With plenty of reports of good fishing and favourable long-term weather conditions it looks like a good fishing season is developing in both fresh and salt water in the region, just in time for the Christmas holidays.
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I've just spent a week with my wife fishing around Bermagui and we had no problem finding limit bags of fish in the estuaries. Following advice from local guide and expert fish hunter Darren Redman we fished the shallow downstream sections of the Bermagui River with live nippers and caught limit bags of blackfish, bream, flounder, tarwhine, whiting, mullet and trevally. We did the same in Wallaga Lake, enjoying full bags in the clear, warmer water coming in on the flooding tide. The fish were superb on the table.
Similar reports of good fishing came in from other locations, including Lake Wapengo, Nelson's Lagoon, Coila, Corunna, Brou and the Moruya Breakwater. In the northern sector there were good blackfish at the bridge at Lake Burrill, bream in the shallows in Tabourie and flathead in Durras.
Offshore there were plenty of snapper on soft plastics, especially Nuclear Chicken, and on bait, good flathead on the sand and some nice gummy sharks. Kingfish are taking jigs and bait at Montague Island and in scattered locations around Merimbula.
Prawns have started and will be worth a try from now on. The Compleat Angler in Narooma reports that there are plenty of good-sized prawns in Corrunna and more in Coila, which has recently closed again after being open for a month.
Freshwater successes
Although fishing has slowed a little there are still plenty of golden perch being caught. Live yabbies and scrub worms have been the best bet in Burley Griffin and one angler reported his best fish for the week was a 5kg specimen caught near the National Museum.
At Burrinjuck the water level has dropped back to 68 per cent of capacity as water is released for downstream irrigation but some nice bags of golden perch and redfin have been reported on both lure and bait.
The Murray cod season opens on December 1 and anglers are expected to be out in force chasing the big fish. The legal size in 60cm in the ACT and between 55 and 75cm in NSW but most anglers now practice catch and release and simply enjoy the fun of catching a fish.
To kick off the cod season the annual Cod Classic being staged at Lake Mulwala on December 4-6 will feature a $1 million tagged cod and should attract a big crowd. Currently 3200 entries for the tournament have been received and plenty more are expected.
Trout moving
Trout also are moving well in the streams and lakes. Warm weather has brought many insects on to trout waters and stream fishing in particular has been good. One group of fly fishers reported catching 42 fish last weekend in local streams, with two fish over 40cm as well as plenty of smaller ones. Fishing with small dries early in the morning was particularly good fun. Small dark beetle patterns have been especially productive.
The alpine lakes also produced some good fish. One angler landed a 2.5kg brown on his first cast with a yabby at Seven Gates at Lake Eucumbene. Nathan Walker fished a small Woolly Bugger from a float tube at Middlingbank to catch a nice rainbow. Trollers with lead core line and small minnows landed some nice rainbows around East Jindabyne and Kalkite in Lake Jindabyne, with the best fishing in the middle of the day.