07/08/2026
Forster/Tuncurry Fishing Report 7/8/2026.
The beautiful Great Lakes has been amazing lately with most days consisting of clear skies, light winds, and unseasonably warm temperatures! With daytime temps creeping up into the twenties (after very fresh mornings), it’s a beautiful time of the year to get out and about to enjoy the outdoors so get out there and make the most of it.
Flathead seem to be on the go all the time these days, they truly are a year-round option for those anglers willing to think about where they will be at different times of the year. While the better quality ‘eating sized’ fish are still mainly being caught well up the system (try around Coomba Park or up one of the tributaries that run into Wallis Lake), there has been a noticeable increase in the number of fish starting to congregate throughout the lower sections of the estuary already (east of Wallis Island). We are heading into an interesting period on the Flatty calendar now where you can head out and expect to see a lot of fish hitting the boat, however you often get frustrating sessions consisting of loads of smaller sized fish. This time of year is a really good time of the year to start thinking about getting up into the shallow stuff and attempt to track down a trophy sized fish and we have already seen some amazing fish over the past couple of weeks, if you’re keen to chase that trophy fish try fishing larger profiled lures such as Bent Minnows, Glide Baits, shallow diving Minnows and any large soft plastic (this is also a great way to get away from the smaller fish!).
Bream have been interesting of late, they are still schooled up in big numbers throughout sections of the estuary down around the mouth however they have been very hard to tempt ever since we had the last full moon. Light leaders, light sinkers/jigheads and perfectly presented baits and lures will be needed to persuade the better fish into biting. Hopefully this is merely a sign that they are busy spawning, if that is the case they will be back on the chew and hungrier than ever in no time at all!
Beaches continue to produce some great Tailor and Salmon action and while the numbers have thinned out a little there are still some cracking fish getting about. As is often the case, the more successful anglers are fishing early and late in the day with the fish often only firing up right on dark or just after. There are a few solid Bream and Dart sitting in the gutters but you will probably need to use Worms or Pipi’s to avoid getting bitten off by the Tailor! It shouldn’t be too long and we will see the first run of Whiting, bring on Summer!
Local Luderick anglers have been finding the fish very patchy and somewhat finnicky. One day they will bite well at one spot and then they will be dead quiet the next. The southern rock wall is still the standout spot but there are also some great fish to be caught up in Breckenridge Channel and down around the bridge.
Anglers hitting the stones over the last couple of weeks have been faring ok particularly on those days where we score a bit of swell! With a bit of burley, the wash zones have been producing some great Drummer and Bream, along with the odd Snapper. Casting lures about is definitely not a waste of time, you will almost certainly run into some quality Tailor and may even snag a late season pelagic or Kingfish.
The offshore scene has been relatively consistent of late with most boats finding more than enough fish for a feed each trip. The shallow Snapper grounds are holding some really good fish but the calm seas and clear water is making it a little tricky to fool them. Fishing low light periods is an absolute must and you really need to be as stealthy as you can when you’re moving into or traveling about in the shallows. For those of us that lack the ability to a) fish the darker periods or b)move about stealthily, the best option is still to get out onto the deeper reefs (40m+) where there have been plenty of good Reds, big Trag and the odd Pearl Perch. Heading deeper again has delivered for a few boats that like the deep stuff with bags consisting of Kingfish, Pearl Perch, Snapper and Bar Cod coming from the 115m-200m grounds, and you just never know when you might run into a nice pod of Tuna or a few Striped Marlin. The weekend is looking unreal so there really is no excuse, get out there and enjoy!
Have a great weekend!
