Swansea

SWANSEA Jason Nunn

It’s been a cracking tailor season off the rocks and in the lake, and that will continue in the coming weeks.

We are also seeing a lot of guys chasing those deep water bait schools. I have seen a number of really good mulloway caught amongst the bait schools, and this month the key will be fishing

Once you find a bait school, have a look at the sounder and see if it’s getting worked over, and start jigging the bottom. You can get good results drifting over the school and dropping down 5-7” soft plastics on approx. 1/2oz jigheads, and jigging them off the bottom. Vibes like Zerek Fish Traps and Samaki Vibelicious are proving to be very productive as well. You’re basically bombing down through the bait school to where the

It’s good to see so many quality tailor in the lake at the moment.

the deep water, particularly down around Pulbah Island. It’s certainly been a bit of a hot spot for us. The best time is early in the morning, and with luck there will be some bird activity to guide you to the action. I recommend putting a couple of trolling lures out and have a troll for tailor as soon as you get down in that deeper water area. Keep the sounder on and start marking some of the bait schools. You’re looking for ‘ragged’ looking bait schools, because those are the ones that are getting attacked by predators. flathead are waiting on the bottom, with the mulloway a bit above them, enjoying the scraps raining down from above as the tailor/salmon attack the baitfish. You may also encounter a bycatch of bream and squire.

Lately we’ve seen some nice jewfish caught around a metre. These fish will be caught right through July. Yes, it may be cold and you may need a beanie, but you can fish all day for them, and maybe stick around for those glorious, lingering sunsets we get in winter.

A lot of the flathead have come back in from offshore, and there have been some really nice models getting caught from the bait schools. There’s an abundance of 45-55cm fish, and also good numbers of 65-75cm fish, which is a good sign for the health of the fishery. The fishing should last right through winter.

With those prevalent westerly winds through July, sometimes it’s better to favour the western side of Pulbah Island, and also back up into Myuna Bay, so you’re more protected. Additionally, the water is a little bit warmer with the power station hot water outlet, and there are good numbers of baitfish, shadowed by tailor, flathead and bream. A lot of the fish are in the southern section of the lake at the moment, so it’s a good place to fish. That’s not to say you won’t catch them in the northern end, of course, but it perhaps won’t fish quite as well there.

At this time of year the tailor will spread throughout the lake. It’s good to try the area between Coal Point and Valentine because there’s a trench through there, giving you a great opportunity to have a troll through that deeper water. Again, look for the bait schools.

In autumn we were gifted a really good run of inshore snapper off Swansea. A lot of the reefs in just 20-30m of water fished very well through autumn, and they should continue to fish well in the coming weeks. The best method on the inshore reefs during westerlies at this time of year is to anchor up and berley. Use ingredients like old bread, chicken pellets and old pillies, and set out an unbroken, continual, light trail. Fish floating baits such as half pillies or prawns straight down the berley slick.

The best times to fish for inshore snapper are early in the early morning and late in the afternoon, particularly if you can time that with a high tide. I prefer a high tide at around 4pm so you can fish right up until dark. However, if you can’t get out at those prime times, you can still catch them in the middle of the day at this time of year. You can also pick up a bycatch of trevally. We’ve had a real resurgence in numbers of trevally off this part of the coast, and it’s good to see a species like this come back on after being in poor numbers in the past.

July is when thousands of whales migrate along our coastline. If you are anchoring or travelling along the coast, it’s best to do it after light and then be back in before dark. There have been a few whale-related accidents along our coastline in the past, so be mindful of the dangers. Some boaters have had whales’ flukes catch on the anchor rope, so keep a knife handy so you can cut the rope.

The deeper water reefs such as the Farm area and down towards Texas in particular will be worth trying this month, particularly for snapper and longfin perch, and of course kingfish. There have been a few of all species around of late, but we’ve had a bit of trouble with those cold-water barracuda, making life difficult when jigging. Riddled with worms and bones, these pests are This big girl was released to fight another

day. Image courtesy of @hook__in.

problematic on the deepwater reefs at present, and we will also see them on some of our inshore reefs in the coming weeks. It’s part and parcel of fishing in winter. If you rock up to a spot and the cuda are there, it’s time to up and move.

The saving grace of barracuda is that they make good bait, being nice and oily and silver. I like to use 5-6” cuda strips as floating baits for snapper (floating pillies are hard to beat for snapper, too).

July is a great month off the rocks because of westerly winds and hopefully flat time of writing there haven’t been many salmon catches reported, but we should start to see more catches in the coming weeks. The beauty of salmon fishing is they don’t have sharp teeth, so you can get them with single hooked pillies. It’s becoming more common for anglers to fish a paternoster rig with a surf popper on the top loop and a half pilly on the bottom. If the salmon are smashing the bait up, a chrome lure about 40-60g will work well. • Fisherman’s Warehouse Tackle World has a large range fresh and frozen bait

A ripper Lake Mac greenback taken on a Sugapen. Image courtesy of @hook__in.

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to encounter a few more salmon and possibly a few less tailor and bream as we move towards the end of the month. Silver trevally and the odd flathead are also likely, and there’s a chance of mulloway at night.

The inshore strip, along our headlands, bommies and closer reef can fish pretty well in the middle of winter, providing the conditions are suitable. This is particularly important for rock hoppers, for safety reasons, however a nice bit of washy water is generally good for fishing, and any prolonged period of westerly winds that flatten out the sea tend to make for poor fishing. When the seas flatten out and the water looks clearer and greener, it means most fish either eat less or move out wider or deeper.

This is when you see more toadfish around, and you’ll generally struggle to catch much. All going well though, silver trevally, bream, drummer, luderick, tailor, salmon and snapper are all on the cards.

A lot of local boats will also be looking to head wider this month, with kings being the main target for many anglers. As mentioned last month, the price of fuel has become more of an issue this year, and when you’re doing 50km or more in the boat for a day’s fishing, it certainly becomes noticeable. Keeping a very close eye on the weather and marine forecasts, as well as the angling grapevine, will help maximise every drop of that expensive fuel!

Back inside calmer water, luderick are the perhaps the main species worth thinking about this month.

The Entrance is probably our local luderick capital, with plenty of options on either side of the bridge, but anglers down the southern end of the area are better off sticking to Brisbane Waters to score a feed.

Don’t expect miracles this month. As I say, we’re coming into the toughest time of year and you’re going to have to keep an eye on weather forecasts and put in some effort to score fish this month. However, a fresh feed of snapper or luderick or just having some fun hooking into a few salmon is very much on the cards. seas. I’ve had reports lately of big schools of luderick off the rocks, and this should continue in the coming weeks, with drummer also in the mix. The most popular bait is cabbage, which you can gather off the ocean rocks.

Some beautiful tailor are getting caught off the stones as well, plus some trevally. Please remember to wear a lifejacket, and ideally fish with someone else. If you are going by yourself, tell someone else where you’re going.

On the beaches we will start to see a few salmon turn up this month. At the 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 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.