Summer has well and truly hit and the fishing seems to be getting better as the temperature rises.

There has been a lot said and written about the mako shark ban, let’s hope that sanity prevails.

The annual run of salmon feeding in and around the rip at Port Philip Heads is well under way.

The fish started later than normal this season, so lets hope they hang around longer. I went fishing for salmon with a mate the other day using flies and lures and had an absolute blast.

Remember that you are meant to be out there to have fun and if someone gets in the way or runs over your lure or nearly runs into you, you should try to laugh it off.

Small white Occy lures are working well. Troll these at around 5knots and around the OUTSIDE of the busting up school of fish, not through the middle of them!

If you are not sure of what to do then hang off from the rest of the boats and watch for a while and see if there is a pattern and then join in.

While we were changing lures the other day, Bill noticed that the fish were schooled up and hanging on the bottom. We tied on a couple of heavier jig heads and sent them down to the school and got hook-up after hook-up while the other boats were trolling around aimlessly.

Remember to limit your catch and not catch your limit

Flathead is still plentiful off shore in between 35-45m of water east of the rip.

If you are unsure of where that is just look for the charter boats. If you are into the soft plastics and want a shot at a big flattie then give the entrance to Swan Bay a shot.

Remember that most of Swan Bay is Marine Park so keep an eye out for the signs and be sure that you are doing the right thing.

Speaking of the right thing to do when you catch that 90cm flathead, be sure to put it back. These are the big female breeders and if we keep them all, then there won’t be so many flathead.

The good old snapper just keep on stepping up to the plate, and we are still catching them in good numbers.

50m of water in front of Barwon Heads is always a good spot to start. Be ready to try a few spots and keep an eye on your sounder for schooling up fish.

The rumour mill is running hot when it comes to kingfish. Remember that where there is smoke there is fire. A few strong reports have been coming through.

If you want to chase them then I would be trolling my lures in close between Point Lonsdale and Barwon Heads.

But don’t tell anyone that I told you.

If you have any reports or cool pics you can contact me at --e-mail address hidden--