There has been some reprieve from the weather over the past few weeks allowing plenty of fishing opportunities.

Now is the time to begin hitting the surf for land-based anglers. Cooler temperatures are blowing in over the state, the water temperature is dropping and the salmon have begun to set up camp in the surf zones.

This past few weeks has seen a few weekend anglers head down to Kilcunda and the Bass beaches in search of salmon. Reports of salmon ranging 600g-1kg have been about average which is quite good for this time of year. Over the next few months, larger fish will become more frequent.

The stands out beaches have been Cemetery Beach and Cape Woolamai. Of all the baits, pipi and blue bait have been the standout.

Reef Island is a little hot spot over the colder months for whiting, squid, pinkies and gummies. The whiting can be caught here all year round fishing the shallow sand flats in between the weed patches. Pipi and mussel work well. In the slightly deeper water off the Island gummies and pinkie snapper are on offer with squid and trevally fillets a popular choice. Fishing this location just prior to winter is highly effective.

The next few months will see the Corinella area really hot up. Land-based anglers can really have some exciting fishing session from here as access to the deeper waters is within a 5m cast. In early autumn, John and his mate fished early one morning from the rocks. The boys had a cracking session catch and releasing seven elephant sharks along with catching a snapper of 4.5kg. All fish were caught on squid baits during the run-in tide.

Stockyard point is forever growing with popularity with winter fast approaching. Many are gearing up and heading down to the spit in search of night-time gummy sharks. While Stockyard is a low tide only affair, those fishing late evenings on the last of the run-out until the second hours of the flood have been doing quite well already. Yellow eye mullet, silver trevally, tailor, gummy shark and the odd school shark have been caught and will continue on right throughout winter.

The shallow weed beds in the Tankerton area have been producing some very nice calamari for anglers drifting from the Tankerton Jetty to the mouth of the Chilcott Channel. There have been some good specimens up to a huge 2.5kg model. Red or Olive green jigs in 3.0-3.5 are working best.

This are always produces some nice gummies and will do so for the entire winter months. Few anglers these past few weeks have been catching some impressive fish while fishing the run-in tides. Fresh yakka has been accounting for the fish with squid also working well.

Paul, Cristy and Jet Worstelling have also been fishing the Western Entrance with excellent success. Jet wanted an elephant fish and it took around 3 minutes of fishing at the Corals to find them. They landed three elephants on squid in 9m of water (S 38 27.247 E 145 20.726). They then headed down to the Western Entrance in search of big whiting and landed some horses on pipi and mussel baits. All fish were taken on Instinct Prowler whiting rigs fished with 4oz of lead (S 38 27.377 E 145 08.970).

The Balnarring area has been fishing well both from those fishing from the sand and from the boat. Boat anglers have managed some impressive calamari and whiting not far from the shore. Pipi baits and baited squid prongs have been doing the damage. From the beach, few gummy sharks have been caught on the high tide. Anglers fishing well into the night have done very well. Of the four gummies I have heard of the largest was 8 kilos whiting took a Californian squid bait.

This location is certainly the pier of choices if you’re looking for a calamari. There have been reports of some big calamari of late with some models fetching an estimated 2kg. Those fishing with artificial jigs in a size 3.0 with a red foil belly have done well. If you are heading here best you take a few baited squid prongs suspended under a float have caught some thumpers during the night. Flicking artificial jigs about while waiting for the float to go under has also been effective.

If you are looking for something to do this month I have to say it is time to hit the surf beaches. The salmon are getting thicker by the day and if you’re looking for some sports fishing action then spinning is certainly going to impress you. If you are up for this challenge, it is imperative you have the right gear.

When spinning the beach all you need is a handful of lures, some leader and a bag to keep if your fish you want to. It is as easy as that.

There are plenty of beaches worth exploring by foot and you’ll be amazed at just how much more effective this style of fishing can be than if fishing with bait. The next time you’re hitting the sand, consider spinning, you’ll enjoy it a whole lot more than standing in the one location.