A WARM summer welcome to our visitors, many towing a boat and armed to the teeth with fishing gear and high fishing expectations.

The good news is that you have come to the right place.

There is no bad news.

Port Stephens is truly a fishing paradise, a massive expanse of water that is difficult to picture.

To really appreciate the waterway it would be a top idea to take a ride on a local helicopter and fly from Stockton Beach north to Broughton Island, then turn over the Myall Lake system before following the Myall River to Corrie Island where it pours into the Port.

Flying up the centre of the Port is an awesome experience and would give you an appreciation of just how immense this waterway is.

Finally aim the chopper up the mighty Karuah River before returning to base.

If the helicopter ride is out of the question, drive up to the lookout on Gan Gan Hill, just out of Nelson Bay.

No wonder fish love this place!

So where do you start?

The questions that you must ask yourself are as follows.

What am I trying to catch and where can I catch them?

If your focus is on bream, dusky flathead, crabs, whiting or luderick.

Then your target area is inside the headlands, in the still waters of the Port.

If your preference is tailor, salmon, jewfish or sand whiting concentrate your efforts on any of the beaches between Stockton and Box Beach.

You may be keen to chase drummer, groper, bream, tailor, kingfish, salmon or snapper – it’s the rocks for you. Anywhere from Boat Harbour in the south to Fingal and Tomaree Head further north.

The boaties are more likely to chase snapper, teraglin, kingfish and jewfish.

Outside the heads in the wide expanse of the open ocean is your destination.

Inside the Port is, and always has been, a fishing mecca.

The mangroves, wharves, bridges, oyster racks, weed beds, mud flats, breakwalls, sand banks and rocky ledges all hold fish in the right conditions.

Best spots: Nelson Bay breakwall, Soldiers Point, Tilligerry Creek, Lemon Tree Passage, Karuah River and Corrie Island.

The local fishing beaches are second to none.

Stockton Beach (Long Beach, 19 Mile Beach, Big Beach): same name, same result – fantastic fishing.

Kingsley, One Mile, Fingal, Box Beach and Hawks Nest beaches must be experienced to be appreciated.

Wide expanses of gently sloping beaches with deeper channels behind the first line of breakers.

Best spots are Stockton, Fingal and Hawks Nest beaches.

Rock fishing is a dangerous game and the same applies here.

The rewards are exciting but the risks are many.

Unless you are experienced or are accompanied by an experienced rock fisherman, my advice is to give the rocks a miss, there are plenty of other spots to catch a fish – safety is always your greatest concern.

Under no circumstances take the kids on a rock fishing excursion on a rising sea.

If there is somewhere along our coastline that provides better reef fishing and drifting then I would like to know where it is.

The snapper fishing from Birubi to Broughton is legendary while the popular flathead drifts are loaded.

Hottest snapper spots are Fishermans Bay, Fingal Outer Light, Boondelbah Island and Broughton Island.

Top flathead drifts are One Mile, Boulder Bay, Fingal, Little Island and north of Broughton.

Good luck, good fishing and enjoy the festive season with us.

By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE