Mount Gambier

A strong northerly for most of the weekend made the fishing a bit tricky for some, but having a reasonably flat sea meant that plenty of anglers still ventured out offshore. The rest of the week looks a bit different, but there is a glimmer of hope of some more fishable days coming later in the week. For now though, let’s get into this week’s report!

The Port MacDonnell Offshore Angling Club Tuna and Sportsfish Tournament has kicked off and although the tuna have been slow to start, we’ve seen some incredible shark fishing. Light line shark gurus Marcus Pearson and Kev McLoughlin have done it again, this time an 18.2kg schoolie on 1kg line. I know most of us struggle to even tie a knot in line so light, so for these guys to be landing sharks like that is a real testament to their angling abilities! Schoolies have been on the menu for plenty over the first few days with a handful already over that 20kg mark weighed in. Gummy sharks are mixed in with them too, though I haven’t heard of any real big ones just yet. The first and only tuna of the comp has been landed, and that was by gun charter operator Tyson Kain from Want To Fish charters, onboard his boat called J-Rod. The fish was only a 10kg model, BUT, it’s the one to beat so far! The comp runs for the remainder of the week, with weigh ins every arvo at 4pm down at the club rooms, so if you’re in the area, call in and check it out!

While we’re still talking offshore, there has been a couple of Port Mac Barrels caught this week. Jamie Widdison from Extreme Marine Charters put his clients onto a beauty around that 90k – 100kg mark, which is a ripper in anyone’s books. The bite area has been spread out, some fish have been straight out the front, whereas others have headed east. Depth has varied anywhere from 60mt through to 130mt+ but keep an eye out for birds, for bait and of course, the tuna!

Fishing off the beach wasn’t too bad over the weekend, the northerly was welcomed by plenty of anglers and in quite a few areas it has blown some of the weed away. We’re still seeing some nice snapper off the beach, with the average fish still being a very respectable 45cm – 50cm fish. There is still a few gummy shark being landed off the beach, most have come from the Nene Valley and Blackfellows Caves area, and a few in Canunda. Salmon have been in good numbers this week. They’ve been caught at Carpenter Rocks, Canunda and the Beachport Salmon Hole. The sun up and sun down periods have been the most productive, though if the sea is big and there’s plenty of water, I’d expect to see fish all day.

Whiting are still on the minds of quite a few fishos this week. With the big seas forecast, we’ll probably see quite a few even weighed in for the tuna comp. The Port Mac Breakwater is still producing some nice numbers and size fish, as is Cape Douglas and Hutt Bay. Little strips of octopus or cockles are the prime baits, but if you don’t find them pretty quickly, keep on the move.

Gar are another species we’ve seen plenty of this week. Again, inside the Port Mac Breakwater we’re seeing some very nice fish caught, and they’re from both the boats and the jetty. There is no secret to the gar, just keep a steady burley flowing and you can’t go wrong. Mullet, salmon trout and even the odd tommy ruff will no doubt join the party, so expect a few ring-ins!

The Glenelg River is producing more nice bream and perch this week, some of the better fish in both species have been well over 40cm. It doesn’t seem to matter if you fish high or low, the fish are feeding right throughout the river. Bjorn Mair and his mate Curtis Richardson fished the upper reaches around Dartmoor and found some excellent perch on top water lures, the best being a beast at 45cm! Closer to Nelson, those fishing the estuary and bridge area are still finding some nice perch and bream, and a mixture of baits and lures are getting the bites. Mulloway have been tricky to find this week, they’re there, we know where they are, we just have to find what they’re wanting to eat! The mouth is still blocked and steadily rising, so without risk of sounding like a broken record, BE CAREFUL on the landings, they’re bloody slippery!

The forecast looking forward to the weekend shows a massive improvement on weather to this week, lets hope the weather man gets it right!

Until next week, safe fishing!

Coatsy.