As the heat of the summer begins to pass, before we know it we’re already tucked into layers of blankets at night and throwing on that old fishing jumper that’s covered in cobwebs! You know what that means – winter is here next month! That’s not a bad thing – tailor, mulloway, flathead, big bream and plenty of species of trevally are all flooding our canal systems.

Already we’re seeing plenty of large bream being caught. This is due to their spawning season time throughout the cooler months. You will see plenty of fish that weigh a lot with their stomachs full of eggs. Finding these bream can be quite difficult, especially when they don’t want to bite.

Deep water is where you’ll find these fish most of the time, in large schools. Blades will definitely be your best bet, especially at night. If you have a sounder, it will definitely make a difference. Don’t be dismayed if you don’t. Keep your lure around structure, deep water and canal systems that have retaining walls on each side.

Within the next month we will definitely see temperatures drop, as well as water temperatures. This will be a good change! Fishing should get better as we get further into winter and more lures will be stolen by toothy predators like tailor.

Fishing for tailor is a lot of fun, but at the same time can be a very easy way to empty your wallet. Upgrading your leader to around 20-30lb will help, but it won’t stop them from biting through. Trolling throughout the canals, Broadwater and Jumpinpin will be your best bet.

At the same time keep your eyes peeled for birds diving into the water. They will be feeding on baitfish pushed up from tailor or trevally. Pull up close to the action and throw plastics or metal lures through the school, wound fast as soon as it hits the water. If you are having no luck on the first few casts, let the lure sink for a few seconds and continue the fast retrieve once again!

Quite a few flathead are getting around lately. Most fish are hanging around the canal systems, the north wall, Jumpinpin and also bridge pylons. Don’t be surprised if you see silver, as there have been a few mulloway getting around following the bait.

Deep water is the best for these two species. In saying that, decent flathead have been caught in less than 2m of water. In shallower water I prefer to throw around a plastic at 2.5-3” rather than 4”. Match the baitfish. Most of the time the baitfish in shallow water are only 3” or smaller.

May is a perfect month for fishing, but it also brings the weather that makes it hard to get out of bed! I recommend setting three alarms, because you don’t want to miss the action on the water.