SNAPPER are starting to make an appearance at the reefs wide off Tuross, at the moment they are fish around the 1.5kg mark, but those bigger fish won’t be far away.
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A by-catch consisting of good sized nannygai, mowies, pigfish and flathead can also be taken while targeting snapper.
Remember to vary your rigs when targeting the bigger snapper, a simple paternoster rig will only have limited success.
There are still large schools of slimes offshore, some fishers are taking advantage of this run of excellent bait fish, and salting them down for the fishing season ahead. Unfortunately it appears that there aren’t any larger predators chasing the slimes.
Water temperature still remains around 16c from the beach to the Montague Island, with the offshore current coming from the south the water is a dirty green colour with lots of fine filament material.
At the moment this is not having much of an effect on the fishing, but could cause problems relating to water oxygen levels if the filaments start to die.
Thousands of blue bottle jellyfish, also known as the 'Portugese Man O War’ have made an appearance offshore.
Blue bottles aren’t normally found here this time of year, so be careful when walking along the beach.
The sting from a blue bottle can be quite painful, and remember that their tentacles can be up to 8-metres long.
Treatment for major stings from blue bottles to the face or neck require urgent action - ring 000 and ask for the ambulance.
Otherwise remove the tentacles with tweezers or gloved hands, wash site with lots of salt water, and use tolerably hot water on the bite site (do not use vinegar or sand). If necessary see a Doctor.
Flathead were found between the island and the mainland for most of last week, with a number of local fishers catching their bag limits in just over an hour.
Over the weekend the flatties moved to the south of Montague, with ’The Gunbarrel’ producing the best results.
Whales have started their southern migration, so it won’t be long before fishers patience is tested when the mutton birds arrive.
The trick with fishing around mutton birds is to get the bait down deep as quickly as you can, he who hesitates will certainly spend time de-tangling.
NSW Fisheries have just announced bag limit changes which will take effect from November 3. The main changes to affect our local area include: A reduced bag limit from 20 to 10 for flathead species (other than dusky flathead), bream and tarwhine, tailor, blue swimmer crab, trevallies and luderick. The possession limit of 20 will remain for these species.
Extension of spawning closure for Australian Bass and Estuary Perch to four months (May - August) to protect early migrating bass. Catch and release will be permitted during the spawning closure.
Other changes have also been made which will affect fishers in other areas, so check them out before you go fishing.
Joke of the week: Q: What's the dumbest fish in the school called?
A: Dinner
Fishing Tip of the Week: Don’t believe everything on the internet about fishing (or anything else), try it for yourself first. Recent false stories include daylight saving to start this week (not starting until October 5), false fish identifications (Chinese pigfish), etc
Fishing Soap Box: Where are we with the re-development of the main Narooma boat ramp? We await (& wait, & wait, & wait) developments with ‘baited’ breath.
Surf sessions for fishing club comp
AROUND 10 members of the Narooma Sport and Game Fishing Club enjoyed Saturday morning on Duesburys Beach, Dalmeny angling for the monthly competition.
Bar Beach was the choice for Sunday morning’s fishing, with a few members having success.
The men's winner at Sunday’s weigh in was Lou Moore, while the women's winner was Pat Lucock.
Lana Wheat tried her hardest in the kids section, but only succeeded in hooking a seagull.
Les Waldock decided it had to be a “catch and release”, and sent it on its way with fortunately only a sore mouth.
Better luck next month Lana! Lou Moore had beginners luck and netted a nice salmon and a bream.
Next month’s comp will be held October 11-12, and new members most welcome.
The club is open every Friday night for a social evening from 4.30pm to 9pm, so please come and join us.
- Jan Hemmingsen
Bermagui Country Club Social Anglers' Club news
THE Bermagui Hotel was the venue for members of both the Hotel’s Fishing Club and the Bermagui CC Social Anglers’ Club to enjoy the social get-together over a delightful lunch and the presentation of the Shield.
Patronage from both sides was excellent.
President Sandy had the pleasure of declaring the retention of the Shield by the Hotel, while the Country Club’s effort was not forgotten with the offshore win going to John Symes and the onshore a winner for Robert Brown.
A reminder - October’s comp weekend is the 11th-13th with barbecue lunch 12.30pm Sunday.
Members are also looking forward to their getaway to Ocean Lakes Caravan Park to celebrate Christmas together over the weekend of November 28-30. For more information call president Fran on 6493 5034.
- Hooked On Fishing