We are in the thick of summer now and all our favourite species are here in good numbers, so there’s no time like the present to get out for a fish.

Those big flatties are well and truly on the chew, and anglers have been catching huge flathead up to and just over 75cm. Theyare massive fish, and can weigh close to the 5kg mark.

Soft plastics have been doing most of the damage and the sand banks and weed beds around St Margarets Island have been the best spots to try for a big flatty. The larger soft plastics in the 4” range have been catching the bigger flatties, yet I have also spoken to a few anglers that have been catching some huge fathead while chasing whiting with Bass yabbies, pipis and squid.

Speaking of whiting, McLoughlins and Manns beaches have been fishing better for whiting than Corner Inlet, and all the whiting are big, with 40cm being the average. Either side of the tide is fishing well, but you need good current to catch them.

The entrance at McLoughlins is going hard to the left and is running along the beach, so it’s very dangerous in rough conditions. Be very careful when attempting to go out this entrance.

Anglers that are getting out offshore have caught big snapper on the reefs, and some anglers have been lucky enough to catch them on micro-jigs, which is pretty awesome news.

The gummy sharks are huge at the moment and anglers have been catching big gummies in water depths between 18-30m of water. We have seen gummy sharks up to 25kg caught recently.

Inside has been hit and miss with whiting, with some anglers catching them and some not. I definitely reckon Manns Beach and McLoughlins is fishing better for whiting at the moment, however Port Albert is fishing extremely well for pinkies and anglers are getting their bag of pinkies to 40cm in the usual whiting locations using pipis and squid.

There are some good snapper inside as well with the Snake Channel and the entrance producing snapper to 6kg regularly, as well as a few gummies too.

Offshore is fishing very well, with kingfish just starting to turn up, and few mako sharks showing their faces in the same areas. Most of these pelagics are in around 30m deep or deeper.

The footy oval reefs are producing plenty of pinkies to 45cm as well, so don’t forget to take your micro-jigs out if you’re heading offshore.

• For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 5174 8544. You will get expert advice and great deals on fishing bait and tackle.