The first hint of yellowfin off our coast has offshore anglers whetting their lips this weekend.
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Several yellowfin up around the 40kg mark were caught north of Nelson Bay in about 500 fathoms last weekend.
A smaller fish was caught off Newcastle canyons midweek, while there was another fish hooked off Seal Rocks.
"The water is starting to move down and temperatures are starting to drop to an average of around 18.5 degrees out wide," Jason "One For" Nunn, from Fishermans Warehouse at Marks Point said.
"The guys I've been talking to said there was lots of bird life but not so much bait.
"Most fish were caught on the troll or using stick baits
"It's the first hint of what's hopefully to come as more anglers take the opportunity to get out wide and have a go.
"These fish are turning up about the same time they turned up last year, so happy days."
Tuck in close to cliffs
Last week's prediction of snapper in close turned out to be on the money and it's looking good again this weekend.
Saturday's afternoon high tides and predominantly west-nor-west winds will provide perfect conditions to fish for snapper off our inshore reefs and islands.
"The tides and winds will present a grand opportunity to get out, particularly Saturday," Jason said.
"Chase flathead on the drift out wider during the morning and past noon, and then make sure your in close on the reefs later that afternoon on the high tide.
"Tuck in behind the cliffs out the wind and target the snapper. They'll be there."
Decent opportunities
There's still a few salmon and tailor on the beach.
If the swell stays away this weekend there will be luderick and drummer off the rocks
The lake has been fishing well with a lot of bait in the middle attracting tailor, jew and flathead.
Salmon still reign supreme in Swansea Channel.
"Early morning off the rocks at Lucy's Breakwall, you'll get good salmon and some nice tailor mixed in," Jason said.
"It's low tide this weekend around 8am and two weeks ago on the low there were salmon busting up everywhere
"So there will be plenty of entertainment to be had."
Tagging insights
NSW DPI recently released its annual report on the game fish tagging program, prepared by gamfishing guru, Dr Julian Pepperell.
These annual reports summarise the tagging and recapture efforts for each season, highlighting significant recaptures, trends and biology of some of our favourite species.
Some of the key highlights of the 2020/21 season include;
- 10,207 fish tagged in 2020/21.
- The 500,000th fish tagged in the program's history
- The first recorded movement of a striped marlin from Australia to New Zealand
- A kingfish recaptured twice, once after 629 days, the second after another 330 days. That fish had travelled approximately 3000km during its 959 days at liberty
The program began in the 1970s and operates Australia wide taking in Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific.
Since inception over 60,000 plus anglers aboard 10,000 plus boats have participated. Over 77,000 black marlin have been tagged, 36,000 sailfish, 32,000 stripe marlin, 30,000 southern bluefin tuna, 27,000 dolphin fish and 13,500 blue marlin.
"I see the anglers who participate as this incredible army of unpaid volunteer citizen scientists," said Julian who was instrumental in setting up the program.
"They play a key part in building this amazing database of info, all centrally stored and digitalised.
"It enables scientists to analyse capture and release details, look at fluctuations and overlay that info with other historic environmental data.
"In that way you can see what might explain an abundance or otherwise of a particular species and enable us to better understand, manage and sustain our fishing resources.
"For example, the movement of this striped marlin to NZ. That's such a rarity.
"Since the program began we've only had 283 stripes recaptured, and none ever in NZ. We know they stick along the coast of Australia and head out to the undersea mountain ridges off Norfolk and Lord Howe Island to spawn.
"NZ has a similar tagging program and they find their stripes don't tend to head over to Australia either.
"The theory developing is both stocks, which appear genetically similar, head to the middle ground each year to spawn and then go back to where they come from.
"It just exemplifies what the data can reveal.
"I think it's fair to say after nearly 50 years, the more we know, the less we realise we know."