Jamie Coates
A HOT but calm weekend across the Limestone Coast was taken advantage of by plenty of people wishing to wet a line, with a steady flow of fishing reports and pictures filtering in.
The offshore anglers have been waiting for a weekend like this for what feels like forever.
I have seen plenty of pictures and videos from the weekend and the seas were just about as good as they get.
It did not matter where anglers chose to fish, there were results from all over.
Lots of anglers took the opportunity to head wide and chase fish over the shelf and by all reports there were plenty caught.
The blue eye were on the chew for those who found them and although they were not monsters, the numbers made up for it.
There were also a few pink ling, the odd hapuka and a few makos caught out wide, so it is great to see things are happening.
In a bit closer around that 80m through to 120m mark we have seen some excellent bottom fishing and there has been a real fisherman’s basket caught out there.
Gummy shark, school shark, red snapper, blue morwong, knife jaw, terakhi, snapper, flathead and latchet fish all made an appearance and a few other bits and pieces too.
Kingston and Cape Jaffa have both been red hot over the summer period.
I have seen kingfish, tuna, snapper, shark and plenty of other species from that way and although I am not super familiar with the area myself, the guys at the Kingston Ampol will be able to help you out.
Surf fishing was hugely popular over the weekend while the temperatures were up and the winds were down.
To top it off, there were quite a few fish caught.
Starting off locally, quite a few fishos headed for Piccininni, Paradise and Browns Beach.
There were snapper, gummy shark, small mulloway and some big sea bream beached right along there.
Further around the coast there has been some nice fish caught at Nene Valley and off the rocks at Blackfellows Caves, along with Carpenter Rocks and Canunda NP.
There has been plenty of surf fishing this week between Beachport and Southend and the guys up there have been finding some reasonable mulloway.
There have been a few I have heard of now between 82cm and 100cm – throw in a few shark, some snapper and salmon and it sounds like everyone up that way is having a ball.
While we are on the topic of surf fishing, the entries for the Kingston SE Lions Club surf fishing contest are in store now and they are flying out the door.
There have been quite a few fish caught up that way recently which is starting to get revellers a bit hot and sweaty.
Gummy shark have dominated the news by a long shot, but mulloway, bronze whalers, flathead and salmon have all copped a mention.
While the sea was dead flat, plenty of snorkelers and divers jumped in and went for a look around the reef.
There were some cracking crays caught by the swimmers and some lovely abalone too.
Local Beachport guns Xavia Bell, Bliss and Rory McCallum found a few beauties while swimming just off the beach and those in boats drop netting found some absolute monsters.
Crays over 3kg were the norm when you can get into the hairy areas, so make the most of it when the weather allows.
Whiting fishos this weekend have had an absolute field day.
They have thrived with that stir we had last week and that made for unreal fishing.
Our usual haunts all produced some nice fish, including Danger Point, Port MacDonnell breakwater, Cape Douglas, Nene Valley and Carpenter Rocks.
The size has been impressive through most parts and the numbers have been nothing to grizzle about either.
Beachport whiting fishos have been sharing in the same success and finding both great numbers and sizes.
Joel Davis did manage a sneaky by-catch, a thumping 80cm flathead and their boat limit of whiting.
The garfishing over the last week or so has been excellent, with many anglers loving the reprieve from the wind.
The numbers and size are still fairly impressive, which has been great to see.
Waders have found success at the Petrified Forest, Hutt Bay, Livingstons Bay and Pelican Point, while the boaties have done well in Racecourse Bay, Nene Valley and Livingstons.
There have been a few tommy ruff and mullet in the same spots for a few weeks – it is just now we are seeing a bit of size in them.
There have been a few non-target species caught over the weekend by the gar guys.
I have seen whiting to 48cm, snapper, trevally, bream and even a small elephant shark.
You just never know what might come swimming up the burley trail.
The Glenelg River is still a lot dirtier than it should be at this time of year, but the bream and perch have not minded one bit.
The mulloway are still patchy and hard to track down, but there have been small fish caught up as high as Sapling Creek over the past week on baits from the jetty, so the fact they are starting to spread out and feed a bit more is encouraging.
There have been some nice mullet caught again this week in the river and those doing well have just been keeping the burley up to them and fishing cut pilchard or cockles down on the bottom.
Ben Jeffrey has been into the bream again this week down there, with the cranka crab still his weapon of choice, but if plastics are more your thing, powerbait nemesis or any 2.5inch grub will get the job done for you.
The weather is set to heat up again for the weekend, but the swell is low, the winds are definitely fishable and hopefully the fish are cooperative.
Until next week, safe fishing.
