Newcastle Beaches

[DaveTheBoy]

Hello raiders - a combined report from a few morning trips this week. Some big tides have washed a lot of weed & garbage up on to the beaches, but it hasn’t deterred the fish at all. The whiting have been the pick, most of them 40cm+ and not very fussy! 

Most beaches have have been producing, and tide seems to matter more than time of day. Fishing the upcoming tide seems to be producing the goods. Live/fresh bait is key, and contrary to most beach fishing - fish AWAY from the gutters! I’ve been having most success fishing right up on the sand bars, right where the waves are breaking.

There’s some nice bream & dart in the mix, and also some stud flathead - although this time of year through March those are mostly really big jenny’s that we’d do well to release. Breaks my heart seeing some of those big flatties being kept, they are our breeding stock & there’s no shortage of “plate sized” fish to keep for a feed.

Tight lines all, it’s a lovely time of year to be out fishing!

[Omally]

Yeah I found when fishing for whiting they are right up at my feet on the sand... Maybe staying away from the bigger predatory fish in the gutters? 

[FranticD]

Hi mate, what size rod and reel did you use to catch those fish in the surf?

[Yowie]

Good sized whiting when they hit the 40 mark.

[Rock&Beach]

The little buggers are everywhere at the moment. They are getting heaps on the northern beaches at the moment as well. Cheers R&B

[sam bros]

Nice work mate

Did you get them on Worms?

[DaveTheBoy]

5 hours ago, sam bros said:

Nice work mate

Did you get them on Worms?

Worms / pipi / yabbies pretty much even. As long as the bait is live/fresh!

[DaveTheBoy]

On 09/02/2018 at 1:49 PM, FranticD said:

Hi mate, what size rod and reel did you use to catch those fish in the surf?

I use a 12ft rod (quite a light action) a 45 size spinning reel. 12lb line with a fluorocarbon leader. Paternoster rig, a 40g sinker at the bottom with #6 or #4 extra long shank hook on the dropper (depending on your bait size). Hope that helps - you really don’t need to cast very far, just lob it into the wash. I find holding the rod at all times really improves the hookup rate, you can feel the bites better & keep your line nice & tight.

[FranticD]

thanks Dave. Will see how i go

[Keenfisher05]

Hey DaveTheBoy,

Which beach in Newcastle did you catch the whiting at please?

 

[nutsaboutfishing]

mmmm whiting

[Caple666]

great catch mate........ i love a feed of whiting but i can never get enough in one sitting for a proper feed lol 

 

[beachwormer]

10 hours ago, Caple666 said:

great catch mate........ i love a feed of whiting but i can never get enough in one sitting for a proper feed lol 

 

I feel you. Sadly that's mostly the case nowadays. When I was a kid if you had live worms you could catch whiting off any Sydney beach in summer until you got sick of it. Now 3 or 4 is a big catch.

[Hill373737]

Nice session, good sized whiting.  This is a great time of year for beach fishing - plenty of options to target.