RARELY do I write about our country cousins and their fishing adventures. With the local action slowing during the winter months it is time to head out west to check out fishing in the bush. Champion inland angler Michael Noonan targeted the Macquarie River just out of the rural town of Warren. Rising early Michael, […]
Stinker’s Fishin’: Time to troll
Max Evans with a cracker Fingal Lighthouse tailor. Max with a solid salmon. BIG schools of tailor and salmon, keen to snap at any bait or lure, have moved in from Rocky Point to Box Beach. Young champion Max Evans found himself surrounded by the surface fish just off Fingal Island. Salmon are fun to […]
Unprecedented fish deaths likely a ‘natural phenomenon’
COUNTLESS numbers of dead fish now line the shores of the Broadwater, Two Mile Lake, Boolambayte Lake and Myall Lake, in what is widely considered the worst such event in living memory. “This is the most distressing and surprising sight I’ve seen since [in the 14 years] I’ve been working around the lakes,” Kerry McIntosh […]
Stinker’s Fishin’: Port full of bream
I’VE said it many times – if you can’t catch a bream then you should consider joining the golf club. That being said, some are better than others when it comes to catching bream. When it comes to the spectacular waters of Port Stephens there are none better than the Coles family of Lemon Tree […]

Funding on offer for ‘Gone Fishing Day events
FISHING clubs and associated organisations are being encouraged to join in the state-wide ‘Gone Fishing Day’ festivities on Sunday 19 October by hosting their own events. NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Acting Director Fisheries Management, Bryan Van Der Walt said clubs can apply for a fishing package or grants up to […]
Stinker’s Fishin’: The mighty Mulloway
Charter champion Paul Lennon knows all the tricks Back in the days when I targeted mulloway. IT appears to me that along with catching a giant snapper, catching a mighty mulloway is on the top of every fisherman’s catch list. It may come as some surprise to realise that mulloway are everywhere – on the […]
Stinker’s Fishin’: Protect the first links in the chain
ALL the rain that we have experienced over recent weeks has heightened the concerns of many that question the quality of the water washing from the land into feeder streams and tributaries that flow into the Port. One such Anna Bay resident, Greg Finn, states a clear case: “The principle issue we have relates directly […]
Stinker’s Fishin’: Here come the bream
MOVING inside the heads to the protection of the port I discovered that the fishing options seemed endless in this massive waterway. When I first arrived in Nelson Bay in 1975, I was a regular out on the “tubes” at all hours of the night and in all conditions. The bream fishing was, and still […]
Stinker’s Fishin’: More to fishing that catching fish
The mystery bird ‘walking’ on water – the White-faced storm petrel. Ben Galbraith with a tuna caught out of Gisborne, New Zealand. Stinker has made contact with a Kiwi, Ben Galbraith, who catches giant snapper out of a small tinny called ‘Tinfoil’. IT WAS on a recent return fishing trip from […]
Stinker’s History: Little road, big problems
MARSH Road has displayed a real character over the years that makes it unique. I chose to write about the road in my latest book because, in my opinion, it has a personality all of its own. Running through the Port Stephens village of Bobs Farm, there are few roads which have gained as well-earned […]