Another warm weekend here in the South East saw plenty of anglers hitting the water to try their luck.
Much like the last few weeks, we’re seeing anglers heading all sorts of directions.
Offshore, along the beach, up the river or inland, we really are spoilt for choice down here on the Limestone Coast.
Starting with the offshore fishing, we’re seeing plenty of boats making the most of the fine weather windows to head out and chase a few fish.
A few days last week were good enough for anglers to be able to head wide out to the shelf in search of deep sea fish, and from all reports, I do not think too many missed out.
Blue eye were on the menu, as were pink ling, gemfish and a few decent sharks to top it off.
In a little closer, there were some nice fish caught along the 80m to 120m line, with flathead, knifejaw, snapper and some big sharks all hitting the deck.
The 40m through to 80m line has been a hot spot again with jiggers this week targeting the nannygai and snapper on metal jigs.
80g to 150g seems to be the sweet spot, and while you can get away with using your bottom bashing setup, a nice light PE 2-4 jig rod will greatly enhance the jigs action, and you’ll finish the day feeling a lot less worn out too.
The inshore reef fishing has been red hot of late.
Snapper numbers are arguably the best they have ever been, plus the other species the burley attracts.
My young fella Finn and I fished Flinty Point Sunday morning for a couple of hours and managed to find plenty of snapper, his best being a 69cm fish, along with three others we kept that were between 50cm and 62cm.
We also had a school of mackerel around the boat you could have almost walked on.
Other anglers out there found the snapper with no problems, plus I also saw some salmon, sharks and a few big crays which were happy to eat a pilly too.
Surf fishos have had a ball off the sand this week, and it has not been one area fishing better than another, the fish are really well spread out.
I have heard of a bit of everything this week, from snapper and shark, to mulloway and salmon, there has been plenty being caught.
It’s been a little while since I have heard of a local legal mulloway off the beach, but there was a nice 95cm fish caught late last week between Browns and Paradise on fresh salmon.
This is the time of year we start seeing a few turn up in our local waters, so hopefully it’s the first of many!
Snapper and shark have been in good numbers again, with fish from Carpenter Rocks all the way through to the Glenelg River mouth.
The South East Amateur Surf Fishing Club held a competition over the weekend and there was plenty weighed in.
Wayne Little won the
bragging rights in the seniors this weekend with his gummy shark narrowly edging out Graham Ploenges and Flynn Thomas who won second and third, while the junior category was won by Tristan Sugden with a solid gummy shark, beating Jasper Sugden and Jesse Mitchell.
The whiting fishing this week has been excellent again, we’re seeing not only great size fish, but really good numbers.
Some of the bigger fish this week have been those near 50cm monsters that we love, while the majority have been 40cm – 45cm perfect eaters.
Trevally are mixed in with the whiting, along with a few reasonable flatties and snapper of course.
Land based fishos have done well at Blackfellows Caves, Cape Douglas and the Port Mac jetty, while boaties have been around Racecourse Bay, Hutt Bay and Carpenter Rocks.
If chasing gar is your thing, it’s been a good week for it.
Wading or chucking the boat in, it does not seem to matter, there are good numbers of fish on offer for most.
Cape Douglas, Livingstons Bay and even inside the Port MacDo breakwater has produced some very nice bags of fish, so it’s a good time to get out and have a crack at it.
The inland fishing has been good, but the weekend saw some evacuation advice for Rocklands Reservoir with the current bushfire burning in the area.
Up until then the fishing has been excellent, but for the time being, please listen to the updated advice, keep out of the area and let the firies do their thing.
The same goes for Lake Charlegrark, the Little Desert bushfire is impacting that area, so stay informed if you are heading that way, and please follow the official advice.
The Glenelg River Angling Club held their fortnightly competition down the river over the weekend and there was some excellent fish caught.
Bream and perch were well represented, with some solid bags of both fish being presented.
There were mulloway caught also, with Tony Wilk weighing in a nice one caught on a soft plastic.
The fish are spread out at the moment, those who fished around the Caves and Hutchessons area found plenty, while those who were down in Taylors Straight and Nelson also had a good night on the fish.
A few fishos have been heading way up stream, above Wilsons Hall and having some incredible days fishing.
Topwater lures have been the standout lures up there, whether it be walk-the-dog, cicada or floating stick bait, the fishing has been incredible.
Perch to 50cm, plus a few chunky bream thrown in has been great for anglers.
The forecast for the coming weekend looks like we have got a bit of wind and swell on the way, so the offshore fishos might be a bit limited for fishing days, but the beach and river fishos should be a-okay!
Until next week, safe fishing!