The good news is that the fishing is great, if you can get on the water. Top guns Brent "Deckie" Hancock and Wayne "Colesy" Coles targeted a school of broad shouldered, bronzed luderick which was lazily gulping on the surface, out of the westerly wind around Fingal Island. Setting green weed under a float the boys landed around 50 beautifully conditioned fish - the majority were released.

Pick up a copy of next month's NSW Fishing Monthly for an in-depth article on how to catch luderick off shore written by Brent.

All the signs are there to suggest that we are in for another cracker luderick season similar to last season, which was a bumper. I've been told that huge schools of luderick are travelling from Stockton Beach right along out rocky coastline and are resting in all the quiet bays from Rocky Point to Fingal. The luderick have been joined by snowy white, bright eyed bream.

Off the rocks, apart from luderick and bream, there have been excellent reports of thumping drummer early morning tailor off all the headlands and snapper as the sea rises. The beaches have settled down with good catches of fishcakes, late season mulloway tailor and bream bouncing up the sand on Stockton, Fingal and Hawks Nest Beaches. Inside the estuary the bream and luderick have taken over all the rock walls and oyster racks while dusky flathead remain in excellent numbers towards the back of the port. Amazingly crabs have been reported doing a slow fox trot around Wanda Head.

When conditions permit the fishing is on fire outside the heads with snapper working in close from Fishermans Bay, where Craig Astley wrestled a 4kg hummer, to the shallows between Broughton Island and North Rock. Leatherjacket continue to go crackers on all the outer reefs. I reckon, if you can't beat' em join 'em. Organise yourself to target the leatheries, you will be pleasantly surprised by the texture and flavour of a fresh leatherjacket fillet.

STINKER