Keen South Coast angler Craig Coughlan reports warm water temperatures and less holiday angler traffic has resulted in some consistent results in South Coast rivers and lakes for those looking to score a few bream, whiting or flathead.

For example, the Clyde River is fishing quite well on the edge of some of the oyster racks that line the edges of the lower reaches of the river with bream and flathead willing to take a lure or bait – a trick is to try lots of different racks until you find some fish.

If bait fishing, drifting with the current has been the most productive way to secure a feed of flathead, at least until you find a patch of fish, then it is possible to anchor quietly up current about 15 metres and send a bait out and let the current take the bait back to the fish. 

Live baits such as poddy mullet, nippers or prawns are great baits to use for the bigger fish.

If casting lures is your preferred technique, a heavier jig head like a 1/8oz will be needed to get to the bottom for flathead, and a 1/12oz jig head is usually ideal for bream on the edges of the oyster racks when fishing soft plastics.

Fishing on shallow sand flats with surface lures, or live nippers and prawns has been working extremely well for some big whiting lately with a few bream and flathead in the mix as well.  

Once you locate some whiting they are generally hanging around in enough numbers to provide an excellent feed. 

If using bait, use only the smallest sinker you need to get a cast - this will increase your chances of a few fish.

There are also a lot of estuary perch in the middle reaches of the system. Targeting estuary perch is very similar to bream – hit structures such as fallen trees, overhanging branches close to the water, oyster racks and jetties. 

If you can fish after a big swell subsides, the beaches have also been productive for flathead and bream, and it will pay to put the extra time in to collect some live beach worms as they have been the most successful bait. 

Fishing two hours before and after high tide have been the best times in the deeper gutters, for example the current gutters at Durras and Moruya.

In my travels I checked out the channel at Windang. Heaps of flatties were pushed into this area after the big rains that caused the floods further north.  

The best part of the bite is already over, but the flathead fishing is still pretty good.  

There are also some reasonable numbers of blue swimmer crabs, and loads of school prawns. The prawns can be caught on any moon, but the shell is a bit soft if you catch them on a full moon.

Among the great bream and flathead fishing, snapper to 75cm have been caught in St Georges Basin, and there has been some good-sized tailor in the mix as well.

Anglers fishing the artificial reefs have been doing well on bait/burley, blades and soft plastics.

The flats and creeks have also started to fish well now that the weather is cooling off a bit and there are fewer ski boats and the like to spook the shallow dwelling fish. 

See you on the water,

Rob Paxevanos

www.robpax.com