October is often seen as the beginning of some of the new warmer season fish like snapper, mulloway and whiting. But at the moment those options seem a lifetime away as we battle our way through an old fashioned wet winter!

Hopefully the weather will be improving and other angling options will begin to take shape. During the last few seasons late October has seen some quality snapper in the 3-5kg bracket taken out from Warrnambool in the 30-40m range. This season will hopefully see a return of these fish, as most snapper taken locally are usually less than 2kg.

There is often some good gummies and school sharks mixed amongst them. Gummy sharks have continued to be taken right throughout the cooler months, on the occasions when you can get out after them. Days when there is little wind and drift make for good gummy fishing, and there has been precious few of these recently.

Some quality trout have been taken in the Lower Merri recently but not in great numbers. Nick Murrel caught a magnificent 66cm model recently on Daiwa DR minnow. There should still be good trout fishing available in October after the wet winter. The coming month also offers a real chance to run into a true searun trout.

As the rivers have been dirty local lakes such as Gillear, Ellingamite and Aringa have been producing some good redfin. Bream and estuary perch should also be starting to move back into the shallower margins and respond to appropriate techniques, if it ever stops raining.

Around the end of August the estuaries were very dirty brown with around 2-3m of freshwater lying on top of the salt wedge. Hardy bait anglers who braved the conditions took some good bream on cut mullet and crab in the ski lane area. A few perch have also been taking vibe lures in the same area.

October is often a good month to do some surf fishing. There is still the chance of some good salmon being around while the summer species such as pinky snapper and various shark species should also be an option. A calm evening on Yambuck, Fitzroy, Logans or the Cutting beaches could provide some good action.

This month is also a good time to target silver trevally in places such as the Moyne River, Killarney Bay and Port Campbell jetty. However Port Campbell jetty will be closed due to the construction of a replacement launching crane and jetty stabilisation works. The jetty is scheduled to reopen on Friday 28th of October.

The Hopkins River plays host to the final leg of the Victorian BREAM tournament series on October 15-16. Get down and have a look at all the latest gear and boats that are on show and most guys are only happy to help out with any questions if you’re looking to get into lure casting for bream.