At long last a reprieve in the weather for long enough to let the offshore fishos get out on the water was definitely taken advantage of by plenty, and although the big tuna might not have played the game this weekend, there were tonnes of other options!

Calm seas, light winds and good tides were the perfect mix for offshore anglers over the weekend, with the Port MacDonnell boat ramp being the busiest it’s been in a little while.

Fishos have not hit the shelf in a little while thanks to the weather, but that all changed on the weekend when a handful of boats made the trek out.

Hapuka were on the menu for most, and I did see a couple of blue eye, pink ling and gemfish for good measure.

In a bit closer, the bottom bouncers had a great weekend boating a bit of everything from flathead and nannygai in the 90mt – 120mt zones, to gummy shark, school shark and snapper in a bit closer around 60mt – 80mt.

The school tuna were everywhere over the weekend, from 20mt of water, to the shelf! There was not a huge variation in size in the tuna this week, but fish between 8kg and 12kg were the most prolific and seem to be about the standard.

There are no doubts in my mind that we have not seen the last of the barrels this season, so do not put the big gear away just yet.

There has been plenty of salmon caught this week from the beaches around the Limestone Coast.

Lure casters are holding their own versus the bait guys this week as we see the numbers around the place really start to improve.

The hot spots have been Cape Banks, Canunda’s many beaches and the Beachport salmon hole for the lure fishos, while the baitos are finding fish at just about any beach at the moment, just not in the concentrations we’re seeing in other areas.

There has been a handful of shark caught from the beaches this week, with a 50/50 mix of schoolies and gummys being landed.

Where you find big schools of baitfish, in this case it’s the salmon, you’ll never have the sharks or other predatory fish far behind.

The winter gar have well and truly kicked into gear and the calm weather over the weekend was just what we have been waiting for.

The petrified forrest off Port MacDonnell has been again super reliable, as has Hutt Bay, Cape Douglas and Pelican Point.

Boaties have been landing a few on occasion in the Port Mac breakwater too, which is a great way to spend a day if the weather is crappy elsewhere.

There has been a few nice big mullet caught this week in the corner of Lighthouse Bay under floats.

The weed does tend to build up this time of year and when it starts to break down, it’s like a big burley bucket to the mullet, they cannot help themselves.

If you’re fishing any sandy hole along the coast this time of year, chances are you’ll come across some nice ones, and if treated well and eaten fresh, they’re one of my favourites.

I’m seeing more cod pictures popping up from up at Rocklands, and while cod are a new game to me (and probably plenty of you readers too) over the next few years and as we put more time into them, we’ll work out their feeding habits, when to target them and how to do it.

I cannot help but get excited when I think about what the future holds for Rocklands Reservoir, I think it’s definitely going to become one of the premium inland native fisheries, and it’s right on our doorstep.

The Glenelg River is a bit tricky when the water is like it is.

The fish are still there but getting them to eat is another story.

Persistent bait fishos will bring home a feed more often than not, even in the dirty water, but lure fishos might struggle to get a bite.

Fish will tend to push down river as the fresh flows increase, so focussing your efforts on the bottom half of the river is where I’d be starting.

The forecast for the weekend looks very average to say the least.

Big seas, near-gale force winds and icy temperatures will keep all but the keenest of anglers inside and by the fire.

Those brave (or silly!) enough to hit the water will no doubt find some cracking salmon along the beaches, but just be careful with that forecast.

Until next week, safe fishing!