, groper and of course, bream, are also feeding in the wash zones. Avoid any sand in the wash if you are targeting drummer and groper, and remember to hang on as both these fish are tanks and don’t like
