Things are still holding up

Anthony Stokman

Autumn started with a knockout punch of pelagics, and it’s still swinging as we go into the last month of the season. May is usually the month of ‘maybes’; maybe we’ll get what we’re hoping for, maybe not. However, this prevented that bait balling action that we love, and which the south coast is famous for.

Other than that, it was a spectacular season overall. There were plenty of striped marlin and lots of blues and blacks this year, and a good run of small inshore blacks as well. If the water continues to stay warm with plenty of at this time of the year onwards is the mighty swordfish. As the currents start to slow down and we move into the cooler months, avid sword fishers gear up to chase these prized fish. Most of the successful sword fishing is done further south, and most people will travel to those areas. However, it doesn’t stop the die-hards from having a crack in local waters. If successful, they are generally smaller fish.

Deep dropping out over the shelf becomes another option from here on as the currents pull up. Blue-eye, ling, hapuka, gemfish, bar cod and ocean perch are all great catches, and great table fish also. Hook’em has put out some new non-lead, glow sinkers (250g-4000g) that will get you down there.

Closer to shore, from the stones to the snapper grounds has had a tonne of action over the last couple of months. There have been masses of bonito, spawning schools of mulloway, longtail tuna running with a splash of small yellowfin in the mix, inshore dolphinfish, and small black marlin here and there. Anglers also picked up some good snapper. It was on fire – inshore fishing at its best!

The bonito, mac tuna, Watson’s leaping bonito, frigate, longtails, dolphinfish and black marlin we will be bidding farewell throughout the month. We’re all hoping they will return next year in good numbers. It was one of the best longtail tuna runs I’ve ever seen, and after such an exceptional run it’s still possible for the odd bonito and maybe some kings this month. However, from here on, it’s snapper time!

Another rare event that the odd fisho gets to experience once a year or so is when schools of 1m+ mulloway school up in snapper grounds. If you’re lucky, they can pop up right near your boat, and you’ll find yourself catching a fish every cast. Every year around summer/autumn I get reports of these jewies schooling out in the bay or in snapper grounds in big numbers, in what seems to be a spawning event. This can happen in a few locations close to one another on the same day. This year it was in 16m of water out of Durras, and the fisho was actually disappointed he couldn’t get any snapper because of all the jewies getting in the way! Not a bad problem to have. (Remember that mulloway have a minimum size of 70cm and a bag limit of one per person.)

The rock ledges will be trying to cool down after the red-hot pelagic run and as they do, snapper, bream, drummer and groper will be the species to warm you back up. Salmon and tailor will be backing up as we move out of autumn. For more salmon and tailor inquiries, look no further than our local beaches.

Last year we saw some massive tailor on the chew, and it will be interesting to see if those big guys show up again.

The estuaries and lakes have been going strong since last spring, with plenty of prawns filling them. This would have helped the fishing action, along with plenty of baitfish. I’m expecting a good solid run right up until it cools down moving into winter.

What can run hard in the estuary during autumn is mulloway. There have been good spawning events and loads of juveniles in the last few years, which is a good sign for the health of the fishery. If the jewies aren’t all out chasing mullet on the beaches, we might see a good bite happening in the estuary. Either way, there will still be the trusty flathead to keep things going.

Jai has been getting in on the longtail action.

May is looking stronger than the past, and that’s because we have yellowfin tuna – the heavy hitters of the fishing kingdom.

We may also still have some pelagics like bonito, mackerel and kingfish, and perhaps the odd marlin. There may also still be some dollies, plus snapper, mulloway and an estuary that just keeps giving. So, strap on your gimbal and harness, crack open your most expensive Japanese lure, or tie on your favourite squid jig as we head into May.

Offshore, this May should see the end of the marlin run, and what a run it was! It did get a bit slow and patchy in the end, and what didn’t help was the roaring current which bait, then the odd marlin is still on the cards. However, the gamefish we are really looking out for this month is the yellowfin tuna. These bad boys made an appearance at this time last year, and we are hoping it will happen again. Last year, by June they were thick off the south coast, and we had a red-hot bite for several weeks just northeast of Batemans.

Trolling and looking for yellowfin at the shelf to over the shelf while looking for bust-ups is generally the go. Once you find patches of fish feeding, casting stickbaits at them has been the preferred and most exciting and successful method.

Another game species that becomes of interest

May is traditionally a great time of the year for squid. After losing all my squid lures over the last couple of years with no squid, I’m ready to try again. The water is clearer, there has been less rain, and good reports, which have me excited. Fresh squid strips for mulloway bait seemed to be what mulloway have preferred over the last 12 months, rather than livies.

Finally, don’t be shy on heading out for some cheeky late season prawns during the dark nights of the moon cycle. You never know your luck.

• For more up-to-the-minute information on what’s biting where, drop into Compleat Angler Batemans Bay and have a chat to Anthony or one of the other friendly staff. They’re located at 65A Orient St, Batemans Bay (02 4472 2559).