Even though we have had some wet and windy weather, which is to be expected at this time of year, there has been very good fishing for those keen enough to brave the elements.

Quite often I visit the beach inside Anderson Inlet and there are always anglers there trying their luck. Lou Weiss is a mad keen local fisherman who says that he always manages to go home with something to put on the table.

Lou doesn’t mind the wind or rain and says that recently the wind has been blowing offshore anyway. He has been catching silver trevally to around 1kg, as well as salmon, whiting and flathead. He says that he always uses baits of pipis, squid or whitebait.

Just off Smyth Point a fairly deep hole has formed, which has seen good numbers of salmon, flathead and trevally being taken in good numbers. This area is continually changing, and there is now also a sand island that was once underwater.

Screw Creek is one of those little waterways that hardly rates a mention on some maps, but it certainly provides very good fishing. Local fisherman Mick Chiodo decided to kill a bit of time on the run-in tide and spotted what he thought was a big school of mullet. He flicked a lure into the breaking water and almost immediately had a strike. The ‘mullet’ turned out to be a very nice perch around the 32cm mark. In what seemed like no time he had hooked into about 40 fish. He kept just three, throwing the rest back to swim and fight another day.

‘The Snags’ are still producing good numbers of King George whiting during the slack water at both high and low tide. Bass yabbies, pipis and squid are the best of the presentations. For the benefit of those not familiar with the area, this is the deepest water in the inlet and the tide can make it very hard to keep your bait on the bottom.

George Hollins launched his boat at Mahers Landing and headed up towards Stevies Gutter looking for a whiting. After some time he had failed to trouble the weigh-master, when suddenly the peace was broken with the arrival of a school of salmon. The first three fish spat out the lure when they jumped clear of the water as they so often do. Things then changed in George’s favour and he and his mate Clarrie lost count of the number of fish they caught, though they only kept half a dozen for the table. This was a very good idea because salmon don’t freeze very well and are much better eaten fresh.

  To finish, the Wonthaggi Angling Club will hold a Beginners Night at the clubrooms located in Korumburra Road, Wonthaggi. The idea is to have as many beginners of all ages come along (parents welcome). They will meet some of the club members, who will show them different fishing techniques including tying of knots, different rods and other equipment to be used for different fish and under different conditions. There will be various other topics discussed, including safety and equipment maintenance. The evening will be held on Wednesday 26th September at 7.30pm and is open to anyone who would like to come along. There will be no charge to attend and light refreshments will be provided. For further information contact President, Graham Gray on 5672 2116, or Vice President, Alan Mc Fayden on 5672 3474.