RexSenior

Yep that's the one. As Dobell Drive runs across the south side there's a dirt track with a car park where the road shapes left. The walking trails are signposted and will get you to the flat rocks on the waters edge, let us know how you go! Cheers, James

Hi Rami The area is a land based fisherman's dream! It drops down at your feet to depths of 5m+. I only fished for less than an hour as I took a lot of gear and the ground was covered in ants that swarmed my bait and gear. Had a few good hits in the short time and caught a 33cm bream mid tide - I'll be going back there but just with a backpack - never seen so many ants! Cheers, James.

Great video Ricardo Is this in Portugal? Looks like a popular place where you were fishing, are the jewfish (croakers/mulloway) common over there?

Great catch Yowie!! Either one of those fish would warrant a few trips out each but getting two in the one day is a great effort! Well done on releasing the big girl (It's hard I know and I keep the odd one) enjoy that jewie - the most rewarding fish to eat! Cheers, James

Great Catch!! This is my local area, very few flathead of this size are caught so well done. Most people throw herring back and call them a pest but when they are one of the few large food sources on that end of the lake of course the bigger species will snap them up! Cheers, James.

It's like anything, where there's a will there's a way and these fish practice almost all day & night. I have done some experimenting with burley in the shallows and a set of goggles when I was younger. As for whiting they seem to stir up the sand with their noses which creates a bit of a frenzy, once the worms have some scent and pop their heads up the whiting ambush. I'm not to sure on what happens after the whiting bites the head of the worm - I'm assuming the worm breaks then the remains of the worm make their way to the surface for a further food source. I have also heard that worms regenerate once their bodies are severed however I doubt they could grow a new head without having the energy from food coming in (I may be wrong!).

For some reason up my way, not all beaches that hold worms are great fishing. I think the worms are able to thrive in environments where there are minimal predators, not too much shifting in the sand & constant sources of food. As a general rule worms will out-fish any bait on the beach (for me anyway) however don't be put off by having to head to different places on the same beach or a different place all together. Worms love the long flat sections of beaches however I catch more fish in gutters where there is a bit more shelter for fish to hunt.

Hi Gordo Luke is on the money there. Another tip that will help is to think of the tides & conditions where fish get a chance at targeting worms. I've seen worms active at night and fish seem to go further into the shallows. I wait until dusk the litter the shoreline with the ends of worms (not as good for bait) and throw only 5 to 10m from the shore on a rising tide. As for the size of the worm I only use the large fat ones (stumpies - the bigger the better) and 2 inches is plenty for the bread & butter species. If targeting jews don't be afraid to thread a 1m worm as thick as your pinky right up the trace - it has worked for me but in my area the salmon and rays are a big pain when doing this. Cheers, James

Yeah they have been good for a while now, not in great numbers for me yet still consistent (land based) but they guys in the tinny's are having a ball! All I need is a few to throw out for a jew while I play around in the shallows with the bread & butter species (still yet to land a jew in the lake - plenty of them around too apparently). Lol

Hi Vos You're coming to the right place!! As for the poddy's, anywhere near the road bridge over Cold Tea Creek (Belmont South), Swan bay (southern side) and Black Neds Bay will get you sorted. Fishing wise Swansea Channel has been good however I've only been lucky during the tide change (plenty of thumper bream but it's short lived). There has been plenty of phosphorus at night though which seems to slow things down a bit. Also, I hope you didn't hire the houseboat from Pelican Marina..... She collapsed yesterday!!

Hi Raiders Just wondering if anyone has fished Wangi point recently and how it has been? I have been making my way around the lake looking for new places to try and found a walking track to the end of Wangi Point with some deep water very close to the shore. It's a fair drive & walk to get there but it looks like a decent spot, plenty of depth, water flow and sand/weed patches. Any info or tips would be greatly appreciated, struggling to find the fish after all this rain. Cheers, James

Well done Steve nice to see a good haul after a few quieter weeks all-round. Had a couple of throws over the last two weeks in Lake Mac however the Phosphorus of a night has been terrible.

Interesting.... a ray will most likely lay on the bait while it eats it, which is why they get hooked around the mouth lots but doesn't explain the leader shredding. Big long tom can bite you off but won't take that much line, probably not a flatty either after reading again how much line it took..... I jokingly said a jew but racking my brains to think what else it could be in that waterway. Great bit of action anyway mate looking forward to your next report!

Yeah cool that's a decent effort off the beach! I've been to Blacksmiths, Catherine Hill Bay and Magenta in the last week and most of what I caught was weed after the bigger swell! You've found a good spot there!

Great report Mate. Shame about the big ones, I'm with Stapo to take that much line may have been a big ray - we will never know though so let's say it was a Jew haha. The only way you can get some info is to check your leader where it snapped, if it's chaffed like sandpaper then could have been a big flatty, clean cut maybe a big tailor. Not sure about Tuggerah lakes but in Lake Mac the thumper salmon have been doing the rounds - though they won't bite you off. If it was me I'd wanna know and be down there for my next trip, doing everything the same just upping the gear. Cheers, James

Nice catch! Good to see Frazer producing again. Definitely a Tarwhine with that rounded mouth, and a thumper too! Were they off the beach or did you have to brave the rocks? Would have been plenty of weed about still no doubt.

A Jew is a Jew! Great effort and a legal one at that! Looks like something had a crack at the mouth area too or is that just the photo? Anyway it's great to hear people are hooking up!

Nice report Nathan. Shame about those flatties, those big ones sure know when to give you the head shake! I'm headed down the Hawkesbury for a fishing weekend mid March can't wait!! Cheers, James

Not a bad Jew at all, in fact I don't think there is such a thing!! Took me 20+ years to land my first one and targeting them many times in that period, the last year has been good. You've cracked the code now time to use that info to work on the next one! A never ending battle I reckon hahaha

Ahh right. Never caught a big shark off the beach, could be worth a shot! This is probably a silly question but are they any good eating? Or any regulations against fishing for them?

Hi Raiders Went for a fish yesterday, decided to go somewhere different so headed down to Magenta Beach after a few positive Raider reports. Caught some worms then set two rods out just after low tide - one for whiting and one for Jew. The salmon were being pests but on a quiet day I enjoyed the action. After catching a couple the next one went crazy! It was jumping in the air from the get-go and didn't stop until I got snagged. Well at least I thought I got snagged (on a beach haha) then it started taking line...... Finally realised what was going on and skull dragged the barely alive Sambo to shore. I'm guessing the shark wasn't huge and it's difficult to work out the mouth size as I think it's had a couple of goes at it. Anyway I left shortly after as I had no great table fish after a few hours. On the drive home over the Swansea Bridge I noticed there was no one in my favourite spot so with a few worms left I had a quick go and got 3 bream in 40mins, all well before the high tide change! (had to get home with the kids otherwise I would have stayed!). The Bream went 32cm, 37cm & 27cm (smaller one thrown back) all on beach worms with an excessive 20lb fluorocarbon leader. The water in the channel is still pretty dirty given that it was not too far off high tide but the fish are still biting! Cheers, James

Hey Mate Set up is fine for those species, I'd recommend nothing more that 10lb mainline onto a 6lb leader (the lighter you fish the more hookups generally) 1m length. Prawns are OK, frozen are not the best but still catch fish. Cooked vannamei prawns (Thailand ones from the deli @ coles / Woolies) are a gun bait for bream & flatties, fresh local / live baits such as worms or nippers even better. As for fishing in Woy Woy I'm no expert but I've seen the area, a general rule is finding a spot with moving water, differing depths and a mix of sand and weed - that should get you started.

Haha, what an awesome bit of reading! Throwing my 2 bob's in... For me fishing is a balance of doing what I know works, learning on the job what works better and fitting both of these in with what makes me happy when I fish. Sometimes I go out just to catch one fish for the pan and come home empty handed, yet have a better time than spending a full day under stress about catching the big one. My 5 year old son has his day made by catching a toad. My point is we are all in different boats and fish for different reasons. I use to fish so heavy that I barely caught anything and when I did it was never enough. Now I enjoy fishing light, giving the fish a chance and feeling satisfied when I do come home with a feed.

Well done Mate. As I keep saying those thumper whiting are becoming a regular and welcome occurrence!! Great catch.

I went out this morning also with the scissors ready. It was hard work. Really hard work! Struggled to get many worms as the beach was covered in blue bottles then fished for 2 hours in the southerly with huge surf and a sweep to go with it. 1 Salmon and 1 30cm Whiting from 60-80 casts, scissors stayed nice and warm in the bag! Next time.