By Jamie Coates
IT seems the weather is getting a little bit better each weekend as we progress further through the year and there were several anglers who made the most of the sunshine.
The offshore news has started to slowly filter back through now the seas have settled and we have seen more trailer boats able to get out on the water.
The bottom fishing has remained excellent and I have seen some nice fish coming through.
Gummy and school shark are still the two prime targets out there, with fish of both species to 20kg caught, plus there are also some nice terakhi, red snapper and other reefies around.
In a bit closer, the shallow reefs are still producing some nice sharks.
The schoolies have been excellent this year and are showing no real signs of slowing just yet.
There are some big salmon sniffing around in the berley trails, so one for the smoker or a fresh fillet back on the hook is a real possibility.
As the sea settles down more from now on and we see temperatures start to rise, the shallow reef and kelp beds are the prime location for mulloway.
The schools of mackerel and tommy ruff start to arrive anytime from now on and the mullies will not be far behind.
Salmon fishos have found decent numbers again this week and they are quite spread out.
Josiah Atkins caught some nice salmon in a quick high-tide session at Nene Valley late last week, with one of his fish nearing the 2kg mark.
The lure casters in Lighthouse Bay have done well on the smaller “jacky” salmon, while the bigger fish seem to be coming from a bit further along the beaches of Canunda.
The Beachport salmon hole has been a bit hit-and-miss this year, but usually you will always manage a fish or two.
Garfish this week have fired up in most spots and I have heard of catches of 50 fish from two guys in a session.
The size has again picked up after dropping back for a few weeks, so anglers are happy once again.
The usual hot spots such as Livingstons Bay, Cape Douglas, Hutt Bay and the Petrified Forrest have all fished well this week and from all reports, numbers and size have both been impressive.
There are still tommy ruff, mullet and salmon trout in the same spots and we have also had a few guys talking about silver trevally turning up already, which is probably earlier than normal.
A few boaties decided to dust off the whiting gear over the weekend and go for a look and it looks like most found themselves a good feed of fresh King George’s.
I have reports from the Port MacDonnell breakwater, Hutt Bay and Carpenter Rocks, so considering the reports are from right along the South East, I would say just about all our usual spots would be worth going down for a look.
The size is impressive too, fish to 45cm for September is definitely a great sign.
The Glenelg River has fished well this week.
We all thought that the last run of rains we had might have stunted the river for a bit, but it does not seem to be the case.
Mulloway have been in good numbers down in the estuary again for those able to fish that area.
I have heard of some fish from down that way in the last month that have gone over 30lb, so if you can, now is the time to target them.
Bream have been in solid numbers too from what I have heard.
Local fly fishing guru Gordon Jeffrey has been landing some crackers around the Nelson township to 39cm on a home tied brown shrimp pattern.
Fishos in the SA section have found some nice bream on baits along the rock walls between Donovans and the bottom border.
Prawn and crab have still been the best bait, unless you are lucky enough to get yourself some fresh river whitebait.
We have heard of a few perch turning up now for the fishos trolling 70-120mm deep diving minnows such as the strike pro galaxia.
They get down to three metres and have a great swimming action – no wonder the perch cant help themselves.
The forecast for the weekend does not look too bad at this stage, but keep an eye on it and we should see plenty of anglers hitting the water somewhere.
Until next week, safe fishing.
