The reports coming from this part of the world are all positive.

There has been good news from the boat storage where land-based anglers have been doing very well on the run-in tide. There seems to be times when there will be schools of fish visiting the area and when this happens the action will be even more intense.

I received a call from Ben Henson who decided to try his luck when the weather conditions were great and it wasn’t long before he got into a school of very nice silvers. This made for an impressive bag along with a couple of flathead that were around the 600g mark.

The Lewis Channel has been giving up good numbers of whiting that have been to the 38cm mark and taking Bass yabbies, squid, silver fish and prawn. There have not been a lot of recent reports as most boaters have been concentrating on the larger fish but I would say to anyone that a good size whiting is as good as any fish you can put on the table.

Of course the Franklin Channel has also been going along very well where the snapper are often to the 7kg mark and taking pilchards, squid and fresh fillets. There have also been quite good numbers of big flathead as well as gummies being taken with best results being on the run out tide. Wonthaggi angler Wally Leijen reckons that the Franklin Channel is one of the best of the spots in this area as he rarely misses out on something to take home.

On a recent trip he was into the snapper up to the 4kg mark and taken on pilchards but always has a variety of presentations on hand. He says that this is a must as the fish will change their diet without notice and there is nothing worse to see a boat next to you pulling in fish and you missing out because you didn’t have the right bait.

The entrance has been very productive with best results on the run out tide. Snapper have been to 8kg along with very good size gummies and Stan Graham hooked into one that he said would have gone every bit of 9kg.

After a long battle with the big fellow he was about to net his prize when that awful thing happened that has to us all. The battle was all but over when the big red let go and slowly swam away. Stan reckoned that he could see a smile on the face of the fish as it slowly headed towards the murky depths to swim and fight another day.

The deep water outside the entrance has also been very productive where salmon have been in very good numbers and taking surface lures. There have also been gummies being bagged also with good numbers of yellowtail kingfish and with the water temperature very good for all forms of fishing a visit to this part of the world would be well worthwhile.

On the other side of the inlet at Yanakie there have been many positive reports and one of the most encouraging is that whiting have returned in good numbers. This will put a smile on the faces of old timers who will remember the days when a feed of whiting was all but guaranteed but that was before the grass disappeared.

As well as the whiting there have been very good numbers of gummies, flathead and big silvers which will really compliment already impressive bags.

For the benefit of visitors or those not familiar with this area the boat ramp is quite alright at high water but your trip must be planned. The reason is that as the water runs off the mud banks are exposed and you will have to wait until the incoming water comes to your rescue.

These snapper were caught by Wonthaggi angler Wally Leijen in the Franklin Channel on the run-off tide.