20/03/2026
Forster/Tuncurry Fishing Report 20/3/2026.
Apologies for the lack of reports, life has been crazy, the world has gone crazy and the weather has been all over the place! If feels like Summer disappeared in the blink of an eye which is great news for us anglers as it means we are now heading into the most exciting time of the year!
Up until recently, Flathead have been very easy to find and catch for both bait and lure anglers, however, the last couple of weeks have been a little tricky for anglers chasing a feed of Flatty tails with anglers commenting that they either can’t find any fish at all or that they can only find small, undersized fish. This change is not unusual for this time of the year and you will find that the Flathead fishing will start to get better and better further up-river as we move through Autumn. Instead of fishing the ‘clear’ water down around the mouth of the estuary, try moving up to areas such as Coomba Park, Regatta Island, ‘The Cut’ or up the Wallamba River, you will find the fish eventually!
On the flip side, the mighty Bream are now making their presence felt throughout the lower reaches of the system with some absolute monsters coming from the rockwalls and Oyster Leases. Targeting these hard fighting fish is relatively easy, you can pick just about anywhere with a bit of structure (if you can also find an area which has a bit of an ‘eddy’ or backwater where the current is hitting structure and bouncing off that is perfect)and simply float a lightly weighted bait or small soft plastic down along or into the structure, watch your line and as soon as you see it move off you know you have a fish on! Chasing big Bream in harsh terrain is very addictive and such good fun, you will be amazed by how hard these little guys can pull! Anglers continuing to fish the w**d bed areas are also still finding some solid fish up to about 35cm and we can expect these fish to hang about up there for another couple of weeks before they all push down towards the ocean.
The rockwalls become a hive of activity throughout March and April with a lot of angling attention becoming focussed on them as fish move about and congregate to spawn. Along with the Bream, Luderick also ‘run’ to sea and settle on the structures that exist in and around the mouths of our estuaries. There are a few keen Luderick anglers that have already dusted off their gear and so far the fishing is looking promising this season, early season fishing can be a bit annoying though as you will likely find a lot of smaller fish mixed in with the legal ones.
The river mouth has been alive with baitfish and the predators that chase them over the last couple of weeks. Anglers have been having a ball casting small metal lures at Tailor and Bonito with ‘fish a cast’ type sessions a definite possibility. The best time to have a go at these little speedsters is the last half of the incoming tide.
Targeting Mulloway is always a great option during Autumn, with the amount of fish moving in and out of the estuary these beautiful big fish love to settle within the rock walls and gorge themselves. So far we are yet to see many bigger fish however the number of small ‘soapies’ is nothing short of amazing, not to mention the amazing bycatch that is always a possibility during Autumn!
Local beaches have been producing some very nice early season Tailor and it would seem that most beaches are holding fish in one place or another. Soaking a Beach Worm or P**i will also see you landing a mixed bag of Whiting, Bream, Dart and you just never know when a Mulloway may cruise past!
Rock fishermen love autumn, the possibilities are endless! If there is a bit of wash about you can soak a bait for your usual ‘bread and butter’ species of Bream, Luderick and Drummer, however, fishing beyond the wash zone with lures and live baits is super exciting and you can expect to see some nice Bonito, Tailor and Mack Tuna cruising about…..and you just never know when something bigger and better might come along!
The local offshore fishing scene has been all over the place. Weather has been the biggest issue but we have turned the corner now and the forecast for the weekend is looking fantastic! The shallow grounds have been fairly slow over the past month or so, however trips over the last week have been much more productive with some cracking bags of reds hitting the decks. For mixed bags, the better trips have all come from those boats that have headed a little wider with plenty of Trag, Snapper and Pearl Perch coming from reefs out in 50-80m. The water at the FAD is far from perfect but it is warm enough and holding some legal Mahi Mahi, the most exciting part about the FAD at this time of year is that you just never know what other species might be cruising around near it!
I don’t normally drift too far from fishing in my ramblings, but we are currently in a very confusing, stressful time locally, domestically and globally. It’s easy to become stressed, depressed, angry, pessimistic and scared in such troubling times. Please think of others and reach out to your mates to check on them, if we all treat each other with the respect and caring that we would like to be treated with, this time will pass and we will be a much more positive society on the other side.
Stay strong, be kind and just go fishing!
Have a great weekend!
