April 29, 2026
Stinker’s Fishin’: Rare catch
Fishing

Stinker’s Fishin’: Rare catch

DID you hear what I heard? For the past 40 odd years I have been reporting fishing in and around Port Stephens. Something happened this week that, to my knowledge, has never happened before. Fishing around the deep water off Middle Island, Soldiers Point, John Latter hooked and landed a 58cm Mangrove Jack! So, what […]

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Fishing experiences on offer this school holidays The program includes four free workshops across Port Stephens.
Fishing

Fishing experiences on offer this school holidays

YOUNG people under 18 are being encouraged to cast a line and learn new skills during the spring school holidays with free fishing workshops and a competition. Mayor Leah Anderson said the program is all about giving young people the chance to enjoy the outdoors while learning practical skills and sustainable fishing practices. “Fishing is […]

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Hawks Nest Social Club fishing tournament
Fishing

Hawks Nest Social Club fishing tournament

Men’s winner Clinton Harris. Ladies and junior winner Hayley Diaz. RESULTS from Hawks Nest Social Club fishing tournament 12th-14th September. Men’s and overall winner: Clinton Harris with a great catch of Tailor, Flathead, Whiting, Snapper and Bream. Men’s runner up: Mark Briton with some big Bream one weighing 1kg cleaned. Ladies and junior winner: Hayley […]

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Stinker’s Fishin’: Calm water in the Gantry When conditions permitted supplies for the lighthouse were delivered to the island by off loading on the beach.
Fishing

Stinker’s Fishin’: Calm water in the Gantry

When conditions permitted supplies for the lighthouse were delivered to the island by off loading on the beach. The Gantry remains a safe place in wild seas. THE Gantry or Government Hole is a small natural cove on Fingal Island protected from the southerly wind and boiling sea. Facing north the waters inside the Gantry […]

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Stinker’s History: Shipwreck Stories part 2
Fishing

Stinker’s History: Shipwreck Stories part 2

‘Tyalgum’ on the Tweed River. ‘Sygna’ ran aground in 1974. MANY ships built in Scotland during the 1920s eventually came to grief in Australia. Built at Port Glasgow, Scotland, by Lithgows Limited in the 1920s the sister ships Pappinbarra, Uralla, Uki, Tyalgum and Urana traded along the NSW coastline and experienced great difficulties. The Pappinbarra […]

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Stinker’s Fishin’: Seafood smorgasbord Legendary Port Stephens crab trapper ‘Westy’ Davis.
Fishing

Stinker’s Fishin’: Seafood smorgasbord

JUST thinking how incredibly lucky we are to be surrounded by water teeming with fish and shellfish – fit for a king. Our oysters are of the highest quality growing in the rivers and feeder streams that flow into the port. I must admit that I prefer the Sydney Rock Oyster, indigenous to the area. […]

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Stinker’s Fishin’: Time to troll
Fishing

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 […]

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Stinker’s Fishin’: Port full of bream
Fishing

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 […]

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Unprecedented fish deaths likely a ‘natural phenomenon’
Fishing

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 […]

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Stinker’s Fishin’: Big and alive on the West Coast
Fishing

Stinker’s Fishin’: Big and alive on the West Coast

  Young Jack Gliddon struggles with a Geographe Bay squid as big as himself.   Dad Sam Gliddon wrestles with a cracker Dhufish.   I HAVE just returned from a trip to Western Australia which can be best described with one word – big! Everything in WA seems to be bigger than we have to […]

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