Going fishing? Drummer are winter specialties from washed out rock ledges along the Mid-North Coast, where you'll also find tailor

Reports from the estuaries indicate bream numbers are improving as you would expect with the passing of the full moon. Limeburners, the coal wall and both breakwalls are all worth a go from a bait fishing perspective, with mullet gut seeing excellent results.

For those content to throw lures during daylight hours, good reports are coming from most sections, with a noticeable improvement upriver as the system returns to normal clarity. Flathead continue to be excellent and show few signs of slowing down, enhancing the notion they are a year-round proposition.

The recent full moon saw a few mulloway to around 20 kilograms encountered throughout the Hastings, with live mullet the winning offering. On the blackfish front, the breakwalls are proving consistent without being spectacular, and we are still hearing a few positive whiting reports despite the time of year.

A few nice crabs also remain active, although expect them to slow somewhat when the water begins to cool during June.

On the subject of Lake Cathie, and more specifically the entrance, the recent big seas have seen significant change. As expected, sand ingress was considerable, with the southern entrance completely closed last weekend, only for the big tides to create a fresh channel in the centre of the berm the following day.

However given the amount of sand now pushed in to the system in conjunction with smaller tides over the next week, I suspect this reprieve will be short lived.

Off the beaches, although the strong winds and southerly swell have made conditions awkward at best on most stretches of sand, some reasonable fishing has been on offer from the protected locations. Town and Shelly beaches have both fished well for bream and whiting, along with a few solid salmon. A few blackfish were also on offer at Shelly Beach, which is often the case during a big swell.

Hopefully once conditions settle, the open beaches will quickly reform and produce the goods as well.

Off the rocks, once again options were limited to the protected north-facing ledges over most of the last week. Tailor numbers were understandably down, but bream and blackfish have been terrific with good reports from around Plomer and Miners.

Look for some serious drummer action now the swell has begun to settle, with just about any washed-out ledge well worth prospecting. Tailor should also be first class once safe access is restored.

Offshore, very little to report as you would expect given the recent conditions. Hopefully calm seas will return again and, for a change, during a weekend or two.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: