The estuary system is alive and would you believe it - another 3kg mangrove jack. This one reported by keen local champ Fred Graham off the Nelson Bay breakwall last week while fishing with live bait for jewfish.

Flathead, whiting and bream are cruising in excellent numbers throughout the entire system with the better catches being reported closer to the heads - Shoal Bay, Nelson Bay and Corrie Island.

Dave Flatt visited Tilligerry Creek and tangled with a 2.5kg mud crab in his witches hat. The bad tempered crab attacked Dave and deckhand Karen and cornered them at the back of their boat. Finally at home in Shoal Bay, the crab escaped from the bucket and scurried under the leaves beneath the frangipani tree. Caught again the crab was transferred to the freezer in preparation for the cooking pot. On opening the freezer Dave was confronted by an enraged crab that had ripped a hole in the bag of frozen peas and snapped the corn in half. Finally the crab was cooked and from reports it was all worthwhile.

Rockhoppers are having a picnic between Boat Harbour and Fingal landing squid in the protected bays, tailor, bonito and kingfish outside the whitewater on dusk and dawn and luderick and drummer in close.

The beaches are boiling with Les Bowditch filling his bag limit on Stockton. Tailor to an astounding 4kg are cruising Stockton and Fingal beaches looking for trouble while mulloway have been landed on Box Beach and Samurai.

Outside the heads the action is frenzied as thumping snapper swim through the shallows around Broughton Island. Around the corner kingfish to 20kg are zooming around North Island while wider out sand flathead are waiting for you over all the popular sand drifts.

Even further out teraglin and mulloway are busy. Dolphinfish and marlin are in excellent numbers to greet the visiting game fishers.

STINKER