Just as the windy days have let us know that spring is here, so too has the fishing grapevine announced that the salmon are ready to attack!

I had a laugh when I reviewed last month’s article and read how I mentioned how good the windless days have been. Windless? This month, I can’t comprehend windless! It has been so windy that I had more positive fishing reports over winter than I have this month. That’s not to say the fish aren’t there, its just that many anglers are not risking their life to chase them.

There has been the odd fishable day and those anglers lucky enough not to have been working have had some great spring salmon fishing. Over winter, we didn’t have the huge numbers of salmon in McLoughlins and Manns beach estuaries of previous years, but they have certainly made up for it now.

Manns Entrance has been fished more heavily than McLoughlins in the past month, so this is where most reports have come from. There has been an abundance of salmon ranging from 750g–2.5kg, though most would be at the lower end of that range. The areas of Pelican Point and the boat harbour near Manns Entrance have been very successful as well, yet the salmon seem to be spread right up to Kearneys entrance and back to McLoughlins entrance. It has not been uncommon for anglers to catch and release up to 50 salmon in a session, so there are plenty of fish to go around. Remember these fish are only good if eaten fresh – as opposed to frozen – so there is no need to keep a lot of these fish.

Metal lures, like usual, have been the most successful. Lasers and Raider style lures have all been working well. Trolling has been a bit hit and miss, but this is due to the fact that the weed has been hit and miss as well. I would suggest jigging as a much more productive method if the weed is bad. Flyfishing has been good too, when there is no weed. A full sinking line cast up current and allowed to sink has been a killer. My favourite flies for salmon are the polar fibre and kinky fibre Minnows, however Clousers and Deceivers are good as well.

The flathead have started to enter our estuaries yet are still a little shy. By November, they will be in full swing. There have been quite a few whiting caught, but most have been small. Pipis have been the best bait.

The odd gummy shark has been caught in both McLoughlins and Manns entrances by anglers using fresh fish fillets on paternoster rigs.

That’s about it this month, hopefully the wind eases off a bit next month and we can all get amongst some fish For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 51748544.