Well summer is finally here! We've been treated to a few warm, flat days this week and both the inland and offshore fishing scenes have shone like the sun. There's one fishery in particular this week which stood out so keep reading on to find out where that might be!
Saltwater: despite a few flat days, there wasn't a lot of offshore reports coming in. Tuna are still in that change over period between summer school fish and wintertime barrels, and local reports have been non-existent (however fish are popping up out in SA and the surf coast). Kingfish reports are also quiet although we suspect there may be a few anglers finding fish but keeping things quiet. A small spike in water temperature into the mid 17 range is a push in the right direction, and should see the North Shore begin to fill with fish soon. Check out last week's North Shore article on our website for a full guide on how to fish this area, not only for kings but also tuna, whiting, sharks and snapper. The flat days have also allowed quite a few keen divers to jump in and search for crays. Guys such as Scott Gray, Cal Smythe and Mick Mahney all got amongst the local crays this week, getting their Christmas lunch sorted nice and early. The Warrnambool Breakwater has been going surprisingly well this week, with quite a few nice whiting, salmon, flathead, trevally, pinkie snapper and squid all coming in. It's rare to see many reports from this spot despite the amount of people that fish it, so to hear so much in one week is a sign that things are going well. If you're keen to have a try with the kids, get a couple of light rods (people fish way too heavy here!) with 6lb line, a bag of berley pellets, and use a small paternoster rig with pilchard cubes or half a pippy for bait off the wooden side jetty. It's an easy way to get amongst a few fish, and usually the simpler the better down there.
Estuary: The Hopkins continues to produce a few bream and perch, with the Jubilee Park to Tooram Stones area being best (in particular, the pass). Another river which has been quite good is the Moyne, around Port Fairy. Any of the jetties or the footbridge around the marina/boat ramp area will produce bream, trevally, salmon, pinkie snapper and mulloway on the right tide when using small soft plastics or vibes. Pick the wrong tide however and you may have to deal with excess seagrass weed flowing down from upstream, or dirty water. If you're looking for estuary fishing ideas this weekend, the Warrnambool and District Angling Club is holding their Dinney Chapman Perch Comp which starts at 5pm Saturday 9th and finishes the next day at 10am. The Curdies, Hopkins, Merri, Moyne, Yambuk and Fitzroy rivers are all allowed to be fished.
Freshwater: The standout fishery this week has been the mighty Rocklands Reservoir! Lots of yellowbelly, redfin and cod have been coming in this week, with all anglers seeming to find a few. Bait, lures, boat or bank, they're all producing. Mick Mahney and his son Fergus headed up on a family trip with the boys all finding both yellowbelly and cod. A lot of the fish are coming on our very own scrubworms, or on Spinwright 1/4 or 3/8oz spinnerbaits in black/purple colour (a must have up there). Charlie Beggs also caught his first yellowbelly on the same lure this week. Richardson Marine will be heading up for our Christmas party this weekend so we will see if we can tangle with a few fish! Best of luck and tight lines until we see you next week.