Mid North Coast fishing update

IT is a tough week for our local fishing family following the news that Ned Kelly’s Bait n Tackle in Port Macquarie was broken into last weekend.

The intruder caused significant damage to the shop fittings and walked away with a fair amount of stock.

Bryce has poured incredible time and effort into this business, and a hit like this is devastating for any small operator. Let’s get together as a fishing community and support him by dropping by the shop to gear up for your next trip.

For Port Macquarie anglers, luderick numbers continue to improve, with the south breakwall proving well worth a visit. Both cabbage and artificial weed are working effectively at the moment.

You can also find a few nice bream on offer, particularly for those willing to fish the walls after dark.

Flathead action has also been terrific lately, with good numbers of fish being taken on both lures and baits around Rawdon Island and within the lower sections of the Maria River.

Whiting have remained consistent around Blackmans Point and in Limeburners your best bet would be to use yabbies for bait.

For the mulloway enthusiasts, the upcoming full moon should see a rise in fish caught around the lower reaches of the river.

On the crabbing front, the Hastings remains alive with plenty of muddies.

Offshore reports continue to be dominated by mackerel action in Plomer Bay and the waters further north. Unfortunately, sharks remain a significant issue, particularly in the Plomer Bay area.

Further out, strong currents have created challenging conditions for those attempting to chase bottom fish off the deeper reefs.

Further south on the beaches, there are some terrific bream around, with both North Haven and Rainbow Beach producing well during early morning and evening sessions. Whiting have also been first-class, with beach worms and pipis doing the trick for both species.

Tailor numbers are certainly picking up as we progress into autumn and the water clarity slowly improves, with pilchards, lures, and even whitebait proving effective.

While mulloway remains elusive, there have been reports of a few nice fish taken from South Beach near Diamond Head. Off the rocks, tailor and bream have both been hot this week.

In the washes, luderick and drummer numbers have been well above average.

On the land-based game scene, a few longtail tuna have been encountered both north and south, though the local enthusiasts are keeping the specific details of these catches closely guarded.

In the Macleay River region, conditions have been favourable this week with light winds and beautiful sunny days.

On the pelagic front, Grassy Head continues to hold a few spotted and Spanish mackerel.

However, sharks have been a major problem here as well, with a very high “tax” rate on hooked fish.

This is a classic example of learned behaviour, as the sharks now know an easy meal is available once a tethered fish nears a boat, don’t expect this issue to disappear anytime soon.

By Kate SHELTON