The season has started well, with a good run of fish being caught both in the inlet and outside.

On a recent trip, Mick Lush, Griffin Underwood and Jarrod Swift landed themselves a nice gummy shark, inside the inlet at Manns Beach. Other gummies to 1.2m are being caught at Port Albert, two days either side of the full moon.

Whale Bay has been fishing well for gummy sharks of a similar size. Best baits are local squid, yakkas, cured eel and pilchards. A good by-catch while chasing Whale Bay gummies are the large numbers of quality flathead. They can be easily taken on baits or soft plastics.

The snapper are now in full swing, with anglers catching them both inside the inlet, and out on the reefs. They have been taken from Manns to Woodside, with squid and pilchards accounting for most of the fish. The arrival of the new Snapper Flash from McLaughlins Bait has proven a real winner, accounting for snapper both big and small. These hand-tied jigs come in three colours and are working well.

Whiting to 47cm are being taken at Port Albert around the Basket Beacon area. The Entrance and Old Port are also producing good numbers of whiting. Brian Spitiri of Traralgon took his kids out recently and got fish up to 40cm at the Basket in the late afternoon.

Good numbers of salmon can still be taken at Manns Beach, with the Williamson Gyro Jigs taking a lot of fish.

With the season now full speed ahead, it’s a good time to check your fishing licences haven’t expired. You can now get a three-year licence for $60, saving you $2 a year.

Don’t forget that if you take a photo of your catch, send it to me at the email address above and I will use it my report.

Local plumber Cory Kee caught this 2kg flathead at Port Albert.