While some spots can get a little crowded and harder to fish, there is still loads of great fishing to be had, and here are just a few of the options you can get your teeth into.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For a start, Anthony Stokman from Batemans Bay reports good trolling for striped tuna and school-sized yellowfin out on the 150 fathom mark, and some quality kingfish up to 110cm in closer.
You’ll need some experience and a good boat to get there, or alternatively you can jump aboard a charter boat.
The South Coast of NSW has some of the finest operators in the country, and you’ll be surprised at how cheap it is compared to owning, fueling and maintaining your own boat.
Not to mention they have all the expertise you’ll need to get some quality fish and have a great day on the water.
The reefs have been a little quiet on the snapper front but the kingfish, bonito and striped tuna have made up for it.
For land-lovers, whiting have been going well on poppers and nippers in St Georges Basin, Durras and Tuross Head.
In the Clyde River there has been some good-sized bream at times, along with a few jewfish for the more dedicated angler.
If you like some sand between your toes Anthony recommends fishing the beach between Maloneys and Long Beach,
especially when the summer northerlies blow in.
A basic pilchard on a running sinker rig will do the trick – just stay a little mobile and see which spots are producing on the day.
On that note, walking the beaches with small soft plastics is also a great way to locate the bream, flathead and whiting.
On the bigger, deeper (surf) beaches, you’ll get salmon and tailor on pilchards and metal lures.
On all beaches a rising tide is best, and this occurs just after sunset this weekend, plus if there is no cloud cover you should get a nice bright moon which makes it easier to fish.
The beaches are really easy and fun places to fish, but if you are struggling there is lots of good advice along with books and DVDs that will get you sorted.
For example, South Coast beach fishing guide Jack Dart helped me with DVD number two (chapter four) of an instructional series and we ended up with a whole 20 minutes of dedicated beach fishing advice that will see you put a fishy smile on your dial.
If you want something super easy to do with the kids, wade any of the many shallow sand estuary mouths with the kids and target mullet.
Mulch up some stale old bread in a bucket of salt water for burley, a little thrown in often is best.
Use a tiny ball of fresh bread on a tiny size-10 hook for bait.
You can cast and retrieve this, or put it under a float, and where possible watch your bait to see when a mullet mouths it so you can strike at the right moment.
With this technique you’ll occasionally get garfish, bream, yakkas, blackfish and even flathead, and for kids, seeing the fish in the burley trail means “game on” time rather than waiting patiently for a bite.
That’s all for now and I hope I have helped you catch a fish or two in 2012.
I have some neat little instructional videos up on YouTube at “channel pax fishing” if you need a little more help, and I would love some feedback on these if you feel they are helping you enjoy better fishing.
Here’s wishing you a great New Year, and I look forward to sharing what I learn with you via this column in 2013.
See you on the water,
Rob Paxevanos, www.robpax.com