Anglers enjoyed an Easter miracle last weekend with classic weather and the fish firing.
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Lest we forget in the wake of Anzac Day, there are no guarantees in fishing, but it's looking pretty good this weekend too.
The mercury will dip towards autumn on Saturday, but only temporarily, and it will be mostly sunny conditions, hardly any rain and sou-westerly winds through to Monday and beyond.
"Fishing has been absolutely awesome," Brent "Hammer" Hancock reported from his bunker at Tackle World Port Stephens this week.
"I can't remember an Easter like it - shirt, thongs and t-shirts every day and the fish on the chew like you wouldn't believe."
Hammer reports flathead aplenty inside the bay.
"Kicker lizards up Tilligerry Creek in the shallows around the oyster racks, mixing with blue swimmer crabs," he continued.
"Big bream moving around the oyster racks too and long tail tuna in the bay but chasing them has been somewhat curtailed by all the holiday traffic on the water.
"Unbelievable the amount of people. You'd think it was Christmas."
Cobia gold
Been some exciting catches of cobia both inside and outside the bay.
A 14kg fish was caught off Salamander Wreck midweek, while Wilson Fishing rep Shane Banks boated a 20kg (estimated) cobe off Broughton chasing snapper on soft plastics.
"The main thing this shows is there is plenty of warm water and bait about," Hammer said.
Not to mention people. There has been an army of anglers lining up along the coastal FADs off Port Stephens, Newcastle and Swansea jostling to catch dolphin fish.
"It makes it hard but that's holidays for you but they've been getting lots of mahi mahi too," Hammer said
Out on the Shelf, local Port Stephens boat White Dog got a couple of blue marlin through the week and a 65kg yellow fin.
But as Hammer points out, "the problem with yellowfin is they're there one day, gone the next."
Spot on
Predictions of a heavenly Easter fishing holiday were "dead-eye Dick perfect", according to Jason "One For" Nunn, from Fisherman's Warehouse, at Marks Point.
"Dynamite Saturday, Sunday, Monday and onwards into this week," he said.
"I'm predicting the south-west temperature drop on Saturday will trigger mullet movement along beaches.
"There's a lot of them schooling up in the lake and elsewhere along the coast. They've been waiting for a windshift and barometer drop and this will be it, is my tip."
In the meantime, the mullet have been attracting predators in their own right and guys have been doing very well on jew and bream in the lake this week.
Jason concurs on cobia catches in Port Stephens and reports they've been mirrored further south.
"Local lake guys have been getting them too this week," he said.
"The water is very balmy allowing guys to fish in close to rocks.
'We've been seeing cobes, kings, and a fair few jew caught inshore.
"There's been a few trag and flathead offshore too, and what about the amount of dolphin fish!
"Across all the FADs and anywhere you have trap lines and off the back of ships anchored off the Hunter.
"From legal up to 85cm, but lots of them."
Dolphin fish fun fact: Studies have shown dolphin fish are one of the fastest growing fish in the ocean. They can reach 1kg after 6 months and 10kg after 1 year.
According to the Department of Primary Industries recently, a dolphin fish tagged and released on the Tweed FAD on October 27, 2018 was recaptured on January 23, 2019 on another FAD 370 nautical miles south at Port Hacking.
In 88 days it went from 75cm and 3.5kg to 105cm and 6kg, highlighting significant growth.
Golden days
Offshore continues to offer great opportunities, and Saturday's dip in temperature will only be transient.
Lewis Ireland, fishing with his dad Ross on All Zero landed a 412kg tiger shark on 15kg line last weekend.
"Allatea tagged a stripe and Reel Fetish tagged a small blue," Jason said.
"So there's still fish out there, albeit with a bit of water between them."
Conditions next week are still predicted to hover round the 24 degree mark.
"Out wide off the back of the shelf the water is hovering around 25 degrees. In closer its' still 23.5 degrees," Jason said.
"So it's incredible water and it doesn't look like slowing down any time soon, and it's bringing an abundance of species south.
"So it's incredible water and it doesn't look like slowing down any time soon, and it's bringing an abundance of species south.
"From South West Rocks north, they're getting spotty mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cobia and wahu.
"It's probably hasn't been this good this time of year for a long time and guys are making an effort to get amongst it."