Well another week of fishing has passed in the south west and again we were plagued by foul weather and sketchy conditions.
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There were a couple of fishable days mixed in between these bad days and some nice fish were landed during these.
OFFSHORE: The hype in the shop this week has been the welcome return of the school Bluefin tuna that have showed their faces again ready to torment the bait schools over the summer.
Local tuna guru Scott Gray has been nailing some nice fish on Nomad Riptide stick baits in the 105mm size range cast into the schools of busting fish.
Sam Powell also got stuck into these speedy bullets but trolled a couple up on Halco Lazer Pro's and skirts.
Pete Kavanagh also enjoyed a quick hour session on the school fish, bagging out in quick time before returning back to port.
Usually the first run of fish are feeding on smaller baits and are pretty timid when it comes to eating bigger lures so downsizing your gear will put you in good stead for some great sessions.
The Black Magic Jetsetter in Burple colour has been a standout for years along with the Pakula Micro Uzi in crystal flash colour especially when these fish start feeding on white bait in close.
If you're new to this type of fishing and want to get set up we have everything you need and even have combos set up ready to go with lures and leaders attached.
We have the biggest and best range of stick baits in the south west and a great selection of skirts that are sure to put a bend in your rod this summer.
In other offshore reports there has been some more decent captures of gummy shark and snapper which is what Salty Dog Charters at Port Fairy encountered on a recent trip.
A nice mixed bag of gummies, snapper, flathead and a nice morwong hitting the deck for some very happy customers. Jeff Dimech and his mates headed off Warrnambool last week and got stuck into some nice snapper and a few solid nannygai on jigs.
I recently attended St Joseph's Primary School's water safety day for years five and six down at the Hopkins River, where we took four groups of excited students fishing. It was the first time some of them had been out.
ESTUARIES: I recently attended St Joseph's Primary School's water safety day for years five and six down at the Hopkins River, where we took four groups of excited students fishing. It was the first time some of them had been out. It was a great success with more than 50 fish landed and most catching one. Mark Gercovich and myself taught the students how to cast, how to hook a fish and also how to bait up their hooks. There were lots of smiles and excited kids after each session, which is a great sight as they are the future of angling. If your child's school is looking to do something different and would like to book in a fishing clinic then email me at fishing@richardsonmarine.com.au and we can work out a time and date that suits.
The Hopkins has again been producing some great fishing lately for bream and estuary perch and with the very clean water that is coming in through the mouth over the past week I think it's only a matter of time until someone lands a great mulloway to kick off the season.
The bream have been spread right through the system of late and should continue to do so for the next few months.
The majority of fish have been getting caught down the bottom half of the system from Deakin to the mouth and have been taking most softer baits such as worms, brown shell meat, peeled prawn and glassies.
FRESHWATER: With the recent cold snap around the district the trout have fired back up just after we thought it was all over and done with. Lee Sutton landed a cracker from the Merri late last week casting a soft plastic. Colby Lesko has been sight casting some big fish on fly also lately.
The Hopkins and Merri Rivers have both been producing some nice fish both in the running water and the deeper pools. This time of year small soft plastics such as the Entice nymphs are perfect for these fish as it imitates the small insects that get stuck in the water.
Lake Gillear has been fishing well for small rainbow trout by those trolling Tassie Devils and shallow hard bodies along the weed edges.
The redfin have also continued to fish well but those big fish we saw a couple weeks ago seem to be hiding from us all. It might be that they have moved into the deeper sections of the lake where a sounder is needed to locate them. Hopefully the weather can improve and these fish move back into the shallows and we can get stuck into them again.
The long range forecast shows some warmer weather on its way and some good fishing ahead. Until next week tight lines and best of luck.
Have you landed a great catch recently? We'd love to see it. Send your fishing pictures along with a few details about the catch to fishing@richardsonmarine.com.au
