Mallacoota is now at its quietest. With the cold winter weather, and no shortage of rain, there are very few visitors in town for the next few months. The water temperature in the lake has been freezing with a good flow of freshwater heading into the system. The temperature stays right down at 9°C on the run-out tide and 12-13°C on the incoming and along the beaches.

There’s very little to report on the offshore fishing scene, as there have been few opportunities for boats to head out in these conditions. The boat ramp at Bastion Point is once again full of sand as work is underway to make it more user-friendly – an ongoing problem. Great gutters are along all the local beaches, but at present the water is still dirty after all the rain.

Once it clears, we should start to see the salmon turn up in numbers. It’s worth a walk along the local beaches on high-tide, because if the fish are there, you will have no problem catching a few on baits or lures. Salmon will enter the lake, terrorise the schools of whitebait and find their way upstream as far as Gypsy Point.

Flathead have been really slow, so catching a feed has been hard. Fish can be found, but won’t bite. You need to fish slowly and once the water warms a few degrees they will liven up a bit. Tailor are everywhere with plenty of choppers about, along with some bigger models. They are so thick at times they become annoying by chopping up soft plastics and stealing blades or hardbody lures. Imagine the impact they have on the bait schools and any other small fish in their path.

The real action this time of the year has been the black bream. Fish are being caught in the bottom lake as far upstream as Gypsy Point, depending on how the rain pushes them up and down the system. Catching is another story. Many fish already escaped being caught. They are cunning and present a challenge even to the best anglers.

Bait fishing has been hard. Lure fishers are doing their best on soft plastics and vibes. Some good size yellowfin bream are still being caught and the back of Goodwin Sands is a good spot to start looking – just have to be in the right spot at the right time. 

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It's great fun teaching your kids to catch fish, and Crystal is a fast learner.

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Nicholas with his first fish on a lure – a good bream.