By the end of March, colder water will start pushing through the entrance and into the Front Lake, signalling the time for fish to move through The Narrows and into the warmer water found anywhere from the Top Lake through to the back of the system.

The fishing has been good in the Front Lake with yellowfin bream, black bream and flathead caught by anglers fishing with fresh bait (nippers, live mullet, prawns) and soft or hard lures.

Plenty of flathead have been caught. These fish range from 40 to 45cm and are spread throughout the entire system.

School jewfish between 6 and 10kg have been caught by those putting in the effort. The Narrows have been fishing well – just remember that fresh bait or live bait is often the key to success. It can mean consecutive nights on the water before you reap the rewards.

Sand whiting are only a by-catch at the moment; it’s been a bit of a no-show this year for this species.

The prawns have been going well, with enough good-sized prawns to make it worth chasing a feed.

Plenty of black bream have been caught. They are spread out in all the backwaters and feeder creeks.

Gypsy Point and the rivers above have been fishing well for all the usual species including black bream, estuary perch, flathead and the odd bass.

When fishing this area make sure you keep moving until fish are found because while it all looks good you can waste a lot of time if the fish just aren’t there.

All in all, the lakes and rivers in the Mallacoota system have been fishing really well. The same can be said for the offshore grounds with plenty of kingfish caught by trolling lures and on live baits.

Some good-sized gummy sharks have been caught too, along with some great bags of sand flathead.

The beaches have been fishing well with plenty of size salmon caught on pilchards, whitebait and metal lures.

The Betka River, to the south of Mallacoota, has been a bit patchy with the odd bream and flathead caught on nippers and prawns.