Page 34 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine

IA warm welcome for spring species
HOPE you are all ity settle over the next and our bread and but- staying safe and month and the weather ter species will con- healthy during this patterns we’re used to, tinue to flourish.
Ballina Bait & Tackle
by BRETT HYDE
crazy period. with low wind and cur- For now, most beach-
I also hope you are managing to get out andhaveafishona regular basis.
all need a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to lean on occasionally.
little ordinary and cer- tainly not what we’re used to for this time of year.
rent, will return. Leatherjacket have
es are holding good numbers of bream and a few flathead.
At the moment, it’s important to make the time for fishing because it provides a mental health break from the current mad- ness in the world and allows a recharge of your batteries.
Putting it out there... if you’re in my neck of the woods, the ket- tle is always on and the fridge is stocked, so drop in for a chat if you feel the need.
For the most part the current has been slight- ly offshore, but we’ve had a few irregular days where it has come from nowhere and has been as high as three knots out on the shelf.
shown up as per nor- mal, but with water temperature not as low as it typically is, they seem to be staying out a little wider.
The usual baits such as pipi, mullet and pil- chard have all been working quite nicely.
Please check in on your mates as well, we
The weather over the past month has been a
Hopefully we will see this unpredictabil-
Angels and Seven Mile beaches have been the pick to try, but most on that side of the river have produced fish at some point.
Right let’s get on to fishing.
The 42-fathom line has been thick with them and a few have been hanging near the 55 as well, so be aware next time you drop your favourite knife jig down for a kingfish – your jig may not come back!
The tailor and salmon seem to be in better quantities on beach- es north of the river mouth.
BALLINA BAIT & TACKLE
The author with an early season river bass.
They seem to be a little spread out at pre- sent, so it’s worth a run up the river to check out the rock walls.
The close reefs have been producing reason- able snapper, teraglin and mulloway recently.
The usual baits such as pilchard and mullet have worked, but it has been difficult to source any bonito, so make sure you have plenty of the other two, just in case.
Mulloway have been frequently landed us- ing live baits such as slimy mackerel and yellowtail, while snap- per have been more than happy to chase down lightly weighted soft plastics in brighter colours.
The river has been a bit hit and miss, with smaller tides making fishing a little difficult.
It is a little late in the season, but we are still seeing the odd longtail tuna on close reefs.
We can expect run-in tides to be the best bet for quality bream.
Most have shown an interest in live baits that have been put out for tuna, but every now and then one will grab a soft plastic as well.
Soft plastics with an 1/8-1/12oz jig head have been working fairly well, along with crab imitations and the usual baits such as prawns or pilchard.
Ballina West Shopping Centre Paci c Hwy, Ballina NSW
02 6686 2527
Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020
Hopefully it won’t be the case this season,
* continued P35 www.bnb shing.com.au
Back on the beaches, salmon have started to make an appearance.
Luderick have been similar to bream, with run-in tides being the best opportunities to chase them.
Certainly a worrying trend because last time we saw them they man- aged to make a mas- sive dent in our bait fish stocks and we had a very lean time on bream, flathead and tailor.
Good numbers have been coming from the breakwalls, Prospect Bridge and the old fer- ry approach.