FEBRUARY.
You beauty!
Peace, warm water, lonely beaches, deserted boat ramps and heaps of fish!
This month must rate as my most favoured time of the year on the water.
I’ve been in hibernation since mid-December when I am quite comfortable handing the local fishing grounds over to our holiday visitors and weekend warriors.
2025 was very kind to me as I had a great year’s fishing with snapper, my target species, in excellent numbers and keen to tango.
Living at Fingal Bay gives me the perfect opportunity to launch my 11-foot tinny off the beach before heading out to the close reefs and washes chasing ‘big red’.
I have, at some stage over the past 50 years, concentrated my efforts on a variety of species from flathead to groper to drummer and then to the temptation of catching a thumping great mulloway.
Finally, to come to the conclusion that there is only one fish that ticks all the squares – snapper.
A champion scrapper at the end of a line and great in the kitchen.
A fresh snapper fillet crumbed or battered served with lemon and a sprinkle of salt is magnificent.
It is the warm water and steady, gentle north easterly winds that kicks off my season for snapper over the reefs and flathead and whiting off the beach.
If you see my boat “Stinkpot” on the beach, drop by and say “Gudday”.
By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE
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