Hard work pays off at Narooma

by Jarrod Day on 6 May 2012 There are times in the world of fishing when you have planned the trip of the year and all expectations seem to fall of the wall. Although it may be a spectacular location, with beautiful ocean views and a warm climate, the fishing can sometimes be much harder than first thought.

With weeks of planning adhered to, gear in pristine condition, the last thing you need to do is find out that the fish were on last week. Ok, it would be a joy to go out and load up every rod with a fish on a flat calm day, but working solidly for a few hours before landing that quality fish makes the trip all the more worth while.

Although the fish may have slowed due to an influx of holiday makers in the area or maybe more boat traffic than usual, changing tactics, inventing new ideas and developing a different approach to turn the fish on can be more rewarding than flicking out a smelly old prawn. When the fishing is tough, it is the development and invention of new ways to entice a fish to the lure that I find the most exhilarating.

A piece of paradise: Occasionally you stumble across the most beautiful holiday destination that is just made for fishermen. Nestled amongst extensive bushland is the township of Narooma on the New South Wales south coast. Being one of the most unspoilt areas in the region, Narooma is practically surrounded by water. While the beaches are awash with the temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean, the inlet known as Wagonga has beautiful gin clear waters and in every direction fish can easily be spotted just below the surface.

A somewhat relaxing eight hour drive North East of Melbourne and a four and a half hour drive south of Sydney, it is a trip worth travelling. A Mecca for game fisherman in search of marlin, tuna and kingfish, it also supports some of the best estuary angling. Species of offer include flathead, bream and mulloway, sand whiting, luderick, tailor, salmon, tarwhine, flounder and the odd kingfish.

It is the tranquil settings that see me return each year as well as the quantity and quality of fish which are on available all year round. But even with this in mind, it’s not always bells and whistles; the fish can at times be quite elusive, making it hard for even the professional angler, but never impossible.

Home away from home: If only I could count on one hand the amount of times I had been given a freshly home baked chocolate cake on arriving at our destination, I would still be looking for which finger to count first. While being spoilt at the Beachfront apartments in Kianga, two minutes north of Narooma. The kind gift was immediately welcomed by my wife. Owned and operated by well known fishing identity Michael Knight and his wife Gail this was a real home away from home.

As I sat on our balcony overlooking the beach, I contemplated where to fish the following day. While galahs munched down a concoction of seed on the feeder hanging from the roof, Gail came to check if there was anything more she could do to help in us settle in. There was nothing, this place was perfect for my wife who was determined to upgrade from the tent that we stayed in last year. If she was happy then I knew I would be able to sneak out for a spot of fishing more readily.

There was only one bad thing about looking over the ocean from my apartment balcony and that was knowing there were big kingfish, yellow fin tuna and marlin all out there waiting to be fed a bait.

Offshore adventure: When the weather is right, a day fishing offshore can really wet the appetite. From bottom bouncing reef species to trolling a skirt or live bait for a marlin, there are a number of options available. I prefer jigging as it enables me to encounter a host of species willing to taste a piece of shiny metal, although the search for kingfish is by far my favourite. Finding them can be easy, getting them to bite, well that’s another story. It appeared that Ben Boulton from Nitro fishing charters and myself were telepathic. Both of us had the same thought processes, chase kings, chase marlin, bottom bounce and chase kings again.

With the slimey’s swimming uncontrollably in the live well trying to gather perception of their new home, rigs were checked and retied as necessary and hooks sharpened for better penetration. After a quiet morning session on the hoodlums it was off in search for the king of the sea, the mighty marlin. It wasn’t long before we spotted a little black marlin playing with a few sauries on the shelf. Fortunately for him but unfortunately for us, he decided that they were more interesting than our slow trolled livies. As the hours passed with nothing quite resembling the beaky we had seen earlier, it was back to potato point for another kingfish session.

With a few loaded rods in the gunwales, the livies did their thing, but working a jig defiantly took its toll on my already longer arms. At this point I was wondering if all the hard work was worth the effort. Yep! It definitely was! A kingie slammed the jig and lunged deep toward the reef below. I thought I had the upper hand but was quickly corrected when the fish decided she would rather hide under a ledge and keep the 230g knife jig for herself. I got smoked. After quickly tying on another jig, I sent it to the depths below for a second time. A spout of fast retrieves followed by sort sharp pumps of the rod got them really fired up and before long I had successfully connected with a beautiful fish around the four kilo mark. What the kingies lacked in size they certainly made up for in numbers. 10, 20, 25 I totally lost count but still I can finally reach that itch on my back where I couldn’t before, the pulling power from these three to four kilo fish always blows my mind.

Estuary adventure: Teaming with a large variety of marine life, Wagonga Inlet is just made for fishermen.

Large oversize sand whiting feed high on the flats, while enormous dusky flathead lie deep in the sandy channels.

Knowing that it was going to be tough with all the holidaymakers in the area, I would find it to be much tougher than first thought. Knowledge of the area is invaluable and what better way to learn than from local angler Stuart Hindson. I had fished Wagonga in the past, although Stuart’s knowledge was to pay off immensely. Stuart owns and operates Aussie Fish Estuary Adventures. Covering all the major inlets from Eden to Bateman’s Bay, his customised 6.1 meter sport fishing vessel is suited perfectly for these areas.

We met at the ramp in the early hours of the morning and as the birds started to sing, I could taste the salt in the air and my excitement levels peaked. However I soon had a reality check as Stuart calmly mentioned that the fishing had slowed to almost a stand still. Quickly my excitement levels deflated. But not for long. A negative attitude would get me nowhere. A change of tactic was in order. Fish harder and smarter!

First stop, the search for Mr. Elusive. A few hundred meters into the inlet was to many anglers a flat calm bay, but to Stuart a haven for monster mulloway. Flicking his favourite black gold squidgy into the holes, a few spooked tailor scattered across the surface. This was it. Somewhere lurking below was a nice Jew just waiting for a meal. With a solid 100 odd cast under my belt, Mr Elusive didn’t want to come to the party so off to target the next species on my list of hopefuls.

Known to house some extremely large flathead, the search was on. Even for this, only a short move was made into the channels as the tide abated. My first encounter with one of these beasts was a very short one at that. Using a 120 mil squidgy, I whipped to set the hook but no pressure could be felt, although on closer inspection of the plastic you could easily tell the frog was hungry. When I was left with only a jig head and half my squidgy, I knew in that instant that these fish wouldn’t be taken too easily. So down with another softie only to have the process repeated. As I switched, and threw out nearly every colour and style of plastic I had but nothing worked. Sure they would bite the tail off but they wouldn’t swallow the hook. After five failed hook-ups I was a little annoyed to say the least, but Stuart had not given up. We were soon locking horns with a nice fish by anybody’s standards and a boated 62 centimetre dusky made our smiles reach from ear to ear.

With my list of species to target getting shorter as the day wore on, I still hadn’t tackled the racks for a bream. In a sweeping broom like motion, the little humbug hard body wriggled just above the oyster encrusted rack. Beady little eyes watched to see where the bug would stop and with every twitch 10 or more inquisitive fish could be seen. But could we get one to chew…I think not.

Regardless, knowing that the day was going to take is toll on my arms; the quality of fish still gave a thrill. The few pulled kept my adrenalin levels at their highest peak throughout the entire day. If we could successfully catch quality fish on every trip, the sport of fishing would shortly become a bore. Having to fish hard, hard and harder to land one of these amazing critters makes a trip like this all the more worth while.

So you still want more: Local angler Michael Knight informed me of the many beach and rock opportunities within the area. It is not only estuary and offshore adventures that keep the knees trembling; beach and rock fishing around the region can also yield good results. While I was suited up for offshore and estuary fishing, each evening I ventured down to the beach where I put some of Michaels advice into practice. I was chasing the salmon and tailor that frequently venture past by casting lazer lures. Although I had some pleasing results I was limited by my wife insisting on eating out each evening. Unlike some, I did not object to these small restrictions as firstly, the food was of excellent quality and secondly it gives me the perfect reason to venture back up here in the near future.