By Jamie Coates
FISHABLE weather over the weekend was taken advantage of by locals and tourists alike, with some nice fish caught.
Port MacDonnell has still been abuzz with boaties from far and wide trying their luck on the big tuna and plenty have been rewarded for their efforts.
There has been a real mix of sizes out there, with anglers reporting acres of school-sized tuna to 15kg.
They are everywhere at the moment and the numbers are incredible.
Those chasing the big fish have found examples from 50kg through to 150kg, so there is a huge mix of sizes.
Trolling skirts, hard minnows and live baiting have all been popular and productive.
You just have to work out what is working on the day and be prepared to change tact.
A real definitive “barrel zone” as such has not emerged, unlike previous years.
They are just popping up wherever the bait is, so keep your eyes on and follow the action.
In bottom fishing news there has been no shortage of sharks or tasty reef species.
The 60-120m line has been productive and is the area worth putting in some effort.
Just keep an eye out for structure and the fish will not be far away.
Inshore fishing has been excellent again this week right along the coast.
I have heard of some nice school shark from Danger and Green Points in five metres of water or less.
They put on a good show when you get them in the shallow water and really put your gear to the test.
There are the odd gummy shark mixed in to around 10kg but the schoolies have the numbers.
There are still a few snapper sniffing around down the same areas, but they have noticeably slowed up compared to a month or so ago.
The same can be said for the whiting in the same areas – you might get the odd one or two but the bulk of the numbers seem to have moved on.
There are plenty of bait fish down there at the moment.
Salmon, coota and pike are in decent numbers and make for great fresh bait when you are shark fishing.
Salmon fishing this week has slowed up when compared to previous weeks but that is largely due to the flat and calm seas.
The weekend still saw plenty of salmon but the size has slipped a bit to around that 1kg mark.
The stirred sea over the last few days will kick the bigger fish back into gear.
The Beachport salmon hole, Canunda NP and Carpenter Rocks are still all worth a crack, with both bait and lures working.
Salmon are massively underrated in the South East.
You do not need a big boat, a fancy four-wheel-drive or the best gear to get into it.
A nine-foot graphite rod, 4000 to 6000 sized spinning reel with some 15lb braid and a handful of lures is all you need to get amongst the action.
Carpenter Rocks and the Beachport salmon hole are easily accessible by your average family car and when they are looked after, bled after capture and cleaned up nicely, they are actually pretty good on the table.
Garfish have been fairly good again this week.
Anglers have been making the most of the northerly winds and fishing primarily land based.
You get a good spread on your burley and fishing towards the deeper water is generally a bit easier when the wind has a bit of north in it, so it is great to see plenty of fishos taking advantage.
The usual hot spots are still fishing well and are definitely worth checking out, so that includes the Petrified Forest, Cape Douglas, Livingstons Bay and Pelican Point just to name a few.
There are still quite a few mullet around in the same spots and I might add, some really nice ones are mixed in with them, so do not be surprised if you find a few of those too.
The Glenelg River has fished consistently again for the bream and perch guys.
I have seen some thumping bream from the land-based anglers fishing the sand flats of the estuary and the Nelson town public landings.
Cut whitebait seems to be the go at the moment but prawn or cut crab will also see results.
The mulloway have been a bit light on this week but I have heard of the odd fish from the estuary and poles areas late last week, through to the Caves and Hutchessons.
Live mullet are still the key to the mulloway at the moment but as soon as we start to see a bit of colour hit the water, the lure guys will be ready.
The forecast for the weekend ahead looks a bit dodgy, so let’s hope the weatherman has it wrong and we can hit the water somewhere.
Until next week, safe fishing.
