By Jamie Coates
WET and windy weather over the weekend made fishing tricky for anglers on the Limestone Coast, but as is always the case, there are a small group of fishos who can not help but wet a line.
Offshore fishing has been off the cards for just about everyone this week and I do not think I have heard of anyone actually getting out there.
The weekend looks like it will be much the same until we finally see a bit of a reprieve on Monday.
The tuna chasers are getting itchy feet and wanting to get back out there and with fish to the east and west of us, after the blow and big seas, hopefully they are back in our backyard too.
Bottom bouncers love the first few days after a big sea.
Everything has been stirred up and starting to settle, so I am expecting to see some nice shark and bottom fish next week.
It does not seem to matter the weather, salmon fishos will fish in anything.
I do not know if it is keen, crazy or a bit of both, but as is so often the case, the rougher the better.
The big seas matched with our typical northerly winter winds makes the perfect conditions to flick lures from the sand.
Lighthouse Bay has been the most reliable area this week, producing some lovely fish to nearly 3kg.
Not all have been that big, with the average fish still a very respectable 1-1.5kg.
There are still some nice fish coming from Canunda and if you are planning on heading that way, just be careful in some of the big water holes.
After the rain we have had, they are filling up and they are a lot deeper than you may think.
I can tell you from experience that it is not much fun having to swim in and hook on a tow strap, then have to be towed all the way home.
The same goes for the beach down there.
It is incredibly soft and we see it happen usually once or twice a year, cars get stuck at the low water mark, tide comes in and it is goodbye shiny new 4×4.
Out the other end of Canunda, the Beachport Salmon Hole is still producing some lovely fish most evenings.
The day bite is tricky and it seems to be the best time for bait fishos to get into them, where as those flicking lures are best off waiting until later in the afternoon.
A few of the keen gar fishos have made the most of the limited breaks in the weather to get out and have a crack and although it has been tough fishing with the conditions not quite perfect, there are fish there in both reasonable size and numbers.
In these conditions, areas with a bit of protection from those strong northerlies such as Cape Douglas and Hutt Bay are worth a crack.
The more exposed areas like Livingstons and Petrified Forrest are better fished in calmer conditions.
There have been quite a few fishos heading inland for a fish while the weather is so rough along the coast.
If it is trout you are after, the stocked lakes at Casterton and Coleraine are great fun for the kids and hold good numbers of fish.
Both are easily accessible and make for a great day out.
If murray cod are more your thing, Rocklands Reservoir, Lake Charlegrark and even Taylors Lake near Horsham are definitely worth a crack.
Lake Charlegrark is easily fished from the bank and offers excellent camping facilities, where as Rocklands and Taylors Lakes are better fished by boat.
It is exciting to hear Lake Toolondo has hit 50 percent capacity after a number of years where it was not much more than a puddle.
Trout have been restocked and they are growing pretty quickly too.
Hopefully we see the trend keep on going, more water going back into the lake and it become the home of the trophy trout that I remember when I was a kid.
The Glenelg River has been on fire this week for bream fishos.
I have seen plenty of chunky bream from the full length of the river and the average size this past week has been nothing short of impressive.
Bait fishos have had the edge this week and with big seas pushing in some nice blue water from the ocean, it seems to be making the fish hungry.
Cut crab has been dynamite for fishos chasing the bream and I have heard of these really nice fish being spread out from the estuary in that Holloways Drain and Popes Nose area, all the way up through to the mid-section landings such as McLennans Punt and Hutchessons.
The big seas and big tides have seen massive amounts of water pushed up the river with each tide cycle.
While it might look like the river has blocked up again, it is still open.
Mother Nature is just doing her thing.
The forecast for the weekend is not much better than our last one,al though there is some decent stuff on the horizon.
We should see the swell and wind start to settle down later in the weekend and hopefully the offshore guys can get back into it.
Until next week, safe fishing.
