# NSW North Coast - Smiths Lake



## OnTheWater (Jun 21, 2010)

I spent a few days at Smiths Lake near Forster on the NSW North Coast.

The first morning was windy which made lure casting a challenge. In the end I anchored and fished a vibe in one of the deeper sections of water. I hooked my biggest ever flathead - I don't think it realised it was hooked at first but when I applied pressure it took off at pace. After a few more spirited runs I managed to guide it to the yak but it bit through the leader before I had a chance to net it. At least I managed to see the fish which makes losing it a little easier to take (I think!).

After that I anchored in the shallows and started to work surface lures. I managed to land a 38cm whiting and a reasonable bream.



















Later in the day I took the kids out for a paddle. We saw some interesting creatures along the way.










Then we spent an hour catching nippers for bait which was great fun. With a few in the bucket we rigged up the bait rods, anchored the kayak and the girls caught a few big whiting for dinner.










The next morning was New Years Day and I launched early to watch the sun rise.










The bream were active early on and had no hesitation in smashing surface lures.










After the sun rose the bream shut down and I struggled to cath anything for a few hours. Decided to go for a paddle and was lucky enough to find a few schools of whiting that were feeding and very aggressive. Over the next hour I enjoyed one of my best ever sessions. I would have landed a dozen big ones that are so much fun on light gear. It is so exciting to see a big whiting line up your surface lure and smash it, before taking off at high speed!

I ended up keeping 6 of the fish because they taste so good.










Smiths Lake is a beautiful part of the world and a fantastic spot to get kids hooked on yak fishing. Highly recommended.

Cheers,
Jason


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## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

Great report Jason, 
Rented a house a Smith Lakes a few times when the kids were younger. Great spot for the kids since it's so shallow and protected. Have you tried to entice any of the bream around the coffee place? I never could, but did manage a few fish on surface lures also.


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## OnTheWater (Jun 21, 2010)

Hi there, I didn't have the chance to fish near the coffee shop this time. The house we rented was at the northern end of the lake so I concentrated on that area. I will definitely be going back next summer - the surface lure fishing was outstanding. Jason


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