This month we will see our water temps rise just a little. But with little things, come big things – we should see some queenfish and mangrove jack show their noses, which means very tight lines!

The flathead have been a cracker this month and September should yield very similar results. Bag limits and size limits have been broken with ease and anglers from every piece of the Passage have had the same results. It doesn’t seem to matter where I go someone is bragging about the duskies.

We have a very healthy duskie environment in the Passage and, if everybody does the right thing and sticks to the law of bag limits and size limits, this will continue for years to come for my children and their children.

The majority of the flathead have been taken on soft plastics. These guys are suckers for soft plastics big, small, bright, dark, flat or skinny, it doesn’t matter. If they are twitched in a duskies face there is a 99% chance they will climb all over it like a kid on a cupcake.

Hardbody lures have also been doing the job on flathead but they pick up a lot more weed making them slightly harder work. If your hardbodies are constantly fowling up with weed it will deem them useless, so change tactics. Whether it be changing to plastic, bait or finding a completely different target area that holds less weed, but still holds fish. I know it’s great when you hit the water just to switch off and relax, but you will need to keep your brain switched on if you want some tight line action.

The boys using bait have had some action as well but nothing like the plastic flicking fanatics. I have seen a lot of old-timers over the past few years that swear they would never use a lure eventually turn to soft plastics to get better, more consistent results. And, guess what? Yep, they are having a ball. Who said you couldn’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Bream have been going nuts on lures and bait. Bream on lures is a real art; some guys have got it and some not so much. They are a real whirly critter to target on lures; they are a lot smarter than they look or than people give them credit for.

Three of the main things I look for when chasing bream on lures is: a high tide, good big weed bed and an abundance of bait. If you can find a patch of jelly prawns you will have a ball – bream love them. These guys will feed at any time of the day or night especially on the larger tides around the full or new moon.

The odd mulloway have been popping up around the area, most of them just under legal or just on it (75cm minimum length) with the odd bigger one if you’re lucky. They are a hard fish to target successfully however, you will find the bigger mulloway will be taken at night as they like the darkness and become very shy in daylight hours. Large live baits or soft plastics are the best. These guys can be a sucker for soft plastics if presented well and on light line.

We have had a Passage full of winter whiting from well up in the northern end south out into the bay, with the bay bringing the best results. Most anglers are just keeping it simple, a bit of squid or yabbies and a hand-line spooled with 6lb mono. It doesn’t come any simpler and they are prime quality on the dinner plate.

If sand crabs are your thing there are plenty out there. The numbers are great but the size is just-legal; my tip is the further south you head deeper into the bay the better your results. But, if it’s just a quick feed you want you won’t need to go too far as the gutters around Donnybrook and Toorbul hold a few of these guys most days.

There have been some A1 quality mud crabs getting about. Not a lot in numbers but the ones being potted are rusty prime eating quality bucks. Well worth the effort of getting your hands dirty.

When buzzing around in your vessel keep a good lookout for our marine life. We have an abundance of turtles, Dugongs and dolphins around at the moment.

Keep your eyes open and brain in gear and you will have a ball out there.