Casting with Coatsy

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Lechelle Earl, owner/editor




Casting with Coatsy

Well Christmas has been and gone for the year, and hopefully you all got a chance to rest, relax and wet a line. While the weather may not have been perfect, it was still very fishable and we have seen some really nice fish caught. From the offshore guys to the surf fishos, up the river or in one of the many lakes just over the border, there has been plenty of great fish landed, so let’s get into it!
With a bit of wind and sea to contend with, the offshore fishos have been limited to only a few good windows of weather over the last week or two. Those who have been out for a crack have found good numbers of shark again, the gummy and school shark have been great in that 50mt though to 100mt line, and both drifting or sitting on the pick are getting the job done. There are still plenty of tasty bottom fish out and about too, including flathead, nannygai, snapper and plenty of others.
Inshore on the kelp beds we’re still seeing good numbers of snapper from the boaties. As is often the case, anywhere between 3 and 8 metres deep is worth a look, and if the water is a bit milky, that’s even better. While lots of the snapper have been those just legal 38cm fish though to 50cm, there has also been a good run of bigger 60cm+ fish too. There has been a few nice big crays caught on the rod over the last couple of weeks too down around the Orwell Rocks, Racecourse Bay and Danger Point areas, which are always a very welcome bycatch when snapper fishing.
The whiting fishos have continued their run of good luck with some excellent catches in the last week. Boaties have found success in the Port Mac Breakwater, Hutt Bay, Cape Douglas and Carpenter Rocks, where as the landbased anglers have found some nice fish at the Port Mac Jetty, Nene Valley and Blackfellows Caves. Fish in the high 40cm range haven’t been uncommon at all, and I’ve seen a handful the big 50cm+ models also rolling through. As we often see when chasing the whiting, big silver trevally often pop up in the same spots and this season has been no different. When eaten fresh, they’re very tasty, but also make a very good bait for big fish since they’re quite oily.
Garfish have been on the bite again this week. Plenty of the usual haunts are producing nice fish this week, such as Cape Douglas, Livingstons Bay and Hutt Bay, and have been just as successful for the waders as those in the boats. The size has been quite impressive this past week and the numbers are also very encouraging. There has been plenty of mullet and tommy ruff mixed in with the gar, so as usual, expect some extras amongst them.
There has been some nice fish from the freshwater this past week or so. Those fishing Rocklands have found some more nice yellowbelly this week, a couple of those being beauties over 50cm. Trolling lures in the 3mt – 6mt areas around the heavy timber has been quite productive, and using stumpjumpers or spinnerbaits will get the nibs. There has been a few nice trout caught in the lake there too this past week, ever since the stocking of murray cod and yellowbelly, the ol’ trout have taken a bit of a backseat, but it’s great to know there are still plenty in there, and they’re still happy to chomp a slow trolled tassie! Speaking of tassies, trollers in Toolondo have found some nice trout on the troll. I know those flicking hardbodies or plastics are also finding some good fish in there, but it’s nice to see the trollers catching a few.
The Glenelg River has produced some nice mulloway over the past 7 or 8 days. While the fish haven’t been massive, the average size of the legals has been between 70cm and 80cm. Anywhere from Donovans down stream seems to be where the fish are, but trust your sounder and find where they’re holding up. Bream and perch have been all over the place from the flats to the sticks, and eating predominantly natural coloured plastics and hardbodies. Alex (pictured) and Matt Bell got some nice fish walking the flats on Christmas eve, some of the better bream the boys got were nudging the 40cm mark.
The forecast for the new years break looks to be pretty decent for fishos, and although it won’t be perfect, there isn’t anything extreme on the horizon. We’ll see weather warm up again over the weekend, so remember to slip, slop, slap!
Well, this is the last fishing report of the year, so from our Spot On Mt Gambier family to yours, we hope everyone has a safe, fun and fishy new year and we cant wait to see you all back again next year!

until next year, happy fishing!
Coatsy

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