As fishermen most of us are attuned to the weather and seasons as they change each year. To the non-fisher, I guess winter means cold weather and summer means bbq’s, thongs and beach weather. To the fisho, each season means so much more than a change in weather or temperature. We know what changes in the environment around us. We are closely in touch with weather and temperature changes but also in how our home waters and available species change with each season. In 42 years on the NSW south coast I’ve seen more than 160 seasons. I’ve seen freezing cold and mild winters. I’ve experienced hot summers that melted roads and brought devastating bush fires. I’ve seen howling westerly winds in August that took the roofs off houses. I’ve also seen incredible marlin fishing in February and March. Southern bluefin tuna in July and yellowfin in September. Let’s have a closer look at the NSW south coast seasons and what they bring the fisho each year.
SPRING
Once winter is over and done with the fishing changes again. The water slowly warms and the estuaries and rocks start to fire. Bream and flathead start to move around in the estuaries and bass and EP’s start to feed in the upper reaches of the Shoalhaven River. Anywhere upstream of the Nowra bridge will produce fish. The last 12 months have seen a lot of rain in the enormous catchment that feeds the Shoalhaven but it hasn’t seemed to have deterred the
