Your up to date fishing report from the Tackle World Moruya team
Moruya River
The water temp in the river is still quite cold, making surface action a non-event this week. We are still waiting for that first warm week and the sun to kick the flats into action. Towards the breakwall area there are good schools of both bream and luderick holed up. Live nippers or unweighted prawns on long leaders potentially could be the undoing of these fish. Under the Moruya bridge good numbers of whiting can be seen working holes and mooching around. Again, live nippers are a real option here. Flathead also are a potential catch. Soft plastics fished slow and deep are the best chance for them.
Tuross River
Again we are waiting for the heat of the sun to really kick this system into action. In the meantime, plastics fished slow and deep will account for some good flatties in the main channel areas. Remember to fish your lures with the current to target flatties, who will usually have their noses into the current waiting to ambush unsuspecting prey. The oyster racks at high tide are an ever-present option for the lure and fly fishos wanting to try and tempt the resident bream population. Lightly weighted soft plastics and shallow running hard bodies are both a very real option. Not to forget the bait brigade, lightly weighted prawns or live nippers are a great option.
Around the middle and upper sections of the system, the tough fighting estuary perch can be found holed up deep in the snags this time of year. Hard body lures, soft plastics and live baits can all tempt these brawlers out of cover. Remember that the start of the wattle blooming each year is a sign that bream are on the move to the upper sections of the systems to start the breeding cycle.
Rock and Beaches
Around the headlands and rocky areas you will find the ever-present drummer and luderick. Peeled prawns and cunjie are your best options for these fish. Be ever aware of the swell conditions, and if it looks suspect, please don’t put yourself or someone else in danger. Snapper can also be an option off the deeper ledges. Whole pilchards or squid can tempt these great eating fish. Low light periods are best for the bigger specimens. Australian salmon continue to be a bit hit and miss at the moment. There have been reports of good catches on our southern headlands, with 30-40 gram Arma metals doing the damage. Pilchards on gang hooks is one of the better bait options when they are around. When schools can be seen, there is nothing more exciting than having a hungry pack of these brawlers chasing down a well placed metal or surface lure.
Offshore
As predicted, with the abating swells from the previous week, the snapper are back on the chew. Good reports of snapper in 90 m of water have surfaced. Micro jigs are doing the damage, with full bags being reported. This is an interesting and exciting way to chase these fish. The jigs can be actively worked at the desired depths, or fished dead stick in a rod holder, with the swell action on the boat doing all the work. The trusty pilchard on a paternoster rig will also account for its fair share of fish.
Knot of the week
Double Uni knot. Great for joining braided main line to mono backing or mono/fluorocarbon leader.
The following report is brought to us by Adam – our guru in the Snowy Mountains.
Myself and a group of anglers fished Eucumbene last Friday through to Sunday lunch in an invitational trout comp. The lake was on the rise and good numbers of trout were caught on lures, mostly trolling. The fish were patchy but once we located them the sessions were red hot, one area produced a fish almost every single pass.
The brownies had an average size of 40cm, largest coming in at 60cm. The rainbows were not active, only 2 little ones under 35cm, they might still be in spawning mode. Every fish we caught was trolling in 2.5m - 3.5m. The absolute stand out lures were Rapala’s F-11 and CD-5 in spotted dog and the Brook trout pattern. Every boat in the comp had good success running these patterns, yet little luck with anything else. All fish were released.
I was lucky enough to take out 3 categories.
Lake Eucumbene: the water rose approximately 1m up the banks on Friday night and is still slowly rising. It’s currently at 27% capacity. The water temps were between 7.5 and 8.5 degrees. Spinning from or towards the banks is getting plenty of good fish as is bait fishing - big fat scrub worms or yabbies. Berkeley’s PowerBait range and scented plastics will also do the trick.
Lake Jindabyne is at 67% and fishing really well. Water temps around 8 to 9 degrees. Jindy is producing some nice fat trout, much more conditioned then what’s coming out of Eucumbene at present. All styles of approach are tangling with some beautiful trout and the odd salmon.
Tantangara Dam is up at 27%.
Before heading to this location it’s advised to phone through to the Adaminaby Angler or the Snowy Hydro information centre to check access. This is due to works being carried out for the Snowy Hydro 2.O project.
We received around 10 mm of rain and more snowfalls around the region earlier this week. To smell the rains coming was awesome! Every drop helps! The days are now getting longer and warmer so it won’t be long until the insects start to hatch and the dry flies come into play.
Tight lines my friends, fish for the future and remember “every day’s a good day for fishing … “
Team Tackle World Moruya
