Good weather, good tides and the chance of a winter marlin suggest anglers should get out there this weekend before the next big change comes through.
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Offshore is heavy with bait schools and those few boats that ventured out last weekend reported unseasonally good conditions.
No current, water temps up around 23 degrees, long multiple current lines of coral spawn and bait schools 200m in diameter and 60m deep.
"Almost too much bait," Jason "One For" Nunn, from Fishermans Warehouse reported.
"We hooked and lost a marlin on Fifi, the guys on Awatea did the same, and Leanne Hoff tagged a 100kg stripe on Out of the Blue.
"There certainly were marlin about, but they just didn't have to chase lures because of the amound of bait.
"Conditions on the Sunday were absolutely glorious - we were in shorts, t-shirts in the middle of June.
"Unbelievable and not to be missed because you'll never get a better chance to catch a winter marlin."
Red rampage
Paul "Ringo" Lennon, from Fish Port Stephens Estuary Charters reports great catches of quality snapper in the bay area following on from the recent big blow.
"It was always on the cards and guys have been getting reds between 8kg and 10kg, fishing places like Ediths Breakers and Broughton Island," he said.
Beaches are still recovering, with a few bream around the corners, and tailor and salmon spread along the coast.
"The estuary is starting to come good again after the big blow plunged temps and fishing shut down," Ringo said.
"We're seeing temps back up around 17 to 19 degrees, and with these good tides this weekend, I'd suggest some bream fishing round structure will work out well."
Harley Price got a couple of rat kings off the breakwall through the week and there's been some nice jew in the bay.
Ringo got a three fish - 120cm, 125cm and 138cm - on one midweek charter.
"We just stumbled across them, stacked up in one of the holes after the rain - 20 minutes of mayhem," Ringo said
"Released them, went back the next day and never got a bite."
Kelly strikes
Chad Kelly reigned supreme at Charlestown Anglers Fishing Club's final outing for the financial year last weekend.
Reveling in perfect long weekend conditions, Chad registered eight species and a total of 13 fish, including some nice snapper hooked up round Seal Rocks on the Saturday and a couple of stonking drummer on the Sunday.
Club weighmaster and scribe Troy Terrill was close behind Chad in second place with seven species and 11 fish, including some handy luderick and a few jew.
Jodi Terrill claimed the women's crown with a bag featuring flathead and tailor.
Jye Morton took out junior male, with a cracker bream, tailor and flathead
Sabine Ingham earned the junior famale crown with bream and flathead.
"This was our last weigh-in comp for the year but the Trophy Board is still going until the end of month," Troy said.
Charlestown Anglers' next meeting is Tuesday, July 2, starting 6.30pm at Warners at the Bay Hotel.
Stealth attack
What was billed as a showdown last weekend between Lake Macquarie anglers Jason "One For" Nunn and young Shalea Townsend for the overall anglers crown at Lake Macquarie Game Fishing Club ended up an exercise in stealth .
Least that's how Marcus Stansfield, skipper of Shalea's boat Awatea, put it.
"Nunny and my brother Luke [owner of Fifi on which Jason fishes] were all supposed to be away last weekend, until they heard Shalea had thrown down the guantlet, then miraculously they're all banded together, got the ammo together and out the heads Sunday by 6am.
"We didn't get out till 7am because as it turned out, Shalea couldn't fish and we thought it pretty unlikely we'd get three marlin anyhow, so we slept in
"But the fact we had them sweating was good enough for me."
Jason's version of events is slightly different.
"We heard Friday Shalea wasn't fishing but decided to go anyhow and let me tell you, Luke was relentless giving it to his brother on the radio through the day."
In the wash-up, Shalea finished lady champions, Nunn took the men's crown and overall angler title, while Fifi was crowned champion boat.
In a nice bit of symmetry for the season, Leanne Hoff, daughter of game fishing legend Neil Grieves, who passed this year, caught the last marlin of the season fishing on husband Garry Hoff's boat, Out Of The Blue.
"She also got the first marlin for this season for the club, as well as the heaviest, so it was a good way to end after the events of the year and I'm sure her dad would have been proud," Marcus observed.