The late-season run of kingfish at Montague Island continues thanks to warmer than average water temperatures.
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Across the long weekend, the island resembled Sydney harbour on New Year's Eve as close to 100 boats jostled for prime position. The fish obliged, with plenty of legal-sized kings boated on live baits, squid and metal jigs.
The water around Montague was 21.5 degrees for most of the weekend - highly unusual for mid-June. Snapper were about, too, providing a nice distraction from the kingfish bite.
Elsewhere on the south coast the fishing is a little tough. In the estuaries, your best bet is to go deeper and slower. Soft plastics, blades and vibes fished methodically on or near the bottom will produce big winter bream and trevally, especially if you add a dash of scent.
Anglers doing the right thing will even encounter reasonable numbers of flathead down deep in mid-winter. A boat with a sounder helps, with fish likely to be holding near schools of bait.
Don't forget to lighten your leader and main line as well - you'll get more hits.
At this time of the year, some of the best action is down south, across the border, with the far east Gippsland systems yielding spectacular fishing for trophy black bream.
It's a four or five-hour drive from Canberra, but it's often worth it.
The NSW trout streams are closed until October. Attention now turns to the lakes, which traditionally fire over the winter months.
Jindabyne, Eucumbene and Tantangara are all fishing well.
Trolling lures is working a treat at times and anglers aren't having to go too deep. In fact, lures fished close to the surface are taking the lion's share of fish, especially early in the day.
It's also a good time of year to wander the banks and cast Tasmanian Devils or metal spoons from the shore for cruising fish.