Outside the port: Stockton Beach - whiting going crackers on worms; Fingal Beach - whiting out of control on worms; Boatharbour - snapper over the close reefs. Toss out a fresh squid; Fingal Lighthouse - snapper in the shallows. Big prawns, fresh squid and pilchards will do the trick; Broughton Island - fishing wonderland. Snapper, kingfish, sand flathead and squid. Be aware of the Sanctuary Zones.

Inside the port: Bagnalls Beach - monster whiting. High tide on worms and nippers; Shoal Bay Beach - flathead look like crocodiles east of the boat ramp. Pilchards, plastics or hard body lures; Karuah River - mud crabs and blue swimmers - witches hats and wide mouth traps illegal. Flathead, bream, mulloway and trumpeter whiting. Magnificent oysters; Lemon Tree Passage - blue swimmers, flathead and trumpeter whiting; Nelson Bay Breakwall - Bream, snapper, mulloway, you name it. Good luck!