There’s plenty of decent fish in there to hunt.

Good-sized king and jewfish have been the order of the day for anglers and sharks alike as water temperatures and prawn numbers rise for the Christmas-New Year break.

‘‘They are definitely there and they’ve probably always been there,’’ Jason ‘‘One For’’ Nunn, of Fishermans Warehouse at Marks Point, said after the Herald reported a great white breaching to take jewfish off a line near Pulbah Island.

‘‘They are probably just a bit more prevalent   now because of the good fish stocks in there.’’

The lake is booming 11 years after the ban on commercial fishing and Nunn said those stocks were on show this week with some ‘‘cracker kings caught in the Lake’’, one of which was 1.2metres long.

He expected fishing to get even better with the week-long prawn run out of the lake which started last night.

‘‘There should be a few prawns coming down with this temperate weather we’ve had,’’ he said.

‘‘They’ve had plenty of time to get some growth about them and that will boost the fishing along even more in the Christmas-break period. All your bream, whiting and other estuarine fish will be working those prawns pretty hard.

‘‘It’s good timing if you’re a fisherman.’’

Squid pro quo for bait

BIG kings and jews have also been the news out of Nelson Bay.

Ross ‘‘Duff’’ Duffy, from Salamander Bait and Tackle, reported kings up to 17 kilograms and 15 to 20-kilogram jews being caught on live squid using downriggers along the front of the breakwall, 

That bait and tackle  in the hunt for kings has been the winning combination  at many other spots, snaring jews and flatheads as well.

Duffy said flatheads had been streaming in with the warmer waters about, especially around Corrie Island and at the mouth of the Tilligerry and Karuah systems.

Trag,  snapper prevalent

SNAPPER and trag have been biting hard offshore.

Duffy said some nice snapper had come in and one of the best was snared by James Davies last weekend.

He caught a 7.3 kilogram snapper on pillies off Big Island, while others have had success in the shallows around Broughton Island.

Shane Peters and his crew snared a 6.5 kilogram snapper at the breakers and a 3 kilogram trag on the 21 reef.

Duffy said a stack of trag has been caught on all the main reefs off the bay, while jewfish had ‘‘started to get going’’.

He said Shane Scott from Charlestown caught four jew  between 15 and 20 kilograms off the tank mark near Boat Harbour.

Dolphin fish on the FAD and a few pile perch off the back of the Gibber Reef and inside the 21 were also on Duffy’s radar.

Nunn said kings and red emperors, some up to 2 kilograms, have been coming in outside of the lake, as well flatheads on the drift. 

Dophinfish are also on the rise.

The whiting are biting

BREAM and whiting have been biting up and down the beaches. 

Nunn said word spread quickly after he and mate Al McMaster bagged a heap of whiting to remember at Blacksmiths beach two weeks ago. So much so, McMaster had to move further south to find some fresh sand this week.

‘‘He went down to Blacksmiths and obviously,  with all the good oil coming out about the fishing there, it was standing room only,’’ Nunn said.

‘‘He went down the coast a bit further and ended up with eight bream and two whiting for his session.’’

Peter Reid was another to find the sweet spot when he snagged 14 whiting at Belmont on Friday night.

‘‘He said he didn’t get them until later in the evening when the tide had gotten up the top and was starting to drop down again,’’ Nunn said.

Duffy said the Port Stephens beaches were also fishing well.

‘‘The beaches are fishing exceptionally well for whiting and there’s still a few jew coming in on the Stockton end,’’ he said.

‘‘There’s some tailor after dusk and a few schools of salmon around. There’s sand whiting at Shoal Bay and Jimmys Beach and trumpeter around the back of Soldiers Point.’’

Duffy said the warmer weather in waters all round the region were adding up to a memorable summer on the water.

‘‘With the school holidays in full swing and the warm weather, people are starting to rub their hands together,’’ he said. ‘‘It will be good to get a decent summer in, we haven’t had one for three years.’’

Green and blue around

DUFFY said green-eye squid have been caught at Boulder Bay and Boat Harbour, while a few crabs are turning up. 

Blue swimmers are being trapped at Taylors Beach and Bull Island, while there are still a few mud crabs out of the Tilligery and Karuah systems.