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On your marks, get set for the tuna run!
  |  First Published: May 2016



The time of year when we turn our attention to tuna and albacore around Portland southwest has arrived. The albacore have been in good numbers in the last month ranging from footy size up to nearly 20kg. Most fish have come from the Horseshoe area.

Those who have travelled to the shelf have also had good success with bottom drops, picking up some very nice blue eye, and big models of pink ling, knife jaw, and gem fish. Most anglers use electric reels for these drops due to the depth. The tuna have been caught in all depths of water in the last six weeks from as shallow as only a few metres to the deep water. Even some divers have had success on a few bluefin, taking advantage of the shallow depths.

We should see them heading into deeper water and then generally head back into the 50-100m depths around Cape Nelson and Bridgewater Bay. There are quite a few charters in Portland that take bookings for tuna runs for keen anglers who want to see what tuna fishing is all about. You can generally find them through a quick Google search or call us at Compleat Angler and we can help you with some numbers.

There have been some big schools of salmon inside and around the bay, with sizes up to 3-4kg, as well as a lot of smaller ones. These guys are so much fun to throw lures at on light gear. We have seen some good whiting in numbers around the bay to the North Shore area with the odd big flathead mixed in. The better numbers and sizes of flathead have been around the Cape Nelson to Bridgewater Bay area.

Some nice makos have been found around the same area, and some have reached the 100kg mark. The Lee Breakwater over the past few weeks has been hot and cold, one moment we’ve had big schools of salmon around and the odd kingfish under them alongside the odd thresher shark and schoolies, and other days it slows right down.

The North Shore has fired up on the beaches with school and gummy sharks, mulloway, snapper and the odd elephant fish. The Fitzroy and Surry rivers are also great spots for bream, mullet, salmon, mulloway and perch in the Fitzroy. These rivers are great spots for families to sit back and relax. This month should certainly see the tuna and albacore in full swing and it will be interesting to see what comes this season. I’m sure everyone is on edge to see if the barrels will be in good numbers like last year.

We should also see good numbers of deep bottom fish like blue eye and ling as the guys certainly do more bottom drops these days if the tuna go off or they catch their bags quickly. We should see all the bay regulars throughout May including whiting, flathead, and pinkies.

Remember, for all you bait and tackle needs look no further than Portland Compleat Angler – you can contact us on (03) 5521 1844 for all your fishing and weather reports. Fishing licences, regulation books and length stickers are also available in store. Happy fishing!

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