BRILLIANT conditions over the past couple of days have seen plenty of anglers make their way to the water and it did not seem to matter if you were on the ocean or the river, there were some fantastic fish caught.
The offshore scene has fished well and with the flat seas and low winds that are forecast for the upcoming days, I would expect to see even more fish.
The 100-metre line has been red hot again for flathead, with a nice mix of sand and tigers boated.
For those who have not chased many flathead off Port MacDonnell, just be careful because unlike most other flathead, tigers have pretty nasty teeth and I have heard a few stories this week of thumbs that have been chomped.
Tim Carrison and I fished for a couple of hours on Sunday morning at the 60-metre line and managed two nice gummy shark to 15kg, along with an assortment of other bottom fish.
The tuna news has been a bit quiet, but the boats in the area are still reporting excellent numbers of baitfish and with dolphins, seals and birds all in a feeding frenzy, you can bet the tuna are not too far behind.
The water has settled over the past few days, making the snapper a bit more aware of our presence, especially in the shallow water.
Those fishing the early morning sessions are having great success, as are those fishing late afternoon and into the evening.
Half an un-weighted pilchard seems to be the best bet at the moment, but a strip of squid or a bit of octopus is hard for a snapper to swim past.
There have still been plenty of bronzies cruising around the kelp, so if you are being bitten off occasionally, there is a good chance the shark have moved in.
Mulloway are becoming a bit of a pain at times, with many undersize and not a lot of big ones mixed in.
The odd fish over 82cm has been landed, but you might need to catch 20 little ones first.
Surf fishos have done well this week, with some nice gummy sharks and mulloway being landed at the Coorong.
The majority of news I have heard has come from the 28 and higher, but I have no doubt if you put the time in between the Granites and the 29, you will find some nice fish.
The mulloway have not been monsters, but around that one-metre mark is always an awesome fish.
The local guys have been finding plenty of undersize mulloway from Browns Beach through to Piccininni and there are also a few gummy and bronze whaler sharks mixed in.
Snapper catches off the beach have been good, with Factory Bay fairly consistent, but the skates and rays can be a bit of a nuisance.
Salmon numbers have been good through Beachport and Southend, while the Canunda beaches have produced a few nice fish.
The whiting over the past week have been good.
The Port MacDonnell breakwater has been the most consistent, but definitely not the only spot worth trying.
The land-based anglers have done well in Cape Douglas and Carpenter Rocks, along with the boaties at Blackfellows Caves, Nene Valley and Port MacDonnell.
We have seen plenty of fish over 50cm this year by both the boat and beach anglers, so those trophy fish are around for the guys who put the time in.
Garfish this week have been a bit hot and cold, with some anglers reporting great numbers of smaller fish, while others are saying there are only big fish around, but in smaller numbers.
Cape Douglas, Livingstons Bay and Racecourse Bay have seen some good fish over the past week.
The guys who are only getting the odd gar are having the bags topped up with mullet, tommy ruff and salmon trout too, so bringing home a feed is not usually all that hard.
With the weather as nice as it has been lately, plenty of guys have headed for the coast to chase a few crayfish in drop nets, with some beauties caught.
Anthony Sneath and Josh Doyle managed their eight nice crays earlier this week, with a few of the bigger fish being over 2kg.
Most of the inshore reefs from Carpenter Rocks to the SA/VIC border will hold good numbers of crays, just give it a crack.
The Glenelg River has been good again this week, with mulloway and bream being very spread out.
There have been some nice fish caught from Hutchessons Landing, all the way down to the estuary.
Most fishos have been using pilchard or squid for their mulloway and picking up plenty of bream.
The guys specifically targeting bream have been using a mixture of crab, prawn or white bait, or the lure guys are using small diving minnows or light weighted soft plastics.
The perch news has come from the upper reaches this week, with the surface lures such as suga pens, snoop dogs and px55’s all getting the job done.
The guys using live minnow are also doing well, so they are hungry.
The weekends forecast looks a bit breezy for offshore anglers, but the river and inland guys will have a ball.
Until next week, safe fishing.
