Jamie Coates
A FISHABLE weekend was enjoyed by anglers along the Limestone Coast.
There was plenty caught throughout the South East with the offshore fishing in particular red hot over the weekend.
The big tuna are in full swing and plenty of anglers have been into them.
The local charter boats have been having a fabulous run, and we are lucky down here in Port MacDonnell to have a fleet of charter operators who all know what they are doing.
If you are from away and want a crack at these big fish of a lifetime, you are in capable hands whoever you choose to fish with.
Anglers are finding their bites a number of ways.
The trollers using lures have had great success and there have been a few stand outs such as the TSH 8.5” inverts in Kandy Kain and Redbait colour and the Bonze range in paris colour.
The biggest trick is getting them in front of the fishes nose.
Bait fishos have done well catching their livies on sabiki bait jigs, hooking them through the snout and throwing them into a bait ball, then hanging on.
Linton Badman and Grady Janeway had a day out on Sunday, boating two barrels between them – one at 90kg and the other at 105kg.
There have been plenty of bottom fish caught too.
The crew on Port MacDonnell Fishing Charters on Sunday had a real mixed bag with a couple of big tuna, a few nice shark off the bottom and a good mix of reef species to top them up.
Starting this Saturday (May 6) the Port MacDonnell Offshore Angling Club’s 42nd annual Tuna and Sportsfish Tournament kicks off down at the “Bay”.
Anglers from far and wide converge on Port MacDonnell to take part in the competition which I believe is the biggest offshore tournament in South Australia.
The competitors weigh in each day at 4pm at the clubrooms by the boat ramp and there is always plenty of ripper fish to see.
There is a pretty good chance we will see some big tuna caught this year, so if you have never seen one up close, be sure to get down and have a look.
Inshore fishing has heated up this past week with some nice sharks reported from along the coast.
The gummies and schoolies have turned up right on que for the competition and there are some big fish among them.
Fish of both species over 20kg have been boated in swelly conditions this week, which is perfect for keeping the water stirred up and the sharks hungry.
There have been a fair few snapper still down there too, plus some pretty big schools of salmon in the same areas.
The surf anglers have really noticed the cold snap and it has slowed down all but the really keen fishos.
Those still hitting the beaches have been rewarded for their efforts.
Shark are about in reasonable numbers and very spread out.
As long as you have a bait in the water, you are a good chance.
The salmon numbers in Canunda are slowly but surely picking up.
The size has continued to impress and now we are seeing the actual fish numbers trending the same way.
Bait fishos are still probably at an advantage, being able to draw fish from a larger area, but I am seeing a few lure-caught fish starting to pop up in my feed.
The garfishing has been top shelf once again and I have seen some lovely catches of big red beaked gar already coming through.
Waders and boaties have both been sharing the success, so there is plenty to go around.
The usual go-to spots have been fishing well, such as Cape Douglas, Livingstons Bay and Pelican Point.
Like most weeks the protected bays and sheltered areas right around the South East will almost always produce fish.
The Glenelg River has kicked into gear with some nice mulloway landed.
Fish in the mid-90cm range have been boated up around the Dry Creek to Sandy Waterhole area, along with plenty of others in that 60cm to 80cm range.
There seems to be plenty of bait up there at the moment, so the predators will never be far behind.
There is some really nice bream and perch coming from the length of the river.
From up in the sticks, to down around the Nelson township, it is all starting to happen.
The lure guys are still doing well on natural coloured 2.5 and 3 inch plastics, while the hardbodies doing the damage are deeper diving minnow profile lures.
There are still good numbers of mullet in the river too, so get the burley going and you shouldn’t struggle too much at all.
The forecast for the coming week looks like there is some swell and wind on the way, so hopefully we see that settle down before the tuna comp this weekend.
Until next week, safe fishing.
