MASSIVE seas and gale force winds battered most of southern Australia over the last weekend, but there were a couple of keen – or crazy – anglers who did have a crack.
The offshore guys are all chomping at the bit to get out this weekend and so far the weatherman tells us we are in for a beauty.
The temperature is back into the mid 20’s, winds are light and the sea is settling down, so no doubt we will see some excellent fishing in the coming days.
There were reports of huge numbers of birds, dolphins and seals working the schools of bait pretty hard, so if you can locate that action on the water, you should find the tuna not too far away.
There have also been lots of free jumping southern wright whales, which is awesome to see and great for passing time between fish strikes.
The bottom fishing was red hot before the stir and I can not see anything changing there.
Shark, snapper, terakhi and knifejaw have all been caught and there are still plenty of mako’s around from what I have been told.
Surf fishos were forced to leave the gear in the shed last week, but this weekend should see that change.
The South East Amateur Surf Fishing Club has a competition on this weekend, so next week I hope I have got some results and pictures of what the entrants have caught.
Before the weather turned, we saw some nice catches of salmon at Cape Banks and the Beachport salmon hole.
Fish to 2kg have been beached, so let’s hope the size keeps getting bigger and we have another ripper season.
The snapper fishing in close along the kelp beds of Green and Danger Points has still been good.
Some fishos were having a hard time with the water being so clear, so the big seas will have done the job nicely and put some colour back in the water.
There are still mulloway being landed along the coast, with fish between 60-80cm the most prolific, but quite a few nice fish over the 82cm mark have been caught, so the signs are encouraging.
Baitfish are still abundant, so as long as they hang around, the predatory fish will too.
Whiting fishing has been excellent again, with the Port MacDonnell breakwater the easiest spot to fish.
With no shortage of small sand holes and weeded areas, it is a whiting’s playground.
Many fish have been between the 32cm limit and 38cm, but I do know of a few bigger “kidney slappers” which have been up over the 45cm mark.
It is not only the boaties getting into the bigger fish, with the land-based guys on the jetty and boat ramp also jagging their fair share.
The squid numbers in the breakwater are also encouraging, with some anglers going down after tea for a few hours and managing half a dozen squid, some up to 1.5kg.
Gar numbers have continued to impress, with bigger fish over 40cm being quite easy to find.
The standard “gents under a float” rig is still probably the most reliable way to take home a feed, but even strips of cockle, prawn pieces or pilchard fillets will do the trick.
Mullet and tommy ruff numbers in the Cape Douglas and Pelican Point areas are all still excellent, so a nice little feed is not too hard to come across.
Inland fishing is still going off.
Redfin are still the talk, but the odd trout is has been taken at Lake Toolondo.
Trolling or casting lures have been doing the trick for the boaties, but the land-based guys have been having the best success on small live yabbies, a bunch of scrub worms or trout nuggets.
Rocklands Reservoir has produced some nice fish, mainly redfin, but a few trout as well.
The Glenelg River is bound to be alive with people as the South Australian school holidays are in full swing.
But there are plenty of fish to be caught.
The jetties right along the river have fished well for bream most days and although a lot of fish are under-size, they are sure to put a smile on any kid’s face.
The mulloway news has been slow due to the weather, but I do not doubt we will see some nice fish caught over the next few days.
The forecast for the weekend is going to be magnificent so I dare say plenty of anglers will head out and we should have plenty to report next week.
Until next week, safe fishing.
