Mount Gambier

A cracking weekend weatherwise was a delight to fishos across the South East, the light winds and flat seas presented endless opportunities for boaties and land lovers, and by all reports, there was plenty caught.

The Port MacDonnell Offshore Angling Club’s Tuna and Sportsfish Tournament has been run and won for another year in what was probably the best year on record as far as weather goes! It wasn’t only the weather playing the game, the fish were excellent too. From tuna to sharks, bottom fish and everything in between, this comp had it all! There were some great tuna captures this year through the competition, and with fish ranging in size from 10kg through to 110kg, there was something for everyone! The bigger fish of the week were a very similar size, within about 10 or so kilos of one and other. A mixture of lures got the job done, Halco and Nomad diving minnows, TSH and Bonze skirts, along with a few other randoms got eaten, and its great to see some variety being dragged around. Georgia and Dewain Barrett had a week to remember on their new boat, both landing their first ever barrels in the competition. Tys Kain from Want To Fish Charters took a week off charter fishing to do some amateur fishing and boated some great fish over the week, landing over half a dozen, and tagging the majority for release. The interstate crews who travelled to Port Mac all did very well, Shane Sanders and Brodie Carter on Baitwaster boated a bit of everything, including barrel tuna, 100+kg mako sharks, school and gummy sharks, along with some nice fish off the bottom. Kevin McLoughlin and Marcus Pearson had a dream run this week, picking up boat champion for their class, meritorious shark capture awards, heavies of species awards and the men’s champion award. The boys landed a pair of pending Australian shark records, along with the unofficial best dressed award too! Ladies Champion this year was won by Jodie Taylor from Port Mac, who managed to land several of the available species during the week, which quickly saw her points scored racking up. The juniors were well represented this year, with plenty of boys and girls of all ages out there having a crack. There was some cracking fish caught by the juniors this year, including tuna, sharks, bottom fish and a few smaller species from inside the harbour. The winner this year was Madison Carlin from Port MacDonnell, she managed to win 5 of the heaviest of species categories, along with plenty of other point scoring fish. It’s a credit to the mums, dads, grandparents and everyone who takes the juniors out there, they’re the future of the sport so it’s very encouraging to see so many kids wetting a line.

There has been plenty of nice fish caught this week off the beach around the South East. The shark have been in good numbers from Piccininni through to Browns, and out the other end in Canunda. School shark have been the most prevalent, but we are still seeing gummies mixed in with them. Fish to 15kg are being caught, which are rippers from the sand, so hopefully we see them continue. We’re starting to see the salmon pick up just as we’d expect for this time of year. Usual haunts such as Cape Banks, Canunda and the Beachport Salmon Hole have produced, and as we get deeper into the cooler months, we’ll see more and more fish turning up.

Inshore fishing from the boats this week has seen some cracker sharks come from the shallows. The Green and Danger Point areas have been very productive for most, with the rough, rubbly bottom around the kelp beds being the most productive areas. Theres no secret to it, just get some burley flowing, nicely presented baits and hang on! There are more than just sharks down there though, you’re a chance at snapper, salmon, trevally or even a crayfish on the rod, just to name a few.

The whiting fishing is continuing to impress again this week, there has been some lovely fish from the Nene Valley area off the beach, and the boaties have done well around Carpenter Rocks. Inside the Port MacDonnell Breakwater were still seeing a few reasonable fish landed, but there has been no shortage of smaller fish mixed in with them. There has been plenty of silver trevally, salmon trout and mullet mixed in with the whiting, so you never know what might pop up.

The garfishing has continued this week with many anglers finding some good numbers of fish through Cape Douglas and Hutt Bay. The fishing at Livingstons has been a little quiet for some, but the fish are there and will bounce back quickly. As mentioned with the whiting fishing, the bycatch is broad, tommy ruff, salmon trout and mullet are all about the place and in good numbers, so expect a few extras!

The Glenelg River has been pretty reliable for people looking to catch a few fish. The jetties from the lower reaches all the way to the top sections have been productive, and at all times of the day. Prawns or pilchards have been the most popular baits off the jetties the past week or two, but if you can get a few crabs or fresh whitebait, you’ll also do well. Mulloway news is light on again, and aside from a handful of smaller fish being caught here and there, there hasn’t been anything notable to mention just yet! Things have stabilized in the river now, and I think once we see a bit of rain upstream and the river get some colour, we’ll be off and running.

The forecast for the coming weekend looks like we should see some fishable weather, even tough there is a bit of wind forecast. Just check the up-to-date report before you head out and make the call.

Until next week, safe fishing!

Coatsy.