THE Olympics of prawn catching in Swansea Channel is set to provide plenty of family fun this Christmas.
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With the full moon last Tuesday night, Jason "One For" Nunn, from Fishermans Warehouse, said the next week-long prawn run in the channel would start on Boxing Day night.
This will be perfect timing for anyone looking for something different to do over the break.
"That's a good one for the holiday period for anyone who wants to take the kids out and catch a prawn," Jason said.
"It only happens every four years that the runs fits between Christmas and new year".
"So it's a good chance to show them how it's done, have some fun and catch some bait or a feed while you're doing it."
As the prawns run out with the tide, Jason advises to anchor in the channel, use your headlights and simply snatch them up with a prawn scoop. Enjoy.
Whiting by the dozens
BEACH fishing is on fire at the moment, and Jason can vouch for it.
Jason and his mate Al McMaster snuck out to Blacksmiths Beach after work for a couple of hours last Thursday and snared 11 whiting and two flathead.
"The water was so mild, everyone seemed to be catching them," he said.
"We got a couple of solid ones, up around 40 centimetres, caught on just preserved worms."
There has been talk of huge volumes of whiting off beaches from Stockton right down towards Catherine Hill Bay.
Jason said there had also been reports of school jew, dart, bream and flathead off the beaches.
Reeling in kings
SOME big kingfish have been caught in the lake recently.
Kings around 80 to 90 centimetres and bigger have been reeled in near Marks Point and some nice ones have been caught close to Swansea bridge on live squid.
Also doing well in the lake are bream, with catches up to the 45 centimetres mark taken on soft and hard plastic lures, and whiting.
Live worms and prawns, as well as strip mullet, are snaring whiting more than 40 centimetres in length.
Jason said cicadas were booming around the lake foreshore, making surface poppers a winning alternative chasing bream in the evening.
Action at bay breakwall
BRENT "Hammer" Hancock, from Tackleworld Port Stephens, reports that the Nelson Bay breakwall has been a hot spot for anglers after salmon and kings.
Surface lures at the early-morning tide changes have been a successful combination.
Flatheads in Tilligerry Creek and Karuah River, bream at Soldiers Point and whiting at Fingal Beach and samurai on live worms have also been the big news out of the bay.
As for the burgeoning marlin season, Mark Brown has been an early success story.
Hammer heard reports that three striped marlin were snared this past week and Brown caught two of them.
Also offshore, some nice catches of trags, red emperors, kings and jew have been coming in.
Top outing, big catch
ON the club scene, Greg and Zac Norgard were among the winners at the Nelson Bay Diggers Fishing Club final monthly outing of the year at the weekend.
Noel Cartwright was the overall winner, while Greg Norgard's mulloway was the heaviest fish caught and Zac Norgard was the junior champion.
Members made up for some below-par fishing with a Christmas barbecue after the weigh-in.
Family off to good start
THE Clement clan made a memorable start to their fishing life aboard new boat Aquaholic on the weekend.
Fourteen-year-old Mitchell caught a 45-centimetre-plus whiting in the sand flats at Pelican with his first bait off dad Richard's new pride and joy.
The whiting was landed in about one metre of water on a four-pound line.
Saunders tops comp
DAVID Saunders was top rod with a bream and four nice flathead totalling 134.90 points at the Gwandalan Bowling Club Fishing Club's December outing.
Vince Milina battled big swell and blasting winds to snare a 2.650-kilogram groper and the Ray's Outdoors voucher for most meritorious fish of the weekend.
Zac Renshaw was the top junior with a score of 62.40 points ahead of James Andrew (54.80).
The next competition runs from 5pm on January 10 until 3pm on January 12 with weigh-in and a barbecue at the Lodge. Ladies and juniors have their own day on January 19.
Snapper haul a winner
MARK Craft's snapper haul won the Weston Workers' Club bluewater division at their December contest.
Best juniors of the weekend were Robbie O'Grady and Issac Peek.
The club's next big event is the Annual Bridge to Bridge against Station Hotel, Kurri Kurri, on January 18. The monthly outing is January 3 to 5.