Skip to content

Mount Gambier

Spot On Fishing Tackle & Outdoors Mt Gambier 

South East Fishing Report - 25th March 2024

Matt Bell with an Aussie bass.

 

Quite a pleasant weekend across the South East saw plenty of fishos hit the water and wet a line. There was opportunities to head offshore for the bigger boats, while the smaller vessels stayed in around the kelp beds. The surf fishos and river fishos all had a great weekend, so there’s plenty to cover this week.

Offshore fishos had plenty on when they headed out late last week and over the weekend, with plenty of shark being caught in that 50mt through to 100mt depth. Both gummy and school shark have both been reported and the majority have been those perfect eater size fish at 12kg- 16kg, though there are some much bigger samples there too. Anglers have been having a crack with the metal jigs in recent weeks and finding some lovely flathead, snapper, nannygai and other mixed bottom fish. Theres no secret weapon jig out there, but anything from 80g through to 150g in slow pitch or knife style seems to be getting the bites, so just mix it up while you’re out there next and you’ll soon see why some anglers hardly fish baits anymore! There is still no tuna news despite the signs being as strong as you could possibly want, but no one is concerned just yet, we’re still early in the season, and we’ve got plenty of other species on the cards at the moment!

Inshore reef fishing has remained solid again this week. More snapper reports have come through from Green Point all the way through to Carpenter Rocks and beyond. I know I’ve said it before, but I don’t think I can recall a snapper season as good as this one has been. It almost doesn’t matter where you pull up at the moment, you can’t help but catch a few snapper. The average size of fish has been pretty good, with the bulk of fish being those 50cm – 60cm fish, but we are seeing pictures of some really nice ones, some up around that 70cm mark, which is a damn good fish in anyone’s books! Its not all snapper though for the inshore guys, a few shark have been floating around, as have the odd whiting, snook, salmon and squid.

Surf fishos have been into the fish again this week, with snapper again being the most prolific species. Nene Valley has been super productive all year, and this past week has been no different. From Jones’s Bay through to Blackfellows Caves, the beach down there has been super productive all through the warmer months and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing at all. We’re seeing some reasonable shark from the beaches too this past week or so. Flynn Thomas has been into the gummy shark, landing a few beauties from the Paradise area. Guys who have downsized their beach gear have found some nice whiting in the surf, and we’re also seeing a few flathead and big silver trevally starting to poke their heads up. 

Boaties targeting whiting have been finding some lovely fish this week. The Port MacDonnell Breakwater has been alive and kicking, with some excellent fish coming from down there. Move around until you find them has been the best bet to make sure you take home a feed. Its not only the boaties getting the whiting down there, the jetty fishos have found their fair share of nice whiting over the past few days too. Small 1/0 black magic circle hooks with a cockle or a strip of squid have been getting the bites, and along with the whiting, you’ll also find trevally, salmon trout, mullet and snapper just to name a few. Other areas we’ve seen whiting this week have been Cape Douglas, Blackfellows Caves and Carpenter Rocks, and they’ve been boat and land-based captures.

The garfish this week have again been in good touch. Plenty of nice gar have come from the Livingstons and Cape Douglas areas again, and the size has been very respectable. Wading or in the tinny, it hasn’t seemed to matter too much, the fish have been very wide spread and accessible for most. There are also plenty of mullet and tommy ruff on offer too for fishos.

The inland fishing over the last weekend was pretty good for most. Rocklands will be a hive of activity for the easter break, but there’s a lot of room over there, and plenty of water, you don’t have to camp on top of one and other! The fishing has been fairly good over there, Matt and Alex Bell spent a few nights over there with the family and found some jumbo aussie bass on a mixture of surface and hard bodied lures, with some of their fish up over 53cm, which is an absolute beast! The cod and yellowbelly were tricky, but warm water and low barometer will almost always have that effect on things!

The Glenelg River has been blocked for probably on a month now, and the water is slowly starting to rise. The fishing has been great for the bream and perch guys, with both species very happy to crunch a lure or take a bait. They’re all very spread out at the moment, from the estuary to the sticks way up high, it doesn’t seem to matter, there are fish everywhere! The mulloway are a bit of a different beast to the bream and perch, and while there might be plenty down there, getting them to bite can be the hard part. If you watch your sounder, you’d think it was in simulator mode there is that many fish showing, but when they’re not feeding, it doesn’t matter what you put in front of them! There has been the odd mulloway caught up higher in the river, around the Donovans and Dry Creek area on lures, but there hasn’t been a lot of size to them just yet. The Brad Manser Memorial fishing comp was held over the weekend up at Wilsons Hall, and there was a good amount of fish caught between the competitors. Dal Humphries won the seniors section, Olivia Saffin took the chocolates in the juniors category, and youngster Levi Hill won the hotly contested kids crab competition. Its great to see so many families and kids down wetting a line for the weekend and making the most of the lovely weather. 

The easter forecast looks like it’s going to warm up again come good Friday, then we might get a bit of rain in the following days. 

If you’re hitting the road this easter, travel safe and have a great easter break! We’re open every day over the long weekend, so if you are fishing, we’ve got you covered!

Until next week, safe fishing!

Happy Easter!

Coatsy.