Limited opportunity for anglers to head offshore had some venturing away from the South West to get their fix this week but there still were some nice fish taken both offshore and inland.
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Offshore: The great snapper run continued this past week for majority of anglers that took their chance to get out offshore from Warrnambool and Port Fairy.
Our workshop manager Tom and fabricator Cam headed out on Saturday morning for some great fishing. The boys were using Black Magic Snapper Snacks which were out fishing standard rigs 10 to 1.
Cam landed the biggest fish of the day measuring over 70cm which took a liking to our fresh squid on the snapper snacks.
Tom said that these rigs are unbelievable and he couldn't believe how well they were working.
Sergio Bachetti headed out on Saturday also for a nice feed of snapper and a nice nannygai off Warrnambool in 38m of water.
Peter Goode and Rhookie have also been getting stuck into the snapper and gummies off Warrnambool with a fair few fish being over the 40cm where you can only have three over that which they began releasing fish after their bag.
The squid reports have been coming in thick and fast the past week from right around the coast
Fresh squid has definitely been the standout bait for those targeting the snapper lately along with the gummies. Sam Powell snuck out on Friday night before the thunderstorm hit and got a great 16kg gummy on a Black Magic Snapper Snatcher before having to fly back in when the heavy rain hit.
The squid reports have been coming in thick and fast the past week from right around the coast.
Port Fairy, Killarney and the Warrnambool Breakwater has been producing some great squid and will continue to do so through to the end of summer as the water temperature rises.
Many of our customers are venturing to Port Phillip Bay to take advantage of the annual snapper run and the annual migration of squid into the bay where they spawn.
Huge numbers of squid and snapper have been caught by those taking the time to find the fish on their sounders and berleying hard to get the fish feeding.
When targeting squid fish either side of the tide and look for broken ground of weed and sand patches where the squid will lay their eggs and sit over them.
The most productive technique is to drift over the weed beds casting a squid jig in 3-3.5 size range.
It's also worthwhile having a squid spike out the back with a silver whiting under a float. If you find a few squid then keep doing that drift pattern until it dries up then move slightly away from that area until you find some more.
Estuaries: The Hopkins River has been hard work the past week for those targeting bream and Eps which could be a combination of a few factors. The fish that anglers are landing have spawn inside them so that is probably a major factor in why the fish have shut down compared to past weeks.
Blue water has graced the bottom section and has really cleaned it up. The Mulloway fishos have swung into action and have begun to gear up for them as it was this time last year that we saw them being caught. Reports of them being in there but none have been landed that I know of.
There was a report of a 40lb fish taken from the river but that wasn't factual from what I have found out from good sources. No doubt that they are in there but a capture hasn't happened yet.
The bream and Eps that have been caught have been from the mouth to Deakin, which could be a result of the good clean water coming through the entrance. Tim Vincent landed a great 40+cm fish on a popper on Tuesday around Proudfoots, which is an early sign of a great top water season.
Please remember that during this time we should do everything we can to make sure that a minimal amount of fish are taken from the river so that generations to come can enjoy the great fishing also. By all means take a feed if you want to, just limit the numbers that are kept and make sure that safe handling of these fish are at the front of mind.
Freshwater: Tim Treloar landed a huge redfin on Tuesday night measuring 49cm and weighing 1.85kg which is a serious fish in anyone's books.
There have been some good trout captures also this week both in the Hopkins and Merri rivers on both soft plastics and hard bodied lures. Anglers casting the Enticer 2" bugs on a light weight jighead have been getting some nice fish to 3lb.
Fishing the weed beds has been the most productive technique where anglers have been casting along the front of them and slowly working them back in front of the holding fish.
Unfortunately this weekend's weather report looks a write off again for the offshore fisherman with some nasty winds and the swell kicking up.
Hopefully you get out for a fish and don't forget to send your pics through to fishing@richardsonmarine.com.au. Until next week tight lines and best of luck.