The fishing over the last month has been positive across the board. Not one single species has dominated the headlines, but in fact there’s been a host of species that have combined to deliver anglers consistent and reliable fishing for many species.

Whiting, squid, gummy shark and salmon have all been caught in good numbers, but there is no doubt that as the weather continues to cool we will see more and more anglers focus on the winter beach scene.

We have a couple of stalwart beach fishing customers at Compleat Angler and these guys spin our local back beaches year round, proving that Australian Salmon are indeed a viable target species all year round. With that said, there are plenty of anglers who choose the winter period to don the waders and head to the back beaches such as Gunnamatta and Portsea to fish for this prolific species.

Through late Autumn we have seen really good quality salmon being caught, with many fish over 50cm, or around that 2kg mark. This is certainly what I would consider to be pretty good fishing considering, and anything that tips the scale above 3kg is a stonker.

Those who are getting on the water early for the most part have been catching their salmon on lures, with dark green colours accounting for plenty of fish. We have a new metal lure that’s recently been released called the Angry Bait, and it has already become popular with spin fishermen. We are also finding many anglers keen to rig their lures with small assist hooks, which no doubt provides a stronger hook-up, and helps minimises the fish getting leverage on the hook and dislodging trebled lures.

Whiting have continued to fish very well over the last month, with the autumn run of fish along the peninsula seeing plenty of anglers catching a good feed of King George whiting. Locally whiting catches should start to wane, but if past years are anything to go by St Leonards should produce plenty of fish during the winter period. Fish along this section of Bellarine Peninsula are often smaller, and in the 28-34cm size range, but what they lack in size they make up for in numbers. On a calm day it is probably a 15minute run from Sorrento to St Leonards, making it an easy and achieveable trip when the conditions are right.

Through winter squid are probably the second most reliable species to target. If there is nothing else to do, you can always pick up a squid rod and head to your local pier, or drop the boat in for a quick run, and be confident you will find some squid.

This has definitely been the case recently with reasonable numbers of squid being found in 2-4m of water at Safety Beach, in 6-8m of water at Rosebud and Tootgarook, and around Blairgowrie Marina. Interestingly, there has been plenty of big cuttlefish caught by those out targeting squid. Their size has increased from the small cuttlefish that were being caught during summer, with cuttlefish as big as 7kg a regular catch at the moment. At this size they offer a mammoth feed for dinner, and a truckload of bait, depending on your intended use for them.