On the east coast of Australia the summer current moves slowly from the north tracking along the coast in a series of winding eddies as it moves onto the inshore grounds. Every season is different, but the movement of this big band of warm water changes the fish activity on the offshore grounds by bringing a wide range of travelling fish with it. The East Australian Current arrives on the central Queensland coast in September, moves down to northern New South Wales in December and reaches the south coast of New South Wales in March. More recently, it seems that this current arrives earlier than expected and seems to extend further south, even reaching Tasmania at times. When it arrives the water temperature increases by a few degrees, and the clear blue current also brings huge plankton blooms with it that attract a variety of small invertebrates that form food for baitfish such as slimy mackerel and pilchards.
Surprisingly, this current full of life is actually a fairly narrow band of water in the overall scheme of things, being generally less than a few hundred kilometres across. If you look at sea surface temperature and current charts you will soon develop an understanding
