
It's heartening to see South Coast fishing return to some form of normality after the early March deluge.
Estuaries, especially the smaller ones, are gradually clearing and already showing promising signs.
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The fish are hungry - they've had their normal supply of baitfish, prawns, crabs and other morsels washed away by torrents of dark brown water.
A lightly-weighted bait fished in the lower reaches of virtually any river or inlet on the making tide will almost certainly be devoured by a famished bream, flathead, trevally or blackfish.
Bream fishing, in particular, will be frenetic as the water slowly clears.
Bream don't mind turbid conditions. In fact, many fishers prefer to target them when the water is little coloured.
There are already good reports coming from Mogareeka Inlet, Merimbula Lake, Wallaga Lake, and Moruya River.
It won't be long before the water is also clear enough for productive lure fishing for flathead.
Anglers trying bright-coloured plastics at Tuross and Wallaga are already finding a few dusky flathead in the lower reaches.
Tailor and salmon, meanwhile, are prevalent off the headlands and breakwalls. Look for schools of bait and these predators won't be far behind.
Offshore, marlin fishing is proving to be outstanding over the Shelf, well beyond the brown water.
Kingfish are on the bite at Montague Island, with a few metre-long specimens caught over the weekend.
And reef fishers are anticipating a great snapper run as seas abate and the water clears.
Canberra's lakes are worth a look, especially as autumn kicks in.
Ginninderra and Tuggeranong, although pretty dirty, are fishing well for golden perch and small cod.
Redfin and carp, of course, are on offer in all the lakes in very good numbers.