By Jamie Coates
A SUNNY but breezy weekend across the Limestone Coast saw plenty of anglers hitting the water in search of a few fish and it was great to see some excellent catches.
From offshore, to fresh water or up the river, there was plenty happening.
The offshore fishing over the past week has been excellent.
Thursday and Friday saw a couple of absolutely prime days for our offshore fishos, with no wind and no swell.
Boats a-plenty hit the water and fished everywhere from the shallow inshore sand holes, to the depths over the continental shelf and most found fish.
Out wide we saw some nice blue eye caught in 450 metres of water and there were also some big shark pulled out of the similar depth.
Ryan Ritchie and crew boated a solid porbeagle shark while fishing the depths, which is a relatively uncommon, but very sought after shark out there.
In a little closer, we saw some nice flathead catches from that 80-120m depth and a nice mixture of both sand and tiger flatties were amongst them, plus a few nice gummies as well.
Boaties fishing in that 40m through to 70m area have found some nice mixed bags this week.
Between gummy and school shark, queen snapper, nannygai and snapper, we have plenty to catch and keep us busy.
The tuna news again has been flowing in from Portland, fish over 100kg are still being boated most days over there, so if its tuna you are keen for, they are still an option.
The surf fishing over the past week has been fairly decent for most, with those warm windless days late last week, plenty of anglers made their way to the beach.
The fishing has been pretty good for the most part, with plenty of snapper, gummy sharks and salmon still coming through.
The fishing has been widespread this week due to a bit of weed floating around the place, but has not been at all bad. People will head to new spots if their usual go-to is weedy, so we can cover a bit more ground.
Areas that are worth a crack have been Piccininni, Browns Beach, Orwell Rocks, Nene Valley and Carpenter Rocks, so I mean what I say when things are really spread out.
Snapper fishing has been as good as I can remember this week.
The size and numbers I am hearing are as good as ever and the revised bag limits for this season have given anglers plenty of incentive to get out and actually target them.
They are everywhere, from down along Green and Danger Points, Racecourse Bay and Orwell Rocks, even inside the breakwater, the fishing has been brilliant.
Anglers have been throwing soft plastics when the fish are in big numbers and I will tell you what, that is some of the best fun you can have on the water.
They hit hard, fight hard and it is all in under five metres of water.
You definitely have to give it a go.
The whiting fishing over the past week has been excellent, even on those days that have been dead calm.
Both land based and boat anglers have been in on the action and much like I mentioned earlier, the fish are very spread out.
From the sand holes of the Port MacDonnell breakwater, to the rocks at Blackfellows Caves and through to Carpenter Rocks, there are plenty of options.
While the weather was so calm, a few anglers like to chase the sweep in close to the reef.
Big sweep are incredible to catch and when you get idyllic conditions, you can see the fish come off the reef, eat your bait and then feel the rod load up in real time right before your eyes.
There are only a handful of days each year we get that are suitable for sweep, so when its good, you just have to go.
The garfishing over the past month or more has been fabulous.
I probably sound like a broken record talking about it every week, but it is too good not to.
We are still seeing big fish in good numbers right around the South East and both the waders and boaties are getting in on the action.
Tommies and salmon trout have been a bit of a pest for some fishos when they are in big numbers, but hey, that is fishing.
Squid fishos loved that bout of warm and calm weather.
The sea in most spots was crystal clear and was just what the squid like most.
The Port MacDonnell jetty, Beachport jetty and Cape Jaffa have all started to kick into gear for the land lovers, while Livingstons Bay, Port MacDonnell breakwater and Rivoli Bay have been good for the boaties.
The warm weather has been great for the cray fishos, with divers, snorkellers, drop netters and cray potters all having good success.
From the border all the way up to and beyond Cape Jaffa will produce crayfish, just remember to stick to your bag and size limits and check up on the regulations for your particular fishing style, as some devices cannot be used in some areas.
The Glenelg River was abuzz with activity over the weekend and plenty of boats on the water wetting a line meant there were plenty of fish caught.
There is not a heap of mulloway news to report, it has been pretty quiet for most, although there have been a few smaller fish popping up.
The area worth targeting at the moment is from Dry Creek all the way up to Wilsons Hall.
Just keep the sounder on and find where they are at.
The bream and estuary perch are in good numbers at the moment and from the bottom in the estuary, to the upper reaches, there is plenty on offer.
The forecast for the coming weekend looks like it should be pretty fishable for most and if that wind does happen to blow up, the river and inshore will be good options.
Until next week, safe fishing.
