Ben Caddaye's Gone Fishing: Bonito returns in an encouraging sign for the coast

Rocks and beaches were the stand-out, with hordes of salmon, tailor, trevally, bream and bonito reported from popular haunts between Batemans Bay and Eden.

The slightly murky water played into anglers' hands, with fish prepared to bite through the day and across the tide changes.

The most encouraging sign was the return of bonito after being all but absent for many seasons.

Big catches were made on lures from the Merimbula Wharf and adjacent headland.

Schools also turned up at Broulee, with anglers spinning with small metal lures cleaning up on the rising tide.

There were a few big salmon in between them, plus acres of pan-sized trevally.

Merimbula Wharf was also the scene of an outstanding kingfish capture.

The fish, which looked every bit of 15-20kg, was taken by a young angler on a live garfish, and is one of the largest land-based kings I've seen taken on the South Coast.

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Bermagui Harbour is full of small frigate mackerel which will happily take a bait or tiny metal lure.

Rock fishers also landed their fair share of drummer and groper over Easter, with the groper taking whole red crabs fished in the wash.

Beaches are fishing superbly for bream and salmon. The huge swell of a few weeks ago has carved our brand new gutters and channels in just about every beach on the coast, and fish are using them as highways to access bait.

Estuary fishing was somewhat tougher thanks to the turbid conditions.

There were reports of reasonable flathead and bream from the lower sections of Tuross, Bega River and Merimbula Lake.

The poor old Clyde River is still chocolate brown and needs a few more dry weeks to clear.