When conditions have allowed there have been boaters out on the water trying their luck.

Strange as it may seem there are some very good sunny days where conditions are ideal, albeit a bit on the cold side.

I received a call from a visiting angler John Flinders who decided to try is luck off the jetty at Port Welshpool on a day that was fine and sunny with not a breath of wind. He said that he had the whole jetty to himself and decided to try the east end as he had read reports that this was the best place to wet a line.

In fairly short time he managed a mixed bag that included flathead, silvers and mullet that were all fairly good size.

This has been the only report I have had from the jetty but there have been a few boaters trying their luck in the Lewis Channel. Although there have not been any reports of whiting being bagged there have been salmon, silvers and flathead being taken on a variety of presentations. Of course there are plenty of those useless skunk sharks but at this time of year we know that there are plenty of them making a nuisance of themselves.

The entrance has been fairly good as far as far as gummies and flathead are concerned with the best time being on the run-out tide but there have not been any reports coming to me in relation to snapper.

In the Toora Channel there have been mainly flathead being bagged on the run-out tide to 1kg but snapper have not been mentioned with the same applying to gummy sharks.

Many boaters have been trying their luck out wider from the entrance and out as far as Cliffy Island. Keen Wonthaggi angler Rod Lyttle is one of those who has been bagging quite good numbers of good size flathead with son Taj who is 12 years old but already has been out fishing dad who is not complaining, reasoning that he must be showing the young bloke how it’s done.

If you are contemplating a trip out to this area then be careful to take plenty of fuel as it is a fair hike and if you run out it can be a very lonely place.

Back inside the inlet at the other side at Yanakie, Tony Holgate runs the local caravan park and he says that although the whiting have gone quiet as is usually the case at this time of year there are good numbers of flathead, silvers and gummy sharks being taken.

The place to wet a line is around the Doughboy Channel but if this doesn’t work then there are many other spots to try your luck.

Experienced anglers say that the sea grass is returning and with it the whiting which is good news as the royals were very scarce as far as anglers are concerned.