Agreat weekend weatherwise saw plenty of anglers hitting the water and trying their luck.
Whether it be offshore, inshore, off the beach or inland, we have had plenty of reports from right around the South East and western Vic, so let’s get straight into it
! Easing seas and light winds over the weekend saw plenty of offshore anglers out trying their luck for barrel bluefin and coming off the back of a few days of very average weather, they have picked up where they left off.
We’re still seeing some very nice fish caught by the charter operators off Port MacDonnell again this week, fish of varying sizes from 75kg through to 120kg+ have been boated, and it has been a real mix of colours this week that are getting the job done.
School tuna have been a bit tricky to find, but one crew I spoke to who did a shelf trip in search of an albacore or two did stumble upon a school out wide that were all around that 12kg – 18kg range, and they were more than happy to take a small 5”-7” inch skirt
. The albacore have been tough over the last few years, whether it’s because they’re not coming through, or we just are not seeing boaties fishing the shelf that much anymore, it’s anybody’s guess.
The bottom fishing is still good this week, the shark and reef fish from the 50mt through to 140mt depths have been great.
Jiggers have been finding some cracking snapper, nannygai and flathead out there in recent weeks, and these past few days have been no different.
The inshore fishos targeting shark have been getting into a few nice fish over the recent weeks.
The stir late last week was needed according to a few anglers, the water was getting very clear and the fishing was slowing down, so that should have kicked them along.
There has not been any real big shark caught just yet that I know of down the coast, but there are plenty of those nice 10kg – 15kg samples kicking around
There are still a few snapper getting around for anglers down there, but we’re definitely into the tail end of them now.
Aside from the shark, there are salmon down there in reasonable numbers, plus you’ll run into plenty of other by-catch species too.
Surf fishos have been getting stuck into the salmon late last week and over the weekend, that big sea and strong northerly made idyllic conditions for the lure chuckers along the beach.
Cape Banks has been the most productive so far this season, but we’ll definitely see all the other areas catch up.
The Beachport salmon hole is always pretty reliable, and this year has been no different.
The size in the salmon hole has been pretty up and down, some days the fish are up around that 2kg mark, other days you have to measure them, either way they’re great fun.
The shark fishos have found some more nice schoolies this week.
The 10 mile at Beachport has been fishing well, as have a few of the beach access points through Canunda NP.
Closer to home, Jones’ Bay, Paradise and Piccaninnie are all fishing well, though at times weed can be a problem, so just keep an eye on that.
The whiting are still fishing well this week. Much like the shark I mentioned earlier, if the water is too clean and clear, the whiting become very skittish and hard to catch, so the days following a stir are always more favourable
. The boaties and land based anglers have been sharing the success, with everyone getting in on the action.
There has been some nice fish this week inside the Port Mac breakwater, and both boaties and jetty fishos have been catching them.
There are still plenty of smaller fish mixed in, so you will need to fish through them
. Other areas producing nice fish are Blackfellows Caves, Pelican Point and Carpenter Rocks.
Garfish are still on the menu for anglers again this week, and after a little quiet patch, they seem to be back in good numbers
The usual go-to areas such as Livingstons Bay and Cape Douglas are still producing some nice bags of fish for boaties and waders, and the average size is still excellent.
Tommies, trevally and mullet numbers are still good at the moment in all the same places. The Glenelg River has blocked again in the last week or so and the water level is slowly but steadily rising
. There has been plenty of bream and perch again this week, and they have been spread out right along the river
. Lure fishos have been doing well on white and lighter coloured soft plastics, and the hard body guys have found some nice fish on natural coloured double clutch and galaxia minow style lures.
The bait fishos are doing well on their prawn and whitebait, along with crab if you can catch a few
. Mulloway news has been very light on this past little while, and I really have not heard of anything solid, aside from a couple of smaller fish that were by-catch on lures.
Hopefully we see a few start to pop up in the coming weeks as the water continues to rise.
The forecast for the weekend ahead looks like it should be fishable for most, whether you be an offshore fisho or land lover, you will find something to do! Until next week, safe fishing!
