UFISH Brined Baits

12/08/2022

Evening all. For those of you who don’t mind the current inclement weather, here is this week’s fishing report for the Forster/Tuncurry area compliments of Great Lakes Tackle. Call in and say hi to Luke and the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on all things fishing!
And please continue to support your local bait and tackle shop!
Cheers 👍🏻🎣

Forster/Tuncurry Fishing Report 12/8/2022.

Rain rain go away!!! Once again we are heading into the weekend on the back of some very annoying rain. The forecast for the coming week is looking promising though which is good news and should hopefully see us hitting the water and enjoying some of the great fishing that is on offer at this time of the year.

The cold SW winds that we have felt for much of the week kept a lot of anglers off the water, fishing Wallis Lake can be very uncomfortable and tough going when this is the prevailing wind however there are definitely options and plenty of fish about for those keen enough to rug up and give it a crack. Bream remain very good for much of the system with just about any of the washboards, leases, rock walls and jetties anywhere to the east of Wallis Island holding some great quality fish.

Flathead continue to tick along despite to cool weather, the majority of the fish are still sitting up the system a bit but there are also still some really nice fish being caught by anglers chasing Mulloway and Bream down towards the mouth of the estuary. Over the next few months we should see more and more action on the Flathead front, however you can expect to also see a big increase in the number of smaller fish mixed into the schools, fishing for a feed of Flathead during August and September can be very frustrating as you often need to catch 5 undersized fish before you find a good one!

Local Luderick anglers are having an absolute ball this year, the fish are numerous, and the average size is insanely good! The single biggest factor if you are thinking of chasing a few Luds is to plan your trip around the incoming tide. There is a definite bite window which starts as the first bit of clean water pushes in and slows up once the tide is about ¾ full.

Local beaches are still fishing quite well for Bream, Tailor, Salmon and the odd Mulloway. Finding the Tailor has not been easy for a lot of anglers over the past week or so, finding a good bit of wash and fishing close to dawn and dusk seem to be key factors and bigger hard bodied lures seem to be getting a lot more interest than small metal lures or Pilchards. Bream numbers are still fantastic on just about every beach and can be caught very easily on Beach Worms, Pilchards or strips of Mullet/Bonito.

Fishing from the rocks during August can be very fruitful, as long as there is a decent bit of wash in and around the holes, you can expect to see plenty of Bream, Luderick and Black Drummer on the chew. Certain areas are also fishing well for Snapper up to about 4kg, sometimes the key to successfully landing a feed of ‘Reds’ is to set yourself up with a good burley trail and be patient! Sending out live baits or casting larger poppers and stickbaits at the moment could see you hooking into a hard fighting Kingfish (or Tailor lol), I have seen a couple of cracking fish this week that came from the stones not far from here.

Reports from offshore have been a little thin on the ground of late, the weather and seas have kept a lot of boats grounded and restricted fishing options to the areas closer into shore on most days. Once anglers have hit about 30m, the SW winds have just made it too hard to fish. Those boats that have managed to fish in close or pick the decent weather windows are finding plenty of Trag and Snapper out in 40-70m while anglers fishing in the shallows have managed to run into some very respectable Snapper. Unfortunately, we have a full moon to contend with over the next couple of days which might kill the shallow water bite, however the forecast is looking good for heading out a bit deeper for a look so it will be interesting to see what anglers find over the weekend!

29/07/2022

Evening all. For those of you in or around or heading to the Forster/Tuncurry area, here is this week’s fishing report compliments of Great Lakes Tackle. Call in and say hi to Luke and the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on all things fishing!
And please continue to support your local business!
Cheers 👍🏻🎣

23/06/2022

Hi all. For those of you in or around or heading to the Port Macquarie area and willing to venture into the cold, here is this week’s fishing report compliments of Ned Kelly's Bait n Tackle! Call in and say hi to Jason and the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on all things fishing!
And please continue to support your local bait and tackle shop!
Cheers and happy fishing 👍🏻🎣

Despite a brief southerly change last weekend and the odd shower, this past week has generally been as good as we can expect weather wise for this time of year. Sure the mornings and evenings are a little on the crisp side, but there is plenty of great angling action to keep you busy.

In the estuary, blackfish numbers have picked up a little over the last week with some nice fish taken from the break walls and other locations in the lower reaches. Greenw**d for those who have managed to find some, w**d flies and cabbage have all been successful. Bream also remain consistent from the break walls and Limeburners, with evening sessions seeing the better class of fish. Mullet strips have been working particularly well, as to mullet gut and yabbies. During daylight hours, soft vibes have been the dominant lure profile, as they have proven to be over recent winter seasons. On the mulloway front, those throwing live baits after dark have scored the odd decent fish, while those throwing lures during the day have enjoyed good numbers of school sized models. The break walls and towards Settlements Point have been worth prospecting.

On the flathead scene, results continue to be terrific with fish of all sizes active from the break walls to around Rawdon Island. For those who haven’t heard, the bag and size limits for Dusky Flathead are about to be overhauled. As of 1 August 2022, a slot size is being implemented with a minimum length of 36cm, and a maximum of 70cm. The daily bag limit is also reducing to 5, with a possession limit of 10 fish. These changes carry unanimous support from virtually all anglers, and should help the numbers of this iconic species significantly in the years ahead.

On the beaches, bream remain consistent with some nice fish about. Lighthouse and around Dunbogan have been fishing well although all beaches are holding fish in varying degrees. Tailor and school mulloway numbers have been reasonable, with best reports coming from around the Camden Haven area. Plenty of tailor around as well as the odd salmon to add a bit of great sport.

Off the rocks, drummer have been reasonable with most headlands now holding fish. Locally, Lighthouse and Rocky’s have both been worth a look, with prawns and cunjevoi the baits of choice. Bream numbers also remain first class, particularly at first light, whilst tailor also remain on offer from most locations at first or last light. Quite a few nice blackfish around Shelley’s for those floating a bit of cabbage.

Offshore, snapper and pearl perch have been consistent, with the reefs in around 40 to 60m off Plomer worth prospecting. A little wider, some terrific kingfish to around 8 kilos have also been active, with both live baits and jigs successful. Closer in, little to report on the mackerel front with the best of season now well behind us, although there are still plenty of mac tuna to keep you amused.

~ Brice hayward recently caught this terrific 20 kilo mulloway in the Hastings on a locally made Koolabung Jewie lure ~

17/06/2022

Evening all. For those of you in or around or heading to the Forster/Tuncurry area, here is this week’s fishing report compliments of Great Lakes Tackle! Call in and say hi to Luke and the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on where to catch a feed!
And please continue to support your local business!
Cheers 👍🏻🎣

Forster/Tuncurry Fishing Report 17/6/2022.

It’s so nice to be writing a report after so many consecutive days of near perfect Winter weather, while the mornings have been super chilly, the days have been clear and sunny which has seen a lot of people hitting the water to chase a few fish.

The estuary continues to fish really well. This week has seen a noticeable increase in the number of Luderick settling back in the system, the rock walls, Oyster Leases you can see from the bridge, Breckenridge Channel, and the shoreline up around Wallis Island have all been absolutely stacked with fish and there are some brutes sitting within the schools. The fish are not too fussy and are taking a variety of w**d baits as well as the ever-reliable wed flies.

Bream have been interesting this week, while the majority of fish are still very much hugging the structure situated down around the mouth of the estuary, there are quite a lot of fish sitting back up in the rivers. These fish seem to be a bit on the skinny side which may indicate that they were fish that ‘ran’ out to sea during the flooding rain that we had earlier in the year.

If you are chasing a feed of tasty Flatties this time of the year is perfect for it providing you have a boat. While the Bream all move down towards the mouth of the estuary, the mighty Flathead do the opposite and move up into the ‘middle’ and upper areas of the system. The Wallamba River is holding loads of nice table fish with the odd one there up to about 70cm, you will find them fairly easily on most drop offs and deep bends of the river and they can be fooled easily with a 3”-4” Paddle Tailed Soft Plastic or Vibe style lure. There have also been great numbers of fish in around The Cut and up around Regatta Island, I would also say that the Cooloongolook River is fishing well for them too.

The local beaches saw a bit of solid swell over last weekend which made it very difficult to fish, however now that the sea has settled the fishing has really kicked back into gear quite nicely. Tailor remain the stand out species and can be found on just about every beach in the area, the fish are incredibly healthy this year and most fish seem to be between 35-55cm which are perfect for the table. 7 Mile and Diamond Beaches have produced a lot of small school Mulloway which is great to see, hopefully we can look after these majestic fish a bit better over the coming years than we have in the past! The surprise this week off the beaches has been the amount of solid Flathead that have been caught, Flathead are definitely not what we would expect to see coming from the surf beaches in Winter and to hear of 50-70cm fish is just weird!

Reports from the stones have not been in abundance this week however those anglers that have hit the ledges on the backside of the swell that was about earlier in the week have managed to find some nice Drummer. Bream and Luderick are also still hiding in the washes in good numbers and for those casting lures or floating pilchards, there are some cracking Tailor cruising about.

Offshore fishing has not been the easiest form of angling this week. A full moon coinciding with unsettled seas kept a lot of boats at home and those that have headed out have definitely had to work for the fish. Snapper are about in decent numbers up north on reefs sitting in 25-60m however most fish are only small with not many fish over about 1.5kg hitting the decks. The same reefs are holding loads of Trag of an evening and the average size of fish is pretty good for those wishing to get an easy, tasty feed. One species that doesn’t seem to be too affected by the moon is the mighty Kingfish, we are seeing more and more reports of these hard fighting fish coming from the inshore reefs of late and they should only get better as we move through Winter and into Spring.

Have a great weekend!!!

16/06/2022

Hi all. For those of you in or around or heading to the Port Macquarie area, here is this week’s fishing report compliments of Ned Kelly's Bait n Tackle! Call in and say hi to Jason and the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on all things fishing!
And please continue to support your local business!
Cheers 👍🏻🎣

The past couple of weeks have produced simply sublime winter weather, and certainly a refreshing change from what we have endured for the bulk of 2022 thus far. Fingers crossed we see more sunshine than moisture for a little while yet.

On the beaches, bream numbers have been reasonable with consistent reports from most stretches of sand. North beach locally has been the pick of locations, with mullet strips, worms and pipis all seeing good results. Apart from bream, tailor have been terrific with increasing numbers of salmon also taking both pilchards and lures. The recent good tides and lunar conditions also saw school mulloway active on most beaches, although the larger fish have been a tad elusive.

Off the rocks, tailor have been terrific with some solid greenbacks getting about. Good reports have come from most headlands both north and south of Port, with evening sessions leading up to the full moon producing the better class of fish. Drummer numbers also continue to pick up. Fish have been caught at both Flagstaff and Shelley’s locally, as well as the more distant favoured locations. Bream and blackfish have also been quite consistent, with Lewis’s at Point Perpendicular worth a look, while Point Plomer and Big Hill have been holding reasonable numbers of school mulloway. Quite a few bonito are also hanging around most headlands, although you will need quite small metals to entice any action.

In the estuary, bream have been consistent with the lower reaches of both the Hastings and Camden Haven rivers fishing very well despite the full moon. Lightly weighted yabbies, mullet strips or mullet gut should prove deadly on the bait front, while soft vibes have been a standout lure profile. On the blackfish front, the Hastings is holding a few fish although not in great numbers. Those prepared to put in the time have been finding a few fish on most days. Flathead however have been terrific, with good reports from both Lake Cathie and right throughout the Hastings. Whitebait and lures have both been effective. On the mulloway scene, while not a lot of reports on larger fish, school sized models have been prolific, with good reports from the North Wall as well as further upstream. It would appear however some need to acquaint themselves with the rules and regulations regarding bag and size limits for mulloway. Minimum size is 70cm with a bag limit of 1 fish.

Offshore, despite a bit of swell building last weekend, conditions have generally been as good as we have seen this year to date. Our bar however still needs to be treated with the utmost respect, as the sand build up has certainly not gone anywhere. Those who have ventured out have generally been doing very well, with good numbers of snapper and pearl perch on most reefs, along with a sprinkling of reasonable kingfish. The FAD is also still worth a look for mahi mahi, but be warned its removal for winter maintenance is now imminent.

~School mulloway have been prolific in the Hastings of late, with Braidon McKinnon recently scoring this nice fish on a light estuary set up ~

09/06/2022

Hi all. Heading to the Port Macquarie area or there already? Here is this week’s fishing report compliments of Ned Kelly's Bait n Tackle! Call in and see the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on all things fishing!
Cheers 👍🏻🎣

Winter has now arrived in full force, with the mercury plummeting and westerly winds confirming the presence of snow inland. However while the weather may be a tad cool, the local angling scene is red hot with some of the best action to date this year experienced over the past week.

In the estuaries, bream have been terrific with both baits and lures effective. Now a degree of clarity has returned to the system, the bream have been active pretty well from the break walls to Wauchope, with Limeburners in particular fishing well. Flathead action also remains first class in both the Hastings and Lake Cathie. Whitebait, pilchards and all manner of lures have been successful offerings. School mulloway numbers have also picked up noticeably, with plenty of fish ranging from around 65cm to a metre active. The North wall and coal wall have both been worth prospecting, as to many up river haunts. On the blackfish scene, we are seeing a steady improvement from the break walls, although they are yet to truly fire up. Whether they will this season remains to be seen.

On the beaches, both Lighthouse and North beach have been producing a steady stream of bream and the odd solid whiting. Tailor have also been active on most beaches, and we are beginning to see more and more salmon show up. On the mulloway front, few reports of larger fish although there are plenty of school sized models around Lake Cathie and North Haven.

Off the rocks, drummer numbers have really picked over the past week. It would seem the significant drop in the air temperature and a subtle drop in the ocean temperature have combined to fire them up. Good reports have come from many locations between Hat Head to the north and Seal Rocks to the south, however don’t overlook the local ledges. There are many great drummer spots around Port suitable for either calm or boisterous seas, and in general they get a lot less pressure than the more renowned locations elsewhere. Apart from drummer, tailor have been terrific from most locations and will likely further improve with a building moon. Plomer has also held bream and blackfish in reasonable numbers, while the flat seas have seen a few solid groper extracted from the more exposed locations.

Offshore, now the seas have begun to settle and westerly winds become more common, the participation rate has certainly picked up. While the FAD is still holding some nice mahi mahi, and the odd cobia and mac tuna remain close in, the focus has now shifted to fishing the bottom. Snapper reports have been promising over the past week, with some terrific fish to around 9 kilos on offer. Baits have been the more productive method of late, however look for lures to really come into their own as we progress further into winter. Apart from snapper, some terrific pearl perch have been about, along with a few reasonable kingfish from the slightly deeper reefs.

~ Drummer have really fired up along our coastline, with Dave McLaughlin getting in on the action with this solid pig ~

20/05/2022

Morning all. For those of you in or around or heading to the Forster/Tuncurry are and are braving the inclement weather, here is this week’s fishing report compliments of Great Lakes Tackle. Call in and see Luke and the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on where to catch a feed!
And please continue to support your local business!
Cheers 👍🏻🎣

Forster/Tuncurry Fishing Report 20/5/2022.

Most of this week has consisted of sublime Autumn weather, unfortunately that has now deteriorated into some cold and wet conditions which are forecast to hang about for most of the coming week. Luckily, for those anglers keen to rug up and whack on the rainwear there are some fantastic fish about out there waiting to be caught!

The estuary is always fun to fish during Autumn, absolutely anything is possible and every species you can think of is on offer. Bream continue to fish well throughout the bottom of the system, we did see a bit of a lull during the full moon period that we just passed through but the fish are well and truly back on the bite again now. The w**dbeds further up into the lake have been a bit of a surprise package of late, there have been some really nice fish up there hammering small soft plastics and shallow cranks with the odd fish up over the 40cm mark and plenty of mid to high 30’s.

Flathead just keep on keeping on and they are a great species to target over a full moon as it doesn’t seem to affect them in the same way that it does other species. Anglers fishing up the Wallamba River have had a ball this week, the fish are loving 3-4” soft plastic lures with the Keitech Easy Shiners proving to be unbeatable! There have also been good numbers in around The Cut and up around Regatta Island, and for those fisho’s keen to fish surface, a few anglers have still been managing to entice the big girls that hang down around The Paddock into launching out of the water as they belt bent minnow and stick bait style lures.

The local Luderick fishing is slowly simmering away and seems to be getting better by the week, while the huge numbers of ocean run fish are yet to come in and settle on the rock walls, there are still decent numbers of fish hanging about. The fish are taking most offerings at the moment and if you are struggling to find w**d or cabbage, imitation w**d flies are working great as well.

Local beaches struggled a little over the full moon but have started to produce again over the last couple of days. Tailor are about in great numbers on most of the major beaches, you may have to move about to find the best gutters but once you find the schools there are some great fish on offer. Sitting under the Tailor have been some chunky Bream and if you can find some good water in the corners of the beaches down south you may even hook into a few hard pulling Black Drummer or Luderick.

The rocks have been fishing great over the past week. There are loads of fish cruising up and down the coast now and the washes have been holding some great Drummer, Bream, Luderick and Tailor. We did see a couple of nice Longtail Tuna landed through the week and anglers have been seeing plenty of action out a bit wider (often just out of casting distance!) so you never know what may come along if you decide to soak a livebait or two.

We have been lucky this week to have had some great conditions for heading offshore. The local Snapper have been somewhat patchy (particularly over the full moon) but there have been some really nice fish getting about in the shallows for those anglers keen to put in the time, finding a decent show of bait is the key, like always if you can find the food you will find the predators! The wider reefs have been a little bit flat this week, plenty of small Snapper have been on offer but that has been about it. Now that the moon has started to wane, the fishing will kick back in out there and while the weather may be a bit wet for the weekend, Sunday should produce a few fish I think.

Have a great weekend, rug up and stay warm!!!

19/05/2022

Evening all. For those of you in or around or heading to the Port Macquarie area, here is this week’s fishing report compliments of Ned Kelly's Bait n Tackle. Call in and see Jason and the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on all things fishing!
And please continue to support your local bait and tackle shop!
Cheers 👍🏻🎣

After enjoying a very brief period of sublime late autumn weather earlier in the week, the type we are supposed to have at this time of year with sunshine and light offshore winds, normal service for the la nina driven 2022 is set to return this weekend with yet more rain over an extended period. It’s a bit like groundhog day and beginning to test the patience of everybody, especially the angling fraternity.

On the beaches, north beach had been producing a consistent run of bream and tailor, along with some terrific flathead from the close in gutters. Soft vibes in the 14 to 20 gram range have been working a treat for the latter. On the bream front, numbers should pick up after this full moon, with the next few weeks likely to see the best action of the year. If the wind and sea back down for more than a day or two at a time, also look for a significant increase in mulloway activity. While the past couple of months have seen quite a few school sized about, the presence of travelling mullet and tailor will not go un noticed by the larger models.

Of the rocks, tailor numbers have been terrific with some quality fish on offer. Most headlands both north and south have been holding fish, and should continue to do over the coming months. On the bream front, reports from around Point Plomer have been encouraging, with evening sessions to date providing the better results. Those fishing the darker hours also report a few school mulloway from Plomer and Big Hill, with fish in the 4 to 8 kilo bracket common. On the drummer front, while we are yet to see them really fire, and likely wont until the weather and water cool a few more degrees, a few nice fish are getting about. Diamond Head is rumoured to be worth the trip.

In the estuaries, flathead and bream have both been terrific with most parts of Hastings now worth a look in line with the gradual improvement in water clarity. Both baits and lures have seen good results on both species. On the blackfish front, we are seeing a gradual improvement in the lower reaches, but as yet they have not fired up as we have come to expect at this time of year.

Offshore, the FAD has been producing terrific numbers of mahi mahi over the past couple of weeks, with some quality fish on offer. This is the best action the FAD has seen for time and certainly a welcome change. Closer in on the pelagic front, the odd Spanish mackerel and cobia are still available, both in Barries Bay and in front of Port. Plenty of solid mac tuna and the odd longtail are also amongst them. On the bottom fishing front, snapper numbers are encouraging and should improve as winter nears, while quality pearl perch have been taken in around 60m off Plomer when the current has been reasonable.

~ Peter Jackson recently caught and released this terrific flathead from the Port Macquarie break wall ~

12/05/2022

Hi all. For those of you in or around or heading to the Port Macquarie area and are braving the weather, here is this week’s fishing report compliments of Ned Kelly's Bait n Tackle. Call in and say hi to Jason and the team for all your bait and tackle needs and the best advice on all things fishing!
And please continue to support your local business!
Cheers 👍🏻🎣

After a brief period of sunshine, calm seas and offshore winds, la nina has struck again with another dose of easterely based winds and yet more rainfall. This year has been quite relentless on this front to date, although fingers crossed we escape the worst of this latest batch, and a sustained period of sublime early winter weather is not too far off.

In the estuary, the lower reaches of the Hastings and Lake Cathie have been full of mullet over recent weeks, although the brief cool change last weekend will likely have seen many exit for their annual migration. Hopefully conditions are conducive for seeing plenty of them reach their destination. Bream have improved considerably particularly for those fishing the evening session. Best bet is either the break walls, the coal wall or up Limeburners with mullet strips, mullet gut or yabbies likely to achieve good results. During daylight hours, soft plastics and soft vibes have been working particularly well. Flathead numbers also remain terrific, with great results from the lower section of Lake Cathie and around Hibbard in the Hastings. The break walls are also producing a few blackfish on both cabbage and w**d flies, while good numbers of school mulloway have been taken from the upper Hastings, ranging from juvenile up to around 8 kilos. Still a few mud crabs active in the Hastings as well, so it might be worth keeping the traps in for a few weeks yet.

Off the beaches, some nice tailor to over 2 kilos have been about with most locations worth prospecting. Evening sessions have been producing the better class of fish on either pilchards or slab baits. School mulloway have also been active, with South beach at Dunbogan and around Lake Cathie worth a look. Now the mullet have begun to travel and tailor numbers consistent, look for increased activity from the better models. North Beach and Lighthouse have also held some solid bream and the odd nice whiting, with worms and pipis seeing good results.

Off the rocks, tailor numbers have really picked up with some solid fish about. Most ledges are producing at dawn and dusk, with the overall quality excellent. Apart from tailor, bream and blackfish are both viable targets, whilst a few more drummer are beginning to feed actively in the washes. Look for latter to pick up considerably once the water cools a few more degrees.

Offshore, results have been a little mixed with some doing very well on occasions and others missing out. Closer in, snapper numbers are picking up with both baits and lures seeing good results. Wider out, the odd pearl perch and kingfish remain on offer, with around trag rock and the 70m reefs off Lighthouse worth a look. On the pelagic front, the odd Spanish mackerel is still around in close, along with some terrific cobia to over 20 kilos. The FAD has also been fishing well for mahi mahi, with a reasonable class of fish hanging around it at present.

~ Brodie Thorn recently caught this terrific 19.5 kilo cobia at Barries Bay on a live bait ~

08/05/2022

UFISH 🎣 send out a Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mums out there. Enjoy your special day.