Jamie Coates
WILD weather for the early parts of the long weekend kept most anglers home by the fire but as we got further along, the weather improved, the sea flattened out and we saw plenty of fishos hit the water.
The offshore guys were treated to a great day on the water on the Monday public holiday, with plenty of fish out there.
There is still no shortage of school sized tuna if that is what you are chasing and anywhere from 25 metres through to the shelf is loaded with fish from 10-15kg.
There is no secret lure at the moment – hard bodies, skirts or even throwing metal slugs at them will all find you a fish.
The big tuna have been on fire again this week and there has been some beauties caught.
Jason and Tyson from Port MacDonnell Fishing Charters have been getting their clients onto some excellent fish over the past week.
Fish from 80kg through to 130kg have been boated and it is awesome to see some of these anglers catch their fish of a lifetime.
Trailer boaties have also been into some nice fish.
There have been plenty boated and a fair few tagged and released.
But apart from tuna, there have been more on offer this week, as Carn Taylor discovered when he ventured out wide to the shelf on Monday.
He found some cracking hapuka, with one beast pulling the scales down to a bit over 38kg.
I have not heard too many fishos bottom bouncing while the swell has been up, but I have no doubt when it backs off we will see the return of some nice sharks and other reef fish too.
Surf anglers have found some nice salmon this week off the beaches right along the Limestone Coast.
The South East Amateur Surf Fishing Club held an overnight competition on the weekend and almost all competitors found some nice fish.
The winner was Sawmill and his 17.35kg bag of salmon taking home the honours for the seniors, while youngster Henry Vanden Hoogen took out the prize for the juniors.
There has not been any particular area better than another.
Salmon have been excellent from Piccininni and Paradise Beach, all the way through Nene Valley, Carpenter Rocks and into the Canunda NP.
The Beachport salmon hole is still going ballistic this week.
Some massive numbers have been caught, with some anglers catching and releasing 30 or 40 fish in a session.
Even though the average size is only around a kilo, they are fun.
There has not been much shark talk from the last week or so but if I was a betting man, I reckon the schoolies after dark would still be going pretty well along Discovery Beach and Canunda NP.
You just have to brave the weather.
Some ripper garfish have been caught this week by the waders in Cape Douglas and it seems both size and numbers have been on the improve.
There are usually hot spots around the Douglas but they are very spread out at the moment, from right up the end under the pine trees and all the way back to Hutt Bay.
Keep the burley flowing and they will come from far and wide.
There have been mullet, salmon trout and tommies mixed in with them.
There have been fish in other areas such as Livingstons, Pelican Point and certain areas round Carpenter Rocks but they are more susceptible to big swell, so you have to pick your day to fish those spots safely and effectively.
The inland and freshwater fishing has been pretty good this past week.
I have seen some reasonable trout from the Ess Lagoon in Casterton and Lake Koonongwootong, the other side of Coleraine.
There are still plenty of redfin getting around at the moment for lure fishos in Mill Swamp, there is heaps of little fish, so fish through them and some bigger samples will come along.
There has been a few reports from Rocklands Reservoir over the long weekend.
I have not seen massive numbers of fish, but redfin, yellowbelly and trout have all made an appearance, unfortunately so have the carp.
There does not seem to be any particular areas that are better than another but the guys with good quality sounders able to locate schools of fish are doing better than those fishing blind.
Tassie devils, stump jumpers or chatterbaits, it does not really seem to matter, you just have to find the fish before you can catch them.
The Glenelg River was abuzz with anglers, campers, kayakers and all other outdoor lovers over the long weekend.
The fishing from the landings was decent from all accounts, with plenty of bream and mullet keeping anglers busy, along with the odd mulloway.
The bait of choice still seems to be whitebait and prawn but some fishos in the upper reaches have done well on scrub worms too.
The mulloway news has been very patchy but the odd fish was boated over the weekend and all were taken on bait.
Live mullet are still the number one, but a fresh strip of squid or even a salmon fillet can often be enough to get them going.
The forecast for the weekend actually looks pretty good at this stage, the swell is settled, the winds are light and from the north, so let’s just hope it stays that way.
Until next week, safe fishing.
