Plenty of bycatch cod have been caught this spring in the lead-up to the season, so the action should be lively.

The water in all the region's freshwater lakes and rivers is pretty clear thanks to the drought, which will suit lure fishing to a tee.

Try big swimbaits, spinnerbaits and large trolled minnows.

Googong, Wyangala and Blowering dams are three of the nearby cod hotspots expected to fish well.

Anglers fishing in NSW must release cod under 55cm, or over 75cm.

There is a daily bag limit of two Murray cod per person per day, and a total possession limit of four.

But to be honest, most fishos I know release all the cod they catch anyway, regardless of size. They're too valuable as a sportfish to kill.

The 2019-20 Murray cod season opens this Sunday, December 1.

Coastal anglers are spoilt for choice in the run-up to Christmas.

The estuaries have been hotting up for a while and the fishing is reaching its peak, with flathead, bream, whiting and flounder galore.

Water temperatures are nudging 24 degrees over the flats and whiting are schooling en masse. They're jumping all over surface lures, with a few flatties and bream getting in on the act.

There are stacks of flathead in about three metres of water in just about every system. St Georges Basin has produced a few monsters around the 90cm mark this week on soft plastics and swimbaits.

If you can drag yourself away from the estuaries, offshore fishing is hitting its straps just in time for summer.

There are kings and snapper around Montague Island. They're finicky but should start to be bite consistently as the water warms.

The reef fishing off the far south coast in general is excellent, with morwong, sand flathead, nannygai and dory featuring in catches.