On behalf of the local angling fraternity, our hats off and sincere thanks to everyone involved in fighting the seemingly endless fires. Fingers crossed for some long overdue rain which is urgently needed.

In the estuary, flathead continue to be primary target with consistent results from throughout the Hastings. Lures have been by far the most productive form of attack, with quality hard body divers around 95mm in length, and 70 or 80mm soft vibes both working extremely well. Whitebait is by far the other offering of choice.

On the whiting front, Blackmans Point has been fishing well, primarily on beach worms and to a lesser extent, yabbies.

For mulloway enthusiasts, the deeper sections up river are still worth a look for school sized fish, with either lures or live herring working well.

On the blackfish front, while the breakwalls have been a little quiet, some reasonable fish have been on offer around Settlement Point. Green weed has been doing all the damage.

For the crabbing enthusiasts, there are still plenty of solid blue swimmers throughout the Hastings, with good reports from many locations from Rawdon Island down to the back channel. Muddies however have been a little shy with the better reports from well up river.

On the beaches, things are beginning to look up after what has been somewhat of a quiet period. Both North Beach and Lighthouse have both been producing some nice whiting and a few reasonable late season bream. Live worms have been achieving the better results.

School mulloway numbers were also quite reasonable during the recent full moon period, with both beaches giving up some nice fish to around 10 kilos.

On the tailor front, marginal results have come from Lighthouse and the beaches to the south, although the odd solid salmon is still hanging about to add a bit of sport if nothing else.

Off the rocks, things have been a little quiet, however those chasing blackfish on cabbage still report some nice bronzies and the occasional drummer still inhabiting the washes around Port.

On the drummer front, reports from around Lighthouse have been encouraging. No real reports of tailor as yet, however it shouldn't be too long before we get an improvement, at least in quantity if not quality.

Outside reports have once again been limited courtesy of the constant winds and cool water temperatures. Those lucky to get the occasional morning session in have been scoring a few nice snapper and other mixed reef fish, with the reefs in between 50 and 70 meters off the lighthouse worth visiting.

To the north, trag rock has been producing a few kingfish to around 10 kilos with live baits working best.

Hopefully conditions should soon begin to slowly revert to our normal summer patterns and the offshore brigade can get out a little more often.

Until next time, tight lines and good fishing to all.