SIGNS of life offshore, cracking beach catches and a promising weather forecast are pointing to improved fishing heading into Christmas.
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Wet weather, high winds and big swells have made for challenging times for fishos in recent weeks but relatively clear skies this week have led to good reports.
"It's encouraging," said Jason "One For" Nunn, from Fishermans Warehouse at Marks Point.
"You've got water temperatures up on the beaches and out wider.
"I spoke to a fellow yesterday, he'd been offshore on Tuesday night and said the water temperature was beautiful and he'd seen some trag starting to turn up.
"I know there's a few tailor poking around offshore as well, and it's a key indication that we're starting to get warmer water right through the layers, not just on top.
"We've had predominately southerly winds and I feel that's going to help our situation for the offshore scene.
"There were a couple of marlins lost yesterday off the shelf, off Nelson Bay, so the water is definitely starting to click."
Nunn said fishing at Blacksmiths Beach early this week was firing, with catches of whiting, bream and dart dominating. There were also mulloway up to 85cm caught.
He also tried his luck on Swansea Channel this week and caught blue swimmer crabs, whiting up to 40cm on tube worms and flathead on lures up to 65cm. He said local flathead specialist Steve Norris got a few into the mid-70s.
Nunn said with the full moon coming this Sunday and mostly sunny, calm weather predicted into Christmas, better fishing was expected.
That should only improve afterwards with the late December prawn run on the horizon.
BIG FINISH
Ben Lorentzen and Brad Morton were winners at the Charlestown Anglers' December weigh-in and Christmas party last weekend.
Mulloway were the bonus species and Lorentzen reeled in a 108cm jew fish in windy conditions on Friday night, also earning our fish of the week prize.
Crewmates Dave McGarvie and Steve Eagleton also bagged a jew fish each. Eagleton's was next best at 100cm.
Morton and Troy Terrill also battled the wind briefly on Friday night, in separate boats. Morton caught tailor, bream and a jew, while Terrill tried a new spot and landed a flathead.
Morton headed back out on Saturday morning and tried for kings at Swansea Bridge. He released a few rats but went home with a nice salmon.
The haul was enough to give Morton the win ahead of Terrill, who tried again Saturday night and Sunday morning, landing a 67cm jew, a few flathead, whiting and bream.
Andrew Brogan, who fished with his dad, Matt, won the junior award with catches of flathead, whiting and bream.
More than 50 members checked out the catches and enjoyed a feed of prawns, pork, chicken, ham and salads at the Christmas party at Warners Bay Hotel.
Their next outing is January 7-9.
NET RETURN
Crab hunters will be able to exchange their witches-hat and collapsible rectangular traps for an environmentally friendly alternative at the Hunter office of the NSW DPI Fisheries at Swansea on Sunday.
The pop-up exchange, held between 10am and 2pm, is part of the DPI's trial permitting the use of crab traps in Lake Macquarie.
Fishos can bring in their traditional trap - one per person - and get a new round version, or lift net, in return.
The DPI hopes to encourage the move away from witches-hat traps, which are made of thin mesh that can result in the entanglement and drowning of turtles and other non-target species. The witches-hat traps, which have a lightweight steel ring, can also often move during tide changes and be lost.
The surrendered witches-hat nets will be recycled where possible.
All attendees on the pop-up day need to register via Eventbite.
CATCHES OF THE DAY
Fresh from their catch of illegal collections of molluscs at Swansea, fisheries officers have pounced on two groups with large hauls of undersized fish at The Entrance.
Officers came across the illegal catches during a late night patrol.
They first caught four males, fishing from the shore adjacent to Karagi Reserve, with 57 sand whiting, 30 of which measured less than the prescribed legal length of 27cm.
Soon after, a routine inspection of a vessel at a boat ramp found three males with 25 yellow fin bream. All measured less than the prescribed legal size of 25cm.
Fines up to $22,000 can apply to those with prohibited-sized fish in their possession.
A week or so earlier, fisheries officers caught a group of six people in possession of 273 molluscs at Swansea. Turban snails and other molluscs have a combined bag and possession limit of 20 per person.