In the last few months I have noticed that Western Port has had a lot more fishing pressure than it has had in previous years.

To my way of thinking Port Phillip Bay has not been producing fish that it did in the last couple of seasons. The snapper have all but gone and whiting on the eastern side of the bay have been few and far between. So a lot of fishos who usually fish Port Phillip have now switched to fishing Western Port, which in turn is copping a bit of a caning and while there are still whiting to be had, you have to work very hard to get a feed.

The main boat ramps are now chockas during the week and on weekends; don’t even go there unless you want to wait an hour to get your boat in and an hour to retrieve it. I don’t know how to fix the current situation but a few more boat ramps would certainly help.

The surf beaches continue to produce salmon with early mornings and late evenings being the best times to wet a line. There’s also been reports of a few pinkies and some good flathead mixed in.

The 40-60m line has been working well with some nice makos caught and reasonable flathead taken while drifting. Cleelands Bight is still going okay for calamari as well as some better quality whiting. The last of the run-out tide seems to be the most productive.

Whiting are still about in reasonable numbers all over Western Port, Dickies Bay, Boys Home Channel, Tortoise Head, Tankerton, Middle Spit and the Quail Bank are some good areas to try. There are a few pinkies off Lysaghts and The Corals. Early morning with a tide change will give best results. Gummies are few and far between and the best areas are in the deep water off Cowes and Ventnor.

Whiting are still not about in any quantity. You have to be prepared to move about to find them. A couple of good reports have come from Cat Bay.

Kingfish, for those prepared to put the time in, are a great target and Seal Rocks has seen a couple of good fish taken.

All in all, Western Port has been going really well and if you can find a way to avoid the ramp crowds, you’ll be sure to reap the rewards in April.