Conditions favour anglers

VARIETY: A nice haul of whiting and snapper from Grumpy Charters. Pictures submitted.

By Jamie Coates

UNREAL conditions for the long weekend were taken advantage of by anglers right across the South East and with so many options on the table, there were plenty of fish caught.

The offshore fishos found some fabulous fish off Port MacDonnell.

It was great to see the trailer boats back on the water and making the most of the fine weather.

The boys on Port MacDonnell Fishing Charters put their clients onto some nice fish, with a nice mixed bag of snapper, nannygai, gummy and school sharks and even a few more Tassie trumpeter.

The Southerly Fishing Charters crew managed several nice sharks over the weekend, along with a mixed bag of tasty bottom fish.

Tony Bell from Grumpy Charters continued his good run of snapper and whiting, with some of the whiting nudging the 50cm mark and one of the better snapper up over 3kg.

There were even a few crays to 2kg on the snapper baits to really boost the catch.

Deep sea fishing has been excellent week.

Blue eye trevalla, pink ling, blue grenadier and ocean perch have all made an appearance and just across the border at Portland, there have been some cracking makos over the shelf, so if that is more your thing, now is the time.

The inshore fishing has been excellent right along the coast over the long weekend, with whiting, snapper and sharks all on the list for boaties.

The snapper numbers have been unbelievable – it does not seem to matter where you stop for the snaps, they are everywhere.

Green Point, Danger Point, Factory Bay, Orwell Rocks and even the edges of the Port MacDonnell breakwater have produced fish over the last few weeks and through the weekend.

I am hearing of fish to 70cm being boated by anglers, but some guys may have to fish through 20 or more smaller fish just to find a legal one which is a great sign too.

The whiting have been equally as spread out, with some of the bigger fish even taking a pilchard and a pair of 4/0 hooks meant for a snapper.

The Port MacDonnell breakwater has fished well, with quite a few fishos managing their limits in the hour before dark.

There is not a secret spot in there better than the rest, just keep on the move until you find the fish.

There have been some nice fish further west of the bay too – Cape Douglas, Nene Valley, Pelican Point and Carpenter Rocks have all fished well, so it does not make a huge difference where you stop – just find the sand holes on the edge of the weed line and you are in with a good shot.

Surf fishos made the most of the good weather this weekend and a fair whack of them headed onto the beach somewhere.

The South East Amateur Surf Fishing Club had their annual long weekend Coorong Comp for its members and there were some nice fish beached.

Darren Humpries took home the honours with a nice gummy shark of just under 10kg, followed up by Scotty Attiwell with a 5kg gummy.

The conditions were fabulous for the guys up there and judging by the videos I saw from the weekend, there was plenty of banter and good times had.

There have been more nice fish caught locally over the weekend, with snapper and gummy shark making up the bulk of reports.

Piccininni, Browns Beach and Factory Bay were all productive and I have also heard of a few whispers of some good school shark from in the Canunda National Park somewhere, so that is also worth a look.

The gar numbers have been impressive once again, thanks largely to the easing winds allowing many anglers back into their favourite spots.

The bigger fish seem to be a bit more prolific now and guys are getting hold of a few more.

The usual haunts around Cape Douglas, Livingstons Bay and Pelican Point have all been productive and for the guys back to the east, the Petrified Forrest, Port Mac breakwater and Racecourse Bay have been the go-to areas.

I am hearing of some bigger tommy ruff and mullet mixed in with the gar as well, so you never know your luck.

There have been some nice fish caught in the Glenelg River over the weekend by the boaties.

The bream and perch numbers seem to be getting bigger and better by the week.

Lure fishos have found good numbers on the sand flats of the estuary using 2.5-inch grub-style soft plastics or shallow-running bibbed minnows.

The upper reaches are fishing well also, with the weapon of choice the plastics on a slightly heavier jig head, or cranka crabs.

The mulloway have been on the chew again but they seem to be a bit smaller than the last couple of weeks.

There is still the odd legal fish mixed in with them, but the average size has been a bit down.

Not to worry though, we are catching them and that is what matters.

Estuary perch have been right through the river but the best ones I have seen have come from up above Wilsons Hall on hard-bodies thrown around the sticks.

Fish in the high 40’s have been caught, so some really nice ones among them.

This weekend looks like another very fishable one.

Warm weather again and easing winds should be perfect for most fishos to hit the water and hopefully get into a few fish.

Until next week, safe fishing.