Jamie Coates
A FABULOUS weekend weather-wise across the Limestone Coast saw plenty of anglers head for the water to wet a line.
The offshore fishing from Port MacDonnell has been excellent when the weather has allowed.
The bottom fishing is probably as good as it gets, with excellent numbers of big shark on offer at the moment.
School shark make up the majority of the catch out there, but there are some big gummies mixed in.
Shark over 20kg are getting to be more and more prolific and we now regularly see them over 30kg, which is a huge animal.
It is not all sharks out there at the moment, the deep water is still holding a few snapper, nannygai, flathead and other reefies too.
The tuna news from Port MacDonnell this week has again been slow, but Tyson and the crew from Want To Fish Charters headed east to Portland for a look over the weekend and nailed a 77kg cleaned fish for his clients.
The fishing over there still seems to be pretty consistent.
We are all still waiting with our fingers crossed that they turn up back out the front of Port MacDonnell, so hopefully we do see them come through again.
The surf fishos have enjoyed a weekend of pleasant weather, with anglers right across the South East getting involved.
The awesome salmon run has continued this week and it has been so good seeing anglers of all ages and abilities getting stuck into them.
Like I have mentioned in the past, you do not need the big flash 4×4 and all the best fishing gear to get into the salmon – just a nine-foot fishing rod, some braided line and a 40g metal lure will see you catching fish quick smart.
Areas that have been on fire this week have been Cape Banks, in both Lighthouse and Red Rock, The Beachport salmon hole, Canunda NP in areas such as Whale Rock, Channel Rock and Nene Valley.
There have been a few nice shark caught this week off the beach too, with Jones’s Bay and Browns Bay both producing some reasonable fish.
Wayne Little and crew landed a few nice gummies between them and judging by the pictures they looked like solid sharks.
The garfishos have loved this spell of decent weather, I have seen some really nice catches of fish this past weekend and it appears the size and numbers are showing no signs of easing up just yet.
The calm weather has meant the boaties and waders have both been able to get back into some of their favourite spots.
It is not only gar that have been impressive this past week, I have seen some chunky tommy ruff, big mullet and even the odd early-season whiting that has taken a liking to a bunch of gents.
As has been the case for as long as I can remember, the usual spots such as Port MacDonnell breakwater, Cape Douglas, Livingstons Bay and Pelican Point have all been productive.
Speaking of whiting, there have been some nice early catches filtering through this week.
The Port MacDonnell breakwater is a usual go-to area this time of year and while there are quite often a lot of smaller undersize whiting around, there are also plenty of legal fish to 40cm and bigger mixed in with them.
Danger and Green Point, Blackfellows Caves and Carpenter Rocks are all other areas where we often see whiting earliest in the season and while they may not be in summer numbers, they are usually thumping fish.
The inland fishing this past few weeks since I last covered it has not slowed down at all.
The redfin in Lake Wallace at Edenhope have been in good form, the numbers are still super impressive and the size has not been too bad.
Edenhope locals Eli and Harper West have been showing dad, Brad how it is done over the weekend with some nice reddies off the bank.
I think they are just warming up for the upcoming fishing comp.
It is not only Lake Wallace fishing well though, but Rocklands Reservoir has also been producing some nice cod and yellowbelly for lure fishos.
The guys getting the bulk of the bites have been making the most of technology and using their live scope to their advantage.
Being able to see where the fish are in real time and how they are reacting to your lures is a huge bonus, especially in such a big area.
I have heard a few whispers of yabbies already from a few of the western Victoria lakes and dams, so if you are feeling like an early feed, it is always worth the drive and just going for a look around.
The Glenelg River is still fishing well for bream and perch this week and both the baitos and lure guys have been getting in on the action.
The baits of choice this week have been pod worm, whitebait and prawns,while the lure guys have found a good mix of fairly heavily weighted plastics, deep diving minnows or vibes.
The mulloway news has been light on again this week and aside from a couple of small ones that took a liking to a well-presented lure, there has not been much to report.
There have been some cracking mullet caught this week down there.
Steve Lamb and the family spent the weekend down there for his birthday and boated some big mullet and bream between them on baits up river a bit.
Fresh river mullet straight on the barbie are pretty hard to beat I reckon.
The forecast for the coming weekend looks like it should be pretty fishable for most.
Northerlies to 10 knots and easing swell is the forecast, so hopefully it stays like that and we can have another top weekend.
From the crew here at Spot On Mount Gambier, we wish all the dads out there a happy Father’s Day.
Hopefully the fish are biting and the beer is cold.
Until next week, safe fishing.
