Tuggerah Topwater Tactics by Jamie Robley

Small poppers and other tiny topwater lures have really taken off over the past year as a fun alternative to soft plastics, crankbaits and other fishy offerings.

Estuary anglers right along the east coast are experimenting more and more to find out exactly what effect these little lures have on their local fish.

So as a helping hand to those who fish around Tuggerah Lakes and the southern parts of Lake Macquarie, here is a guide to catching fish around these vast waterways.

Both systems are unique in that they have relatively small entrances to the sea in comparison to the huge volume of water that makes up the lakes as a whole. So while tidal flow at The Entrance on Tuggerah Lakes and Swansea on Lake Macquarie may be as strong as any other east coast estuary, the majority of both lake systems sees little in the way of current.

There isn't much up-and-down movement in the water levels, either, so some fishing theories that revolve around the tide cycle that affects other estuaries may not be of much use when fishing the lakes.

On the other hand, factors such as barometric pressure and moon phases can have a greater effect on local fish behaviour...