The magical run of silvers and salmon around the entrance to Anderson Inlet has slowed down but it was great while it lasted. That’s not to say that there aren’t fish still around, there’s just a bit more water mixed in with them.

Cranbourne angler Brad McDonald and his mates recently hit a purple patch where they landed 25 salmon to 3.376kg in half an hour. The fish averaged 1.5kg and when salmon are in the mood it doesn’t really matter what’s thrown in the water, they will scoff it down with great gusto.

Darren Thomas from Tooradin decided to pay a visit to Pensioners Corner with good mate David Farmer from Cranbourne. His 3-year-old son, Lachlan, just loves to fish so he tagged along as well. When I came across them they had landed some very nice salmon to 1.5kg and young Lachlan was only too happy to pose for a photo.

Just outside the entrance around Flat Rocks some very good-sized whiting to 45cm and silvers have been taken on pipis, bass yabbies and strips of pilchards. Experienced anglers often make four baits out of each pilchard as they take a fillet off each side and then run the knife down the centre. They like to use a long shank hook (size 4 or 6) and then loop the line around the overlap.

Further up the inlet around Mahers Landing there have been quite a few gummies and silvers taken by boaters and land-based anglers. The idea is to try and target the run-in tide around dusk and with a pilchard or fresh silver trevally presentation you have a good chance of success.

Anglers fishing to the right of the A frame house near the boat ramp have been landing good numbers of salmon and mullet on the run-in tide.

The Tarwin River is still giving up reasonable numbers of perch to 34cm that have been taking bass yabbies. One of the interesting things is that many of the perch have been filled with elvers. These little fellows are actually baby eels and little is known of them apart from the fact that perch love to eat them.

Although the perch are in reasonable numbers they can come and go just like a thief in the night, taking the free meal and off into the murky depths without the inexperienced angler realising that they have been paid a visit.

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Darren Thomas with David Farmer and his 3-year-old son Lachlan at Inverloch with some of the nice salmon they caught on the run-in tide.