Moruya River.
We haven’t seen the rain that other parts of the state or Victoria have, thankfully, and fingers crossed we don’t! That being said the river is still looking less than ideal, with the dirty water still holding court.
My best recommendation would be be to fish the front end of the system on an incoming tide, and concentrate on the deeper holes. This run of dirty water, as they all do, will concentrate the fish into a smaller area. It can make finding the fish, if you know where to look easier, but getting them to bite, can be tricky. Oily baits would be my recommendation, with mullet fillet being the best example. It stays on the hook well and resists the pickers, until hopefully a bigger specimen comes along. It is also my pick for parents fishing with kids, as you spend less time rebaiting hooks for the kids.
Slow rolled soft plastics or hardbody lures that generate vibration will also work during times of dirty water. The fish need to be able to find your offering, so the addition of any of the many scents available added to your lure will also help.
Tuross River.
Tuross is also feeling the dirty water, with conditions less than ideal. I have had reports that the area up around the Bodalla bridge isn’t looking so brown at the moment, fingers crossed the excess water upstream is starting to slow. This however will be determined by the amount of rainfall we get this weekend.
Once again look to the deeper holes, and try oily baits of noisy lures to find a flathead, mulloway or bream that is sheltering from the fresh.
Coila lake is looking very full, with reports that there are good bream towards the front of the lake where there is good levels of cleaner water still making its way through the sand dunes on a rising tide. Expect to find a few flathead in these areas also.
Prawning this summer in Coila will depend on if the lake opens, or is opened, in the next week or so. An opening now will see any prawns currently in the lake flushing out, and will make it a late run towards the end of summer into autumn.
Rock and beach.
With big seas currently running, but dropping off as the weekend progresses, expect that the salmon and bream will start to bite again as the seas abate. There have been reports of good numbers of bream on the beaches, no doubt as a result of them being pushed out of the local estuaries. Concentrate your efforts on beach’s that are adjacent to to any major out flows for the best chance of success. Worms, nippers, pilchards or even mullet fillet will all work. Drummer off of the rocks will be an option, just keep an eye on the swells, as we have an easterly swell, which generally doesn’t offer much protection on any of the ledges as it is coming straight into most rocky headlands.
Offshore.
For those who have ventured out, there have been a few good snapper lurking on the local reefs. Try in around 20m of water and work your way deeper if you can’t find a feed. With a straight easterly sweep this weekend, keep a close eye on the Moruya bar if you are contemplating crossing it. We should be under 2m seas by the weekend, but do your research before blindly trying to cross.
We are continuing to see new season stock hit the walls, so check our socials for the presence of new stock, or better yet, come in and say hi and check for yourself!
Stay safe everyone and remember, “everyday’s a good day for fishing…”
Team Tackle World Moruya.
