By Jamie Coates
A BREEZY weekend put a stop to most offshore fishing plans, but there were plenty of other options to wet a line.
There were a few tuna reports from over the border, with barrels to 147kg off Apollo Bay the big talking point.
There have not been many fishing for them, but the numbers are nothing short of impressive.
We are all hanging out for them to come our way and hopefully that is very soon.
The school tuna are still off Port MacDonnell and can be found anywhere from 40 metres of water, through to the shelf and beyond.
Keep an eye out for bird activity and baitfish on the sounder – the fish will not be far away.
Bottom bouncers have not fished all that much this week thanks to the weather, but the reports have been encouraging.
There are plenty of sharks and reefies on the bottom and don’t forget, the snapper season has kicked off as of July 1, so we can now take one snapper per person, per day.
Just remember to report your fish to fishwatch.
Beach anglers have found a few nice gummies this week, with Piccininni and Paradise being the two hot spots.
Catching a fresh salmon or mullet, then using the fresh fillet seems to be the best bet for the gummies, but they will still eat a squid or saury if you can not find a salmon.
Anglers actively targeting the salmon have been into some good numbers around Cape Banks.
The size was that average lumpy size, up to a couple of pounds, but the numbers were impressive.
Both baits and lures were doing the damage, so everyone was catching fish.
The Beachport salmon hole has been much the same – not monster fish, but good numbers and happy to take baits and lures.
Garfish numbers have been great and we have seen good numbers during the day by the bait fishos, plus good numbers in the evenings by the spotlighters.
The size is still excellent as we would expect for this time of year and the good numbers are just a bonus.
The bait fishos have fished Cape Douglas and Livingstons Bay, then spotlighters have been having a look around Hutt Bay, Livingstons and even inside the Port MacDonnell breakwater.
Mullet and tommy ruff are also in good numbers still, so a feed of those is usually not too hard either.
There have been some whispers of a few squid starting to turn up in Livingstons Bay.
The spotlighters are seeing a few while they are out dabbing, so it might be worth putting a couple of hours in on a calm day and just testing the waters.
From now onwards we will see them start to ramp up and getting a few early ones is always nice.
The Glenelg River has fished fairly well.
We are seeing some nice bream and perch spread out through the river and caught on both baits and lures.
Bait anglers have done well on prawn and crab fished fairly hard up against the rock walls and the banks, while lure guys have found the same.
The closer you can get to the edge without snagging up, the better the fishing seems to be.
The mulloway news has also been all over the place.
Fish up river around the Sandy Waterholes area to 80-odd centimetres have been caught, while there have been a few of similar size in the estuary.
I think the biggest key at the moment is to put the time in and get out there and have a crack – you will not catch them sitting at home.
With school holidays now in full swing and some lovely calm winter days headed our way, it is the perfect opportunity to get the kids outside and wet a line.
There are heaps of land-based options from Kingston SE to Portland Victoria.
Just about any jetty between the two will produce fish of some kind, and you also have the full length of the Glenelg River which has a dozen or more accessible jetties dotted along it.
Pop in and have a chat to Craig or myself and we can let you know what is happening and where.
The upcoming week could be a little on the breezy side, but the sea is under two metres which will be well received by both surf and offshore fishos.
If the river is more your scene, conditions should be just about perfect.
Until next week, safe fishing.
