Jesse Dedman and mates Tim Knez' (sic) and Adam Harris greeted the dawn off Newcastle on Wednesday and were rewarded with some reds up to 3.5kg.

"We actually got the biggest fish of the day just before dark, but we ended up with a few nice pan-sized fish throughout the morning," Jesse said.

"It was a bit of a grind, drifting, finding the bait - it wasn't like a hot bite, but we put the hours in, covered the ground and found fish.

"Coming into winter we should see a few more big snapper coming in close."

Fishing off the rocks recently, Jesse and the crew got some nice spangled emperor.

"We were chasing snapper again but came away with a couple of spangled emperor, which was a bit of a surprise.

"I thought they're more of a northern species. Don't know if they are taking up residency."

Videos of this week's snapper session and the spangled emperor shoot can be found on Jesse's YouTube channel - Newy Fishin' - or click the link on the Newy Fishin' Facebook page.

"I say this for every vid I do, but this new one is the best one yet," Jesse quipped.

"I'm picking up new stuff every time and I've got the mates to check it and they're giving it the green light."

Dave Brown confirms the consensus about snapper fishing at the moment -slow going but decent fish about in close.

He got his young nephew Isaac Fairhurst out of the house for a spot of Covid fishing last week, and persistence paid off.

"It was pretty slow, and we were getting a lot of rays and sharks, but next minute Isaac's line takes off over the reef, a nice twenty metre run," Dave recalls.

"Pump and wind back to the boat and I scooped a beautiful 4kg snapper for him. Certainly a new PB.

"To say Isaac was stoked would be an understatement! We caught a few more bream, snapper and trevally but nothing near as big as the big snapper. A great day out!"

Along with a drop in the mercury, salmon are starting to show up along Hunter beaches, confirmation if anyone needs it that winter is just round the corner.

Ten year old Eli Finlay hooked a cracker off Redhead beach last weekend.

Kyle, from Fishermans Warehouse at Marks Point, reports salmon fever is taking hold.

"They've been thick in the channel this week and along the beaches.

"People have been getting some nice tailor mixed in with them too.

"Flathead have been kicking around in the deeper sections of Lake Macquarie and there's still some nice bream about too, up to 1kg.

"They're going for bait this time of year, although blades will work as we get cooler.

"We had a guy come in donate a jew carcass this week caught off Stockton beach estimated 20kg - measured at 1.3m.

"He got it on a lure in the middle of the day.

"In the deeper water south of Swansea they're jigging kings - fish up to a metre in among the rats.

"It's been pretty quiet on the game front, although there's been a whisper of tuna off Norah Head and back towards Terrigal.

"The weekend is looking pretty good for a fish with swell, showers and wind expected to taper off."

Eva Guy is eight years old and has been fishing since she was three and going outside on the ocean since she was five.

A member of Teralba Lakesiders Fishing Club, Eva loves to go fishing with her grandparents and father.

"I have made a lot of friends at the club and really love my fishing and want to be able to go fishing for the rest of my life but last time I went out I was really upset," Eva reported this week.

"When we came back to the boat ramp I found a big ball of fishing line with a hook in it laying near the boat ramp.

"I love to see the seagulls and pelicans and to be able to catch healthy fish in the lake too, so this made me a bit cranky."

When Eva tried to put the tangle into the bin, the bin was too full and so she took it home and put it in the bin there.

"I was thinking about what would happen if the pelicans or seagulls tried to eat it and I looked up some pictures which were horrible," she said.

"I really don't want to see this happen on Lake Macquarie so I am asking all of the anglers to please make sure you put your old bits of line in the bin please."

Eva is going to make some recycling containers from tennis ball tins to share with the members of her fishing club.

"The man at Cardiff Tennis Centre said he will help out and save for me," Eva said.

"On the internet you can see some great recycling containers they have just put in at Port Macquarie which are a really good idea.

"It would be good if we could get some of these for our area."