It’s hard to work out our weather in this part of the world but one thing is certain, we won’t be bored as it is constantly changing.

Even though it has been cold and colder there have been patches of hardly any wind and as a result boaters have been taking advantage of the settled conditions.

Outside the entrance out wide, boaters have been managing to bag good numbers of salmon that have been to the 3kg mark that have been taken on a variety of lures.

There has also been a good run of quality flathead being bagged to the 1m mark and bigger. I received a call from a visiting boater who picked a fine, flat calm day and headed way out to Cliffy Island looking for whatever might come along. He didn’t want his name mentioned, which was fair enough but didn’t mind talking about the fish. He said that he has a number of GPS marks naturally that he keeps to himself and they had a great day using a variety of baits. He says that he lost count of how many fish his crew caught but only kept a few for their immediate needs. They also caught a couple of good size gummies and some big salmon. The salmon they threw back into the water as they reasoned that they weren’t any value as the smaller fish of this species are much better on the table.

The entrance or Singapore Deep, as it is known, always seems to be worth a visit. Last month there were reasonable numbers of flathead and gummies being caught with best results being on the run-out tide. For the benefit of those not familiar with this area, it is a very good idea to keep your eye on the weather as the wind can suddenly spring up against the tide. If this happens it is a good idea to run for cover as a dangerous situation can quickly develop.

The Lewis Channel is always worth a try and usually reliable as far as whiting are concerned. The fish are usually most plentiful on the run-out tide where they are up to the 37cm mark. Mixed in with them are fairly good numbers of silvers, flathead and mullet where Bass yabbies seem to be the best of the presentations. If you can’t get any, then pipis, small squid strips and mussels are also worth a try.

The jetties are always worth a look but give them a miss if there is much wind about as this is where there is much gear washed into the water with little or no warning. The resident fish include garfish, flathead, mullet and every so often a whiting will make an appearance. He run-in tide seems to be usually the best time to try your luck.

Just a short drive to the east is Port Albert where boaters have been doling very well at the time of this report. This is unusual as they are in good numbers but not very big but well over the size limit. Flathead are also in good numbers along with salmon and mullet.

The jetties have been worth a try where flathead, mullet, garfish and eels are in reasonable numbers. A variety of baits have been successful and for up to date information, try the General Store at Port Albert where Rob Killury will have all the best and latest information. Rob also has scales to weigh any fish and a gantry for larges species such as bronze whalers. Of course, he will take any photos for bragging rights.