19/10/2026
The outside flathead fishing is still giving up a good feed of sand and tiger flathead. Boats did OK early over the weekend, fishing to the north off Bournda Island and back to off the Tura Golf Course. Still a lot of small fish in close, but fishing from 35 to 50 metres, boats caught a good feed, with sand flathead to 40 cm and tigers to 38 cm. There were also a few flying gurnard and an odd gummy shark in the mix. The inshore water temperature is sitting around 18 degrees.
The local reef fishing was very good to Nigel on Saturday, as you can see from the caption photo. They told me that bait was the best producer of the fish they caught, but the big one took a metal jig. They caught sergeant bakers, Maori wrasse, nannygai, red rock cod and a couple of small morwong, but snapper was their target species. There wasn’t much current in close until the wind got up, then it was home time. It looks like there are still a few quality fish out the front of Merimbula, so well worth a trip.
The beaches are improving, with a few gutters forming, so some salmon fishing could be in order. Over the last week some drone footage had a nice-sized school of salmon off the southern end of Tathra Beach, and if they keep moving south they should be on Bournda Beach. There is also a small school of salmon sitting off Bournda Island, which have been coming down onto North Tura Beach on the rising tide and then retreating back to the island on the falling tide. There are odd fish being caught on Tura Beach, but I haven’t heard of much further south.
The estuary fishing is definitely improving. The Bega River was a bit slow last week, except for those fishing for mulloway after dark. Merimbula Lake is giving up a few dusky flathead, trevally and also mulloway after dark for those that are keen, and there are a few tailor up the top lake also. Pambula River is giving up reasonable numbers of duskies, mostly up in the shallows where the water is warmer. There are also blackfish being caught at the river mouth along the rocky edges and walls, and plenty of trevally around the structure. Bega River’s water temperature dropped a bit last week, dropping to 20 degrees after the rain, but the water clarity is still crystal clear. The Merimbula and Pambula systems are around 18 degrees.
The MBGLAC went to Wonboyn Lake Resort over the weekend. Those that went caught 10 different species, with the main prize for the weekend being the largest dusky flathead. That was caught by Glen Rollason with a fish of 591 mm. Some other standout captures were Darah Reynolds’ bream of 377 mm, Garry McKeahnie’s tailor of 572 mm, and a first for Stephen Targett, a mulloway of 550 mm. A great weekend was had by all, and thanks to Peter at Wonboyn Lake Resort.
A bit of gamefishing news from the Tathra club. Stewart Pentin and John Blankenstein captured a pending record for a Pacific bluefin tuna weighing 256.2 kg on 37 kg tackle. They battled 30-knot winds on the seas into the night. But wow, what a great capture for our area. Congratulations, fellows, very impressive.
The next event on the MBGLAC calendar is a working bee on Saturday 31st October, followed by the Tri-Estuary Fishing Competition on the weekend of 28th November, so save those dates. There will be more information in coming weeks.
The MBGLAC is open this Friday night, opening at 6 pm. Come down and watch the sunset. We are fully licensed, with raffles around 7:30 pm, sponsored by Goodalls Butchers and the Lakeview Hotel. Catch up on the local fishing reports and meet the locals. Love to see a few new faces coming down.
Till next week.
Fishy Fellow.
