Jamie Coates
A LOVELY weekend weather-wise across the South East ensured plenty of anglers dusted off the gear and headed for the water.
Offshore, inshore, inland or up the river, it did not seem to matter, the fish were on the chew.
The local offshore fishing on the weekend was red hot.
I think everyone was so over the bad weather, at the first sign of a fishable day, it was all go.
Plenty of boaties made their way straight out to around the 100-metre line for a drop and there was plenty of fish waiting for them.
I saw some good catches of gummy and school shark, both over 20kg, along with a big mix of bottom species including flathead, snapper, terakhi, silver dory and knifejaw.
One of the offshore catches of the weekend was Brett Tiller’s horse of a knifejaw, which pulled the scales down to a bit over 5kg.
It would have to be the biggest I have ever seen.
Port MacDonnell’s Tyson Kain has put his clients onto half a dozen nice big sharks over the weekend on his first charter with his new business.
The boys kept three for the freezer and let the others go in a cracking afternoon session.
There have been a few anglers having a look for the tuna this week, but I have not heard of any landed.
There have been some cracking fish caught inshore by the boaties.
This time of year we see almost everything start kicking into gear and I am glad to report this year is no exception.
There have been plenty of snapper caught in around the kelp beds of Orwell Rocks, Danger Point and Green Point and there has been some crackers amongst them.
A few fish over 60cm were boated, while there were great numbers of fish between 40-50cm.
In the mix are some excellent whiting in the high-40cm range, some even nudging 50cm.
We have started to see some schools of mackerel, salmon and snottys turning up down there too now.
Off the surf this week there were some good fish caught.
From the Coorong to the border, the fishing has heated up.
Coorong anglers have been treated to some unreal shark fishing over the last few weeks and that great form has continued right along.
There have been plenty of gummy shark caught between the 32 and the Tea Tree.
I have also heard of a few mulloway caught this week and although the size is not massive yet, there are a few keepers getting around.
Closer to home there has been plenty on the go.
The snapper off the beach have kicked into gear nicely.
Ryan Kobes and Sarah Sander fished the beaches around Nene Valley for a few nice whiting to 40cm and Sarah managed a cracker snapper.
Gummy shark have been caught between Browns Beach and Piccininni this week and also on the other side of the Glenelg River.
Salmon numbers have also remained pretty impressive through the Canunda National Park and Carpenters Rocks, with some fish over 2kg and most caught on bait.
The garfishing has been great again this week.
Our usual go-to areas have continued to produce good numbers and good-sized fish.
Petrified Forest, Cape Douglas, Blackfellows Caves and Livingstons Bay have all been brilliant and I have also heard of a few inside the Port MacDonnell Breakwater.
The same thing goes as every other week when it comes to the gar – live maggots under a float and a steady burley stream will see you on the money more often than not.
There are still good numbers of mullet around the same places and bigger tommies are starting to turn up also.
Whiting anglers have been right in the mix this week.
They are spread right along the coast at the moment in just about every sand hole between the Glenelg River Mouth and Kingston.
Fish to 50cm have been boated, which is an absolute cracker of a whiting.
There has been plenty caught inside the Port MacDonnell Breakwater by both those using boats and the land-based anglers.
I even heard of a handful of fish to 45cm from on the breakwater, which before the dredging would have been impossible.
The other land-based news has come from Nene Valley, Blackfellows Caves and Carpenter Rocks, though anywhere with sand holes within casting distance is worth a look.
There have been more inland news from Rocklands this week, with cod, callop, redfin and even Aussie bass copping a mention.
Matt Bell fished late last week and managed a good mix of fish, including some chunky cod and callop all caught on lures.
He said in the last 10 days since he had been there, the lake had risen over a metre in depth.
The trout are still on the go in stocked impoundments around western Victoria, as are the redfin.
As we see the weather warm up, the snakes are going to be out and about, so be careful when strolling through the long grass.
There has been a bit of news from both up and down the river.
The up river guys are still battling the fast flow, but a bigger sinker than usual and a scrubworm or whitebait on the hook has been a good way to find a feed.
Plenty of bream are about at the moment up there.
The guys fishing lower down the river, around Nelson and the estuary, have also been into some nice bream on the flats.
There have been some good catches over 40cm landed both on baits and lures, along with a few sneaky perch too.
The lures of choice seem to be the new four-inch gulp sandworm in the camo colour, which perfectly imitates a podworm.
The mulloway news is still slow this week and I have not heard of any smaller fish just yet.
Once the flow settles and we see some clarity start to return, we could be in for a boomer.
The Glenelg River Angling Club kicks off its 2022-23 season this weekend.
If you have been thinking of joining a good family orientated club, call in and see Craig or myself for more info at the tackle shop.
The Port MacDonnell Offshore Angling Club is holding a free event tonight down at the clubrooms (at the Port MacDonnell boat ramp) with TV fishing personality, Lee Rayner.
Kicking off at 6.30pm, Lee will share some tips and techniques for our local fish, along with a few fishing yarns to top the night off.
The weekend coming looks fishable for most and we should see plenty hit the water.
Until next week, safe fishing.
