Mount Gambier

A very fishable weekend across the Limestone Coast was enjoyed by plenty of fishos and water lovers. We saw some nice catches out of the river, the salt water and the fresh, so let’s get straight into it!

The offshore boaties made the most of the lovely weather and we saw plenty of fishos hitting the water. From jigging to bottom fishing, we saw a bit of everything. Jiggers who stopped in that 60m to 100m areas found some decent numbers and size snapper and nannygai, and it’s been a wide mixture of jigs getting the job done, but we hear so many fish coming from the Williamson slide dancers in the full range of colours, along with the Vexed range of bottom meats. Those chasing the shark in similar depths have been into some lovely shoolies, many still over that 20kg mark which is a great fish in anyone’s books. Gummies are a bit more spread out than the school shark, there’s no difference in baits, rigs or location between the two, there just seems to be so many more schoolies around at the moment. Big snapper have been coming through from the weekend, young fella Ryder Meek fished with his old man Justin on the weekend out there, he got his first snapper, a beast at 65cm! One to remember for sure!

Off the beach there was some cracking fish caught this week. Snapper have been on the radar for plenty of anglers, and it seems many of us have been waiting for the warmer weather to kick them off properly. Keen anglers Hamish and Rufus Bowman had a great arvo on Saturday at Nene Valley landing some nice snapper on their surf rods. I have seen a few others from down that way from the weekend, but the fish definitely aren’t only down there. Canunda NP, Browns Beach, Piccininni and even the Woolwash in Port Mac are all options well worth a look. There has been a few nice whiting from the sand too, productive areas being Cape Douglas, Blackfellows Caves and Carpenter Rocks.

Chasing gar was on the menu for fishos at the weekend, some great fish were caught by the boaties at Hutt Bay, Cape Douglas and Pelican Point. The waders got a feed too in the same areas, the boaties just had it a bit easier with that bit of breeze. Salmon trout and mullet are thick in some areas and have been giving the gar fishos a bit of a hard time, but it beats catching bugger all!

Squid fishos having a crack in Livingstons have had a hot and cold weekend. Some anglers are finding the feast, while others are in famine. Chasing the squid from the boats is great fun, find yourself 6-9 feet of water, steady burley if you want to, and either chuck them under floats or cast around, you’ll soon know if they’re there or not! Drifting is a good way to cover ground if space and wind allows, if not, sitting on the pick is often just as productive.

Whiting fishing from the boaties has been tricky, we need a bit of stir to colour up the water! I’ve still seen a few nice catches this week though, early mornings and later evenings will generally be more productive if the water is clear, so just change your tact a bit and you should still find a feed. Danger Point, Hutt Bay, Blackfellows Caves and Carpenter Rocks are all worth a look, and between the Y-Ting plastics, Vexed jigs and the humble old cockle, you cant go too far wrong!

Snapper fishing around the kelp inshore has been a bit like whiting this week, unless you beat the sun or stay ‘til dark, they really want a good stir to wake them up again. Good news is it looks like we won’t have to wait too long, there’s a little bit on the way. Fish in the high 60cm range and even better are still filtering through, and I expect the numbers and size will only get better from here forward. While the water is clean, the squid are in it, anglers are mentioning that they’re catching upwards of 6 or 8 squid a session, which is great for either the bait freezer or the dinner plate!

The Glenelg River has produced some nice bream and perch again this week, some of those better fish well over the 40cm mark. Bait fishos are finding crab, prawn and pilchard are working well, and the lure chuckers are still loving their natural coloured grubs and minnows, along with the deeper diving minnows. There is a bit of colour in the water at the moment, some anglers even describing it as muddy. With not a heap of rain forecast, I’d expect it will clear up fairly quickly, but who knows what mother nature will throw at us.

The forecast for the weekend is a bit breezy and a bit of drizzle, but as I’m sure you’re sick of me mentioning by now, we’re blessed with options. If the sea is too big of there’s too much wind, we’ve got the river and plenty of inland waterways we can get our fishing fix on, and all fairly close to home.

Until next week, safe fishing!

Coatsy.