Ben Caddaye's Gone Fishing: summer time fishing during La Nina

As La Nina maintains its grip on the nation's south-east for the third year in a row, everyone's settling in for another soggy summer.

We've certainly had a lot of practise of late.

In fact, I doubt there's anyone who partakes in any form of outdoor sport or pastime who hasn't had their plans washed away - literally - by inclement weather at least once or twice in recent months.

Canberra anglers are definitely feeling the frustration.

"But isn't rain good for fishing?" people often ask.

A little bit is. A lot isn't.

Flooded catchments, swollen rivers, chocolate-brown water and floating debris are not conducive to successful angling.

This is especially the case on the NSW South Coast, which has experienced record rainfall this year.

To be honest, I can barely recall a period in 2022 when the South Coast rivers, inlets and lakes haven't been affected by heavy rain.

And it looks like staying that way, for the near future at least.

So is it even worth packing the rods and tackle if you're heading to the coast this summer?

While the wet weather will certainly throw up challenges for anyone wetting a line over the silly season, there are still plenty of reasons for anglers to get excited about the summer of fishing that lies ahead on the coast.

If you do a few things right, fishing after heavy rain can actually be very rewarding - sometimes it's even better than when it's fine and sunny.

The first thing you need to bear in mind is location.

Some popular South Coast estuary systems are heavily affected by rain; others are not.

Big rivers with broad catchments - the Shoalhaven, Clyde, Moruya, Tuross and Bega rivers for example - are prone to minor and moderate flooding.

Because these systems extend many kilometres inland - the Clyde River, for example, is more than 100km long - rain that falls a long way away can quickly send volumes of freshwater downstream and turn the fishing off.

All these rivers have been flood affected on numerous occasions on the past 12 months, and there's a strong chance they'll flood again before La Nina is over.

On the other hand, smaller systems with little or no catchment are much less likely to be cloudy and discoloured over summer.

Wagonga Inlet at Narooma, for instance, is almost always nice and clear - even after the heaviest rain.

Worst case scenario, it becomes turbid for a few days, but it clears up rapidly with each tide cycle, making it one of the most fishable systems in foul weather.

There are others like it on the coast. The cleanest will always have small catchments - a single creek rather than multiple massive rivers.

It's also worth remembering that the lower reaches of any given creek, river or lake - the area closest to the mouth - will always have the cleanest water.

In wet years, these areas - and I'm talking anywhere between the entrance and a few hundred metres upstream - are definitely worth focusing on first.

This is where the water will be saltiest, especially on the rising tide.

Many species of fish, including flathead, bream, whiting, trevally and tailor, will gravitate to this area once it becomes too muddy and fresh further upstream. Baitfish and crustaceans will also congregate here, making it the logical place to wet a line.

This scenario can actually make finding fish in your favourite estuary a lot easier than normal. Instead of being spread out across kilometres of water, many species will be concentrated in a single spot, waiting for conditions to clear.

I also have a theory that the fish in the South Coast estuaries will be particularly ravenous over coming months, thanks to their feeding patterns being interrupted by successive floods.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the entire coast turn on some memorable estuary fishing across the summer holidays - and you certainly don't want to miss out!

I like my lure fishing as much as the next person, but when the water is a bit murky, bait, especially smelly, oily bait, tends to get the job done.

If you're confronted by discoloured estuaries this summer, opt for a piece of bait like a chunk of salted pilchard or cube of striped tuna. Baits like these will let out a scent trail in dirty water, quickly perking the interest of fish in the vicinity.

A bit of berley - a trail of fish scraps, prawn heads, and other bits and pieces - tossed into the water will also rapidly draw fish to the area where your bait is sitting.

Species likely to respond include bream, flathead, trevally, salmon, tailor and flounder.

If you do fish with lures, select colours and patterns that stand out from the crowd. Lures that are white or shiny or fluorescent are much easier for fish to detect in cloudy water. I personally love a bright green or pink soft plastic lure, or a metallic gold or silver hard-bodied lure. Lures that vibrate or boast an in-built rattle are also highly effective in turbid conditions.

Fish the right colour in the right water, and you can expect to lure flathead, trevally, bream, salmon and tailor.

I'm not a weather forecaster so I can't tell you with any accuracy what conditions will be like for holiday makers on the coast this summer.

In saying that, I'm confident La Nina downpours will be a feature of the weather over the warmer months.

But don't let that stop you from wetting a line while you're enjoying some much needed R&R on the South Coast.

If I was heading to the South Coast for the summer holidays - and I am - I would definitely be packing the fishing gear and giving it a red-hot go.

The water might be dirty, but anglers can clean up!