Most boaters will still be out chasing mako sharks and although its hard to predict what this month will produce in the way of consistency, if it’s anything like last year this time, we’re in for a big one!

There have already been a substantial amount of sharks caught this season including a massive 300kg beauty tagged and released off Burnie. I have also been impressed with the amount of anglers purchasing and experimenting with non-stainless steel circle hooks and have heard of good success with hook-ups.

Still no secret on how it’s done. Oily frozen berley logs and plenty of it slowly defrosted around 40-50m deep water off the coast will produce the goods. While you drift it always pays to have a rod out the side with a paternoster rig as you can be surprised on the quality gummy sharks and flathead you can catch out there! That way your trip isn’t totally wasted if you don’t bring a shark up.

I know I find myself repeating this a lot, but the Australian Salmon will be about in mass boils as they were over December and January. Look for birds working on the horizon and fish the hotspots such as Table Cape, Wivenhoe, Blackmans Reef, Cooee, the Cam and Blythe river mouths a bit deeper if there are no sign of them up top.

All rivers have been firing lately and we can expect some top quality hatches over February. The Mersey continues to produce probably the best consistently big river fish but anglers should not overlook places like the Emu, Leven and Forth rivers, especially the upper reaches.

You can match the hatch on the day depending on what’s about but if you want a good all-rounder that will catch fish on most given times then you can’t go past a Royal Wulff in #12, #14 or #16.

Remember the fish aren’t only eating insects! February produces some fat galaxia feeders especially in the fast water on hot summer days!

Don’t be afraid to throw on 3”-4” soft plastics to entice these fish.

I can recommend Powerbait minnows in pearl watermelon, galaxia or pearl olive if you can get hold of them!