If there was ever a switch for when fish fed and didn't, someone definitely pushed the bite button last week and the catches that were seen definitely showed that.
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Offshore fished great, the rivers fired up and the lakes fished well also, which made for great fishing all round - so let's dive into a bumper report.
OFFSHORE
With a week where the sea was relatively calm for this time of year, anglers who headed out got some cracking catches.
Jan and JP Oosthuizen headed out fishing with Sam Powell, and the boys landed some quality catches including a great Tassie trump by Jan. Plus, something that isn't all that common in a 19.8kg sampson fish by eight-year-old JP, which is the first weighed by a Warrnambool Offshore and Light Game club member.
After JP landed this fish, he sat in the chair put his feet up and said to the other boys: "I think I'm done for the day." Great to see kids out and passionate about fishing instead getting their heads stuck in their iPad.
Another young angler that has really taken a keen interest to fishing is young Liam Smith, who has been fishing with his Dad Barry off Port Fairy. The boys got a great mixed bag of gummies, school shark, saw shark and some nice pinkies all on squid and pilchards.
The shark fishing on the bottom lately has been incredible with nearly all that have been chasing these tasty fish being rewarded.
Shark gods Peter Goode and Stephen Rhook have been at it again over last weekend, where Rhooky landed a nice mako shark estimated at 60-odd kilo on 15kg gear. The boys had Peter Smith onboard that day, and they all got their bag of gummies and school shark so a great day out for all. If you're looking to chase a feed of shark and want to know what bait to use then we can certainly help you out there.
Pilchards, squid, wrasse and tuna fillets have all accounted for plenty of shark over the last week so these would be a great starting point.
Fishing circle hooks is essential this time of year, as the toothy critters such as school shark and seven gill shark will just slice straight through your leader if hooked deep.
When using circle hooks, you can skimp a bit of leader but you still want something fairly heavy for just in case a shark rolls up the line with their rough skin.
Along with the insane bottom fishing lately, there has been stacks of school tuna being landed which is exactly what happened to Phil Pirotta who had a day to remember landing 30-odd fish on his own off Warrnambool. These fish took everything from stick baits, skirts and hard bodies, which is a great sign for anyone wanting to chase them over this weekend.
The slightest bit of bird action lately has been enough to give them away for prospecting anglers, so keeping an eye out for any life on the horizon.
ESTUARIES
The Glenelg River has fired up this past week and a bit, with some quality mulloway being landed by some very happy anglers. Fish in excess of 25lb have been caught throughout the river including Taylors Straight, Dry Creek and up above Sapling Creek.
Cut baits fished long into the night such as tuna, mackerel and mullet have all been catching some great fish. Some anglers fish baitrunners for them, as it allows you to straight away fight the fish after their initial run with some decent pressure without having to fiddle with the drag knob. If baitrunners aren't your thing, then a standard 4000 size reel will be sufficient with either some good quality mono or braid.
Trolling lures such as the Samaki Redic deep diving minnows and other deep divers along the rock walls.
The Hopkins River has been slow again this week. Some dirty water has come down, which is currently sitting around Deakin. There is some really clear water up from that around Jubilee Park which indicates the run off has slowed somewhere in the chain, so this dirty water may just be enough to fire the fish back up again after a couple of lean weeks.
The Curdies River is still fishing very well for bream right throughout the system, but the rising water levels is starting to become an issue. The majority of boats have been launching from Peterborough and driving up into the river from there. The water is that high that most boats are going to struggle to get under the bridge at Boggy Creek, but most of the action has been coming from below there anyway so it's not a big issue.
Soft plastics and vibes have been the staple lure cast by anglers using lures.
For the bait fishermen, the old favourite in the Curdies shrimp have been accounting for plenty of fish too.
FRESHWATER
The Junction on the Hopkins River has been giving up some nice healthy brown trout this past week. This will only continue once the water begins to dirty up and we receive more rain.
Casting soft plastics into the deeper pools will land you some nice trout, while casting hardbodies up into the runs is also getting some quality fish. The crater lakes at Camperdown has seen some quality trout coming out of it by anglers trolling, both hard bodies and live minnow flat lining along the top of the water.
Some very big fish have been hooked and lost at the side of the boat, which indicates that we are in for a cracker season again after a lean year last year.
Lake Bullen Merri has been producing some nice rainbow trout to 2kg by anglers fishing from the bank using white bait or glassies.
There have been reports of some big bass frames sighted at the ramp also, so hopefully some more 2kg-plus models become more regular.
With the weekend's weather looking great for offshore fishing, I'm sure we will see some more great captures in next week's report.
Until then, tight lines and best of luck.
