Constant windy weather is wearing thin for anglers

To fuel the obsession with fishing, a lot of anglers have been hitting the beach and rivers just to wet a line.

As I mentioned, the opportunity to hit the offshore grounds has been limited due to high winds and small windows of opportunity.

When there has been a weather window, there have been some great captures, so the potential is certainly there.

One angler that took advantage of the small window was the crew of Allistar and Ollie Sharp, who took Toby Hellessey out for some snapper in close. The boys were determined to target the snapper on soft plastics and it didn't take long for Ollie to be hooked up to a 52cm fish on a Daiwa Bait Junkie 5" Jerk Shad.

While watching Ollie fight his fish, Toby had his sitting in the rod holder when it buckled and went nuts. After fighting it back to the boat, a 55cm snapper surfaced, leaving Toby stoked.

It's great to see young kids getting out and trying new things and them working really well.

One other fish that has been keeping anglers' rods bent is the whiting in the shallow water surrounding Killarney, Port Fairy and Warrnambool.

Cody Kelly had a great session over at Killarney on the whiting, salmon and a couple of mullet also. Using pippies for bait, which has been the standout bait for a few years now, he certainly stocked up the freezer.

One absentee lately has been the small snapper that was bugging anglers.

The Hopkins River is very high at present and looks to be opened on Thursday. This hasn't deterred the fishing, with some great bream and perch being landed right throughout the system.

Toorum Stones has seen the eps belting surface lures and shallow running hard bodies cast up on top of the stones.

Unfortunately, there have been some big fish that have won their freedom after being on the wrong side of a rock or snag when hooked.

Tim Vincent had a great session in his kayak recently, where he landed multiple bream and perch on a range of surface and plastics.

Slick Pemberton ventured out in his honey hole, as he likes to call it, and got some beautiful bream up to 1.2kg on crabs. His best 10 went a smidge under 10kg and really came on the chew in the middle of the day after a quiet start.

There is a stack of bait in the system, so that tells me it's really healthy - even with the amount of water in there.

Unfortunately, a group decided it was up to them to try and open the system by digging a trench between the ocean and the estuary but, thankfully, they were stopped and told to fill it back in by some members of the Glenelg Hopkins CMA.

It still baffles me that people think it's ok to open a blocked river without knowing the consequences if the water quality isn't right.

The Gellibrand River at Princetown was one system that a member of the public thought it was a good idea to open - only to have one of the biggest fish kills our area has seen. Unfortunately, to this day, the system really hasn't recovered properly due to the river being opened at the wrong time.

It is an offence to open the rivers without permission and can lead to jail time, so best to leave it to the professionals, who actually know when to open them.

The Merri River is to get a facelift up at the Bromfield Weir, with its removal set to begin in the next year or so.

Multiple studies have been undertaken to determine the effect of these structures and they actually affect the migratory patterns of fish, so it will be a great thing to happen to the Merri both upstream and downstream. If you have some concerns regarding these movements, you can get in touch with the Glenelg Hopkins CMA.

The upper Merri has been producing some nice trout for those casting shallow running hard bodies and casting fly. Max Kandage caught his first trout on the fly up at Woodford behind the school - a very respectable 52cm model.

Many fly fisherman are still yet to catch a trout on the fly, and for someone so young, who taught himself, it's a real credit to his determination.

Saturday looks to be the pick of the days to head offshore for a bottom fish or a search for some school tuna, with the swell under 2m and relatively light winds.

The Hopkins may take some time to stabilise after being opened, if it goes ahead, but sometimes a running system for a couple of days can really get them going.

Until next week, tight lines and best of luck.

Don't forget about our Barrel Tuna night coming up on April 1 at Richardson Marine. The night will be an information-packed couple of hours where charter operators Matthew Hunt and Dan Hoey will spill the beans on what makes them so successful at targeting these huge fish.

We will have over $2500 worth of giveaways and also tea will be provided in your $10 admission price. The night will begin at 6pm, so get your RSVPs in.

Thanks to our sponsors for making this night possible: JB Lures, Colorato Lures, Bonze Lures, Wilson Fishing, Australian Fishing Network, Tuna Champions and Nomad Tackle