A recent run of rough weather has made getting out on the ocean for any sort of a fish a real struggle.

The good news is that when people have got out, the fishing has been excellent. Bluefin tuna are still holding along the coastline from Marengo to south of Cape Otway. I don’t expect that they will be here much longer as August usually sees the tail end of them each season. But let’s not worry about that until they are actually gone because for now some great sessions are being had by casting lures into the bust ups. Smaller metal lures are the most effective on the finicky fish which become hard to catch due to the massive amounts of baitfish they have to feed on. A well placed cast to feeding fish will bring instant results but a wayward cast of just a metre or so off target will go untouched every time. It can be frustrating fishing, especially when there are other boats competing for the same fish, but this has been rare and most days you can find a few schools all to yourselves. Trolling has also taken fish and running a spread of both diving and skirted lures is always a good option, especially when the fish can’t be seen breaking the surface.

Bait anglers fishing in 40m off Cape Otway and 35m off Blanket Bay are catching gummy sharks in good numbers. Drifting with fresh baits has been very successful when the wind and tide aren’t having too strong of an effect. Try and time your fishing trip around the change of tide to help keep the conditions in your favour. Beach anglers can also target gummy sharks over the coming months and August last year was a very rewarding time for this style of fishing. Give Johanna Beach a try when the swell is small but make sure you take plenty of warm clothing as it can get very cold once the sun goes down.

August is my favourite time to fish the Aire and Ford rivers below the Ocean Road bridges for big brown trout. These sea-run classed rivers remain open right throughout the year and are a great option for walking the banks and flicking a few lures. My last outing here produced several fit trout to around 1kg but since then some big rainfalls should have fired up the systems even more and I’d suspect that trout of over 2kg will be caught this month.