The search for bluewater beasts attracting anglers from near and far

The buzz of the tuna is well and truly full on, with boat ramps packed and tempers high. I thought I would start off by giving you some tips to speed up how long it takes you to launch and retrieve your boat and not get into any bad situations.

First thing's first; please don't be that person blocking the boat ramp to get your rods ready. Pull to the side and get them into the boat or while you're in line then do it.

Take all necessary straps off while in line waiting, as this can be one of the slower parts of launching a boat.

If you're launching with someone that can't reverse a trailer or drive a boat, then have them drive the car out from the ramp. Nothing worse than having a crew holding everyone up by just watching their mate do all the work.

One small thing that can make a huge difference in launching a boat when the ramp is busy and one that is often overlooked is turning your lights off on the car, so the guy next to you can see their own trailer and the ramp.

Once you've launched the boat don't tie up to the inside of the ramp, as this will make any boater furious.

When parking the trailer and car after launching, make sure that you don't block anyone else in, don't park over a driveway or anything like that. If you stick to these simple steps, you will have no dramas at the ramp.

Anyway let's get stuck into what has been getting brought back to these said ramps.

Both school bluefin and the huge fish that we expect this time of year are being brought in right throughout the coast now. Last week, the bite seemed to be more off Port Fairy, but this week, there is more fish being caught from outside this area. Portland has seen some great fish both East and West of the harbour in all size classes of fish. The captures of multiple 100kg plus fish from Port MacDonnell has seen the South Australian guys dust off the gear and hit them up with some nice fish being taken. Some keen Victorian anglers are also making the trek down the highway in search of these same fish. Even though Port Fairy is a lot quieter than last week in terms of fish and boats, there are still some great fish being landed.

Xavier Ellul caught a 100kg fish after a 4m Great White tried to take a chunk. The fish took a Jaks Zeus that was worked around a bait ball. This has been the preferred way to target them recently, along with the obvious signs of birds bombing straight down through these bait balls. What anglers have been doing is pushing wider and wider to find the clean water after a lot of dirty water (green water) pushed in close, and with that, everything shifted outwards.

One crew that struck a good patch of school tuna to 25kg were Shaun Johnson, Angelique Reeves and Trae Reeves. Trolling lures off Port Fairy in perfect conditions, they scored three nice fish. It hasn't all been pelagics on everyone's mind, with a fair few still trying their luck for gummy shark and school shark. Tony Read took out his son Baxter and his mate Jacob Scott off Warrnambool on Wednesday, with both of them catching a good shark each. One school shark and a gummy, which were both caught on squid and out of relatively shallow water. Hopefully, it's the start of the run of big shark we see every year.

The Hopkins is full again, but talking to the catchment authority, they will leave it as is until after the long weekend, giving everyone a chance to hit the water and get a feed. The past week has seen some great fish caught up and down the river on both lures and baits. If you're wanting to use bait, I would suggest going to Killarney and pumping some clickers or spew worms. These soft baits are a great option for bream, estuary perch and mulloway and can provide non-stop action when they are on them. Target the perch using clickers, under a float or unweighted cast, into the many rock walls and slowly wind out. The bream can be targeted on the same technique but also with a small sinker running on the bottom. The downside to these soft baits is that they often get pulled off the hook without you even having a chance of setting the hook. A hook such as a bait holder or a long shank is perfect for these clickers, as they allow you to stretch the bait out on the hook and have plenty of hook exposure. Best areas have been from Mahoney's Road down to the mouth.

Mason Hunt, Noah McNaughton and Jack Kelson have been getting stuck into some nice bream off the bank during school holidays. Mason landed a nice 40cm fish from the Mahoney's Road boat ramp on the only lure he took with him after leaving his bag at home.

Lake Purrumbete fished well on Sunday for Adam Fraser from the Tackle Shack and his partner Kylie. Using live minnows, first they scored some nice redfin down deep into the many schools of fish. Landing around 20 fish, they soon started trolling some Tassie Devils in search of a trout or salmon. After a short while, they had landed two nice, healthy rainbow trout on Adam's old faithful pink Tassie. Some anglers have been catching cricket scores of reddies the past couple weeks. The other awesome captures have been the many Cheetah and Tiger Trout on lures being cast and trolled along the weed beds. Typically a more feisty critter than the browns and rainbows, these fish put up a great show both above and below the water.

Typically a more feisty critter than the browns and rainbows, these fish put up a great show both above and below the water. If you've never targeted any of these great freshwater fish and would like to know how to, then call up Mick at Victorian Inland Fishing Charters and book a day out with him on 0402347515.

Hope everyone has a great Easter break and can get stretched on a rod somewhere over the long weekend.

Until next week tight lines and best of luck.