Plenty of offshore catches

MARLO

Jim McClymont

mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

Weather permitting the offshore fishing has been great with anglers reporting good catches of flathead, gurnard, squid, barracoota, salmon, pinkie snapper, morwong and gummy shark, and that’s only the anglers who prefer to use baits.

The game fishing brigade are having a great time fishing for kingfish on Marlo and Tamboon reefs, and this year for the first time in years schools of bluefin tuna have appeared in numbers and giving anglers plenty of action.

As mentioned last time, the new boat ramp at Cape Conran has been very popular with the ocean-going anglers who have rated a great improvement.

I’d also better mention that the entrance at Marlo is still navigable on a good day with a lot of boaters taking advantage of a good entrance. With the good entrance, the fishing in the estuary is great with plenty of fish throughout the entire system. Most species are in abundance so anglers are having a great season catching plenty of bream and mullet up both rivers and up into Lake Coringle and Lake Curlip. Anglers are using several baits, including frozen prawn, sandworm, black crab, pipis and your secret baits.

The anglers who prefer to catch their fish on lures are also having plenty of success using soft plastic and hardbodied lures.

Ludericks are in big numbers schooling along the rock groins and mud banks, best results using sandworm.

Estuary perch are in good numbers and can be found up both rivers schooling on snags and other structures. Best results using live prawn or lures.

Dusky flathead are also in good numbers in the shallows along the sand flats that run from the Marlo Jetty all the way down to French’s Narrows, best results spinning with lures.

The reason the flathead are there is they are waiting for the prawns to move onto the sand flats before the run to the ocean on the right moon and tide. The flathead are not on their lonesome, plenty of anglers (and non-fishers) also are in competition for the succulent prawns for the dinner table. Salmon and tailor are entering the estuary on the incoming tide and giving anglers using lures plenty of action.