Best advice is to get out early and beat the holiday hordes.

The big hope is that the nor-easters that have been blowing hard all week, don't turn the water over.

"There's been some massive tides and swell all week, courtesy of Cyclone Seth, and the run-in tide has been a little bit cooler," Jason "One For" Nunn, from Fishermans Warehouse at Marks Point, said.

"But it hasn't spoiled the fishing this week."

Out wide the water temp is still hovering around the 24-degree mark and there's been a few pelagics about.

"Black marlin out wide and in close, big dolphin fish on the FAD and the odd striped marlin," Jason said.

"Alex [Smaler-Loomes - who works at Fisherman's Warehouse] dropped two blacks on the Farm this week in about 100m water.

"It's been the same story up off Port Stephens, the Gibber and up to Seal Rocks.

"Blacks about in big number."

Paul "Ringo" Lennon, from Fish Port Stephens Estuary Charters echoed Jason's offshore intel.

"We've got some good water in close and we've seen blacks and stripes both out wide and in close, with a few mahi mahi on the FAD.

"It's well worth a shot from Port up to Seals this weekend."

There have been some encouraging catches of trag and snapper round Catherine Hill Bay and Redhead, as summer species start showing up.

"Along with those, you can expect to find flathead, mulloway and a few bonito, along with tailor and rat kings on our inshore reefs," Jason said.

"And when I say, rat, I mean very small kings - maybe 20cm, which is a good sign and indicates a healthy population of juvenile kings coming through the system.

"This is evident in what's been happening at Swansea bridge, the Dropover and key markers in Lake Macquarie, where good catches of kingfish have been happening."

All estuaries are heavily populated at the moment with both holiday anglers and hungry fish it seems.

"A lot of flathead have been caught," Jason said.

"Really good sized too and it's been great to see so many big flathead caught and released.

"Anglers need to remember it is spawning season and you are only allowed to keep one lizard over 70cm.

"A lot have been tagged under the Trophy Flathead program and a lot of big untagged flathead are also being caught too, which is a sign we have good stock.

"It shows initiatives like the Trophy Flathead tagging program are working and we need to keep it working."

Whiting have been a highlight of the holidays for many anglers with some stonkers caught throughout local estuaries, on breakwalls and along beaches.

"It's pretty hard to miss whiting on worms around the bay at the moment, despite the crowds," Paul "Ringo" Lennon, from Fish Port Stephens Estuary Charters said.

"Quality sand whiting up to 40cm.

"They are loving the sand worms but also responding on surface lures, moreso up the systems in the feeder creeks,

"Soldiers Point up to the Karuah River mouth over to the entrance of Myall River have all been happy hunting grounds for surface popping, fishing the high tides.

"Ocean beaches same story."

Beach fishos have also been doing alright with bream using live worms or pippis, fishing the gutters around high tide.

"We've also seen the odd mulloway coming off Stockton beach at night," Paul said.

Local charter boats have been putting clients onto decent catches of trag, snapper and kingfish along the inshore reefs off Port Stephens.

"Pacific Blue and Nelson Bay Charters report it's been pretty consistent for the customers, and as the wind backs off this weekend, it should be pretty favourable," Paul said.

The Christmas-New Year prawn run delivered reasonable yields for those who had a crack.

The good news both in the lake and up the bay has been the abundance of crabs over the last few weeks.

"It was pretty quiet before Christmas, but we've seen some real nice muddies round the back of Tilligerry Creek and Karuah this week," Paul said. "My son Benjamin got a monster this week. The blue swimmers have come on too."