Once again we seen have another mixed up week weather wise, with southerlies and nor easters alternating every few days, and some sublime conditions in between.
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Standard fare for this time of year.
A bit of bad news this week with Lake Cathie taking a turn for the worse, not only closing after a brief opening period, but again showing signs of significant duress.
The upper reaches currently have a distinct orange and turbid appearance, with acid sulphate a suggested culprit. Let's just hope the relevant governing authorities can agree on, and begin implementing a long term correction strategy before this jewel of a waterway is beyond repair.
In the Hastings, flathead numbers are terrific, with plenty of fish right throughout the Hastings from Wauchope right down to the break walls.
Those throwing lures continue to enjoy the best of the action, however a lightly weighted whitebait will also prove effective. On the blackfish front, catches remain a little on the inconsistent side, with a few fish about one day, and little the next. Bream numbers remain reasonable with the better results from around Rawdon Island on lures during the day, and either yabbies or mullet strips after dark.
On the mulloway front, the lower reaches again saw a few nice fish to around 20 kilos taken over the past week on both live baits and lures. We have also seen a significant increase in whiting activity, with the flats around Pelican Island and Limeburners giving up some top fish on worms and yabbies.
Off the rocks, there are still some solid drummer about with the occasional fish approaching 3 kilos. Tailor numbers remain only reasonable from most headlands, however the odd large greenback was taken from Crescent Head and Diamond Head over recent times.
For those keen on chasing a few bream, best bet would be head to Crescent Head, with fresh tailor strips well worth throwing either early mornings or after dark.
On the beaches, good reports on mulloway have again come in which is a pleasing change. Fish to around 15 kilos have been caught on Lighthouse, in front of Lake Cathie as well as the Camden Haven area. Beach worms and tailor fillets have both worked well. A few nice bream and tailor also still around, with Lighthouse in particular fishing well.
Offshore, snapper numbers remain terrific as they usually are at this time of year.
Most reefs are fishing well with good reports from as deep as 70m, right in to around 20m off Lake Cathie. Lures have been by far the premier form of attack. Apart from snapper, some nice kingfish have been taken from the wider reefs off Plomer and Lighthouse, with live baits and jigs equally effective.
