Tight Lines For Holiday Times

Newcastle Herald

Friday December 26, 2008

Fishing Simon Wlaker

HO, HO, HO and a merry christmas to one and all.

Santa has turned on a very festive fishing season, according to Tony "Mad Man" Lane, the Lake Macquarie fishing guide.

"There's lots of whiting in the channel, along the beach and on the breakwall at Blacksmiths," Mad Man reported.

"Live worms and live prawns are the go.

"There's a prawn run on this week, so if you can get live prawns, you'll be laughing.

"The bream are well and truly on, too, and go for the same kinds of bait. Try around any structure, under boats, piers that sort of thing."

The best time for the prawn run will be on the run-out tide after dark in the next couple of days.

Take up position in the shallows with a light and a scoop net and wait for them to float by.

Kings rule lake

QUITE a few small kingfish are being caught through the lake off the Dropover, to Wangi and Fishing Point.

"The kingies seem to be attacking five-inch soft plastics, they don't seem to be fussed on any particular colour," Mad Mad said.

"Just get them jigged down mid-water, surface poppers and metal lures.

"A couple boys I know have been getting some decent-sized kings outside, too, and dolphin fish.

"The good news is the leatherjackets have eased off, but they'll be back.

"Try the closer reefs behind Moon Island, Dudley Gravel and Redhead Gravel those kind of places.

"Lots of good nannigai in close, too."

Time to get fresh

BASS are beckoning at Glenbawn Dam, Lake St Clair and all the smaller inland impoundments and freshwater rivers.

Word is they are right on the bite and attacking anything.

Spinner baits in purple and brown and also black and purple jackals should set you on the road to success.

Would jew believe it

NEWCASTLE Harbour is swarming with small school jew in the 4kg to 5kg range, with a lot of bigger ones mixed in.

They're responding to flick baits, plastics and live tailor, mullet and squid.

Best time to hit them is on the run-out tide at night.

Bait-buying frenzy

WAYNE "Baitman" Faulker, from Efishnsea Bait Supplies has been run off his feet this week servicing anglers hell-bent on getting away for the holidays.

"It's been madness mate," Baitman said yesterday. "We've been flat out keeping up.

"People are buying a helluva lot of squid and salted pilchards.

"We sold over 80kg of pillies this week. Bit of work in them because we salt 'em down and freeze 'em.

"People love 'em because they can head up to Hat Head or South West Rocks or wherever they're going and they don't leak."

Stockton tailor-made

BAITMAN'S sources tell him there's been a few good tailor caught up along Stockton Beach.

When he says "good" he means huge, up around 80cm.

And he reckons there's plenty of jew, everywhere.

"People are buying two packets of squid, which have ten squid in each, and are getting five jew and all the rest are being hit too.

"And these fish are all up over the 10kg mark.

"They're getting them in the harbour, and up in the gutters up near the Sygna along Stockton Beach.

Raw prawns work best

HAWKSBURY prawns have been Baitman's other big seller as fishos roam the area in search of bream.

"A bloke came in in yesterday [Wednesday] and he'd caught four thumping bream off Merewether in his boat.

"One of them was 2.6kg cleaned massive!

"The other three were up and over the 1.7kg mark.

"The thing was, he was heading home because he had to be somewhere, but he thought he'd drop a couple of Hawksbury prawns over the edge, and bang, four huge horse bream in a row, but he had to go.

"Tragic."

The take-home message from Baitman is: if you hit the breakwalls and rock faces with Hawksbury prawns, fishing light, you'll get bream, simple as that.

Lizards lie in wait

NORTH Reef off Newcastle is fishing well for flathead with reports of double hook-ups over 65cm not uncommon.

There's also dolphin fish congregating around the Newcastle FAD.

"Dolphin fish will take little lures, live slimeys, or you can berley them up and float a pillie through," Baitman said.

"A good tip is to get up-current from the FAD and drift down.

"The dollies hang just off the FAD and will pretty much go anything once they're excited.

"They're great fun on light gear and tremendous eating."

There's also been encouraging news on the marlin front.

One boat got a couple of stripies up to 70kg through the week off Newcastle.

Muddy the waters

MUD crabs are on the march in Lake Macquarie, particularly around Cockle Creek.

One angler was hand-lining over there through the week.

Saw his line walking away and thought maybe he had a flathead.

Got it in close enough and saw it was a muddy, which bit him off.

Alerted to what was going on, he proceed to hand-line two massive, meatie mudcrabs, scooping them up when they got in reach.

Each crab barely fitted into a 20-litre bucket.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year one and all; may the fishing gods smile upon you.

fishing@theherald.com.au

Fish of the week

HAPPY NEW YEAR: Shaun Radford, from North

Rothbury, wins the Jarvis Walker tacklebox and

Tsunami lure pack for this 48cm bream hooked in

Newcastle Harbour recently. Call into Tacklepower

West End at Wickham to collect your prize mate. To

enter Fish of the Week, send your picture, address,

phone number and details of the catch to PO Box

510, Newcastle, NSW, 2300 or email to

fishing@theherald.com.au.

WEEKEND ON THE WATER

GOSFORD

TUGGERAH

LAKE

THE

ENTRANCE

BROKEN BAY

BOATING TIP

Never let ropes

hang over the side because they

can become wrapped around

the propeller in a jiffy. Similarly,

watch for mooring lines and

fishing traps.

FORECAST

Saturday

Shower or two.

Min: 18 Max: 27

Wind: N/NE 10/20 knots,

increasing to 20/30 knots.

Sunday

Isolated showers. NW to SW

wind with afternoon

coastal seabreezes.

Min: 20 Max: 27

Wind: N/NE

increasing

to 20/30

knots.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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