The fishing and the weather have been good, with good catches offshore and in the lake.

The offshore fishing has been exceptional, with kingfish, big tiger and sand flathead and gummy sharks all being caught.

There haven’t been many kingfish caught lately because the water temperature has been up and down like a yo-yo; 19º one day and 16º the next. But the fish will be back on once the water warms up.

This year’s run of offshore flathead has been exceptional with kilo fish the norm and plenty of fish to 2kg. Fish this size yield big, juicy fillets, keeping everyone happy.

Gummy sharks are also being caught, but not in big numbers. Most boats are encountering one or two and they’re very welcome.

The beach fishing has been a bit slow with mainly the odd small salmon.

With the water warming over coming months, the beach fishing for yellowfin bream and sand whiting should improve.

Most anglers fishing over the holidays noticed how much tougher the flathead fishing in the lake was this year.

One told me he had a great holiday but didn’t manage to fill his freezer, which he has done every year in the past. We all know it’s not a never-ending resource.

Locals are wondering when possession limits are going to be introduced to stop people leaving with a freezer full of fillets. People also find it unbelievable that the size limit for a dusky flathead is just 27cm, when half an hour up the coast in NSW the size is a respectable 37cm.

The Bottom Lake has been fishing well for a variety of species.

Yellowfin bream and sand whiting are being caught in the entrance area with fresh local prawn the gun bait.

Further out into the Top and Bottom lakes, bait fishers have been doing well on black bream and yellowfin bream with some good-sized snapper, whiting and tailor also featuring in catches.

Quality luderick are also being caught, mainly on green weed under floats in the tidal flow near the entrance.

Good numbers of prawns have been caught at night around the entrance and down at Betka. The prawns will get bigger and more prolific over coming months.