Ben Caddaye's Gone Fishing: Head for the horizon for some top-shelf tuna

A few very welcome windows of fine weather have allowed crews to venture over the edge of the Continental Shelf in search the giant yellowfin and bluefin tuna that call this ultra-deep water home.

Finding fish has been challenging, with the tuna spread out across a large expanse of open ocean between Batemans Bay and Tathra. This week they've been mostly to the north, but that can change in an instant.

Once located, anglers have been getting tuna over 70kg on big stick baits cast into the schools and worked across the surface. Trolled lures and cube baits are also effective.

There are a few large albacore around as well. Albacore are dubbed the 'chickens of the sea' for their eating qualities and wing-like pectoral fins. They're smaller than bluefin and yellowfin but just as entertaining.

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Estuary fishing is in the doldrums. Cold, clear water has shut down the bite for many species, but there a few exceptions.

Trevally and salmon have been mainstays throughout winter and should continue to bite. They're mostly around the lower reaches and will happily inhale baits and lures.

Trout fishing remains promising at Eucumbene. Brown and rainbows are responding well to trolled lures, spoons flicked from the shoreline, and worms and Powerbait fished close to the bank.

The next two months often produce some of the best trout fishing of the year in the mountain lakes, with cold water and relatively healthy lake levels drawing fish into the margins to feed.