It’s all about the trout this month! The first weekend in September sees the rivers open to trout fishing again and after the winter rains the rivers always fish well in September.

The days are starting to get longer and more sunshine means more warmth, so there is no excuse for not having a go. All the streams around Apollo Bay hold trout with a general rule being the bigger the waterway the bigger the trout. This is not to say that the smaller rivers aren’t worth fishing, as the numbers encountered are often more prolific.

Any technique that catches trout elsewhere will work but I’m a massive fan of soft plastics. They just offer a very versatile way to fish and can cover both deep and shallow sections of river. I like to cast them upstream and work them back at a steady pace with a few flicks to get the trout interested and allow them to drop down in any deeper sections.

A good day trout fishing in September can produce half a dozen or more fish and you will spook many more. It is really great fun for lure, bait or fly fishers and with so many locations to choose from, you will never run out of options for places to fish.

The Braham and Aire River estuaries are worth fishing for black bream at this time of year too. Cast tight to any structure or try to find deep holes in the river where the fish will be schooled up. Metal blades are always a good choice at this time of year and it’s not uncommon to catch a few estuary perch as by-catch when using these lures.

On the ocean side of things, I would be starting to look for schools of King George whiting around the Bumbry Reef or off Marengo. Try fishing pipis on a light running sinker rig around the reef edges.

Gummy sharks are biting well down around Point Franklin and Cape Otway reefs in 40m of water. The best results have been coming on the slack water periods of the tide with fresh squid heads or fillets of barracouta for bait.

The snapper are starting to fire up and fish of 5kg can be caught in this region at this time of year. Drifting baits in 40 to 60m of water off Point Franklin or Cape Patton is where you will find the largest concentrations of snapper through the spring.

Calamari squid can be caught from the pier at Apollo Bay using 2.5 sized prawn style squid jigs. Early morning or late afternoon are the best times to try but they can be caught all day if you put in the time.

Until next month, good luck and happy fishing!