At last the waters are clearing… HOORAY! It’s been a long wait this summer, but the fishing is now really hotting up.

The only real set back for us anglers here in Gippsland has been the wind. As January rolls on, the hot days will mean still mornings with not even a breeze, and then the easterly onshore wind kicks in about midday or mid afternoon. Getting on the water early is the go, while its cool and the fish certainly fire up better around first light.

Keep in mind, that the current size limit for bream caught in the Gippsland Lakes and its tributaries, will remain in place for a further 12 months. It remains at minimum length of 28cm. The bag and possession limit for dusky flathead of five fish, of which no more than one may exceed 60cm, is also a great move and most anglers are happy to hear that this looks like being an ongoing regulation. The minimum size limit for dusky flathead remains at 25cm, although from my experience, nearly all anglers these days have a self-imposed minimum of 35-40cm.

The Mitchell has cleared up significantly since my last report, and bream are turning up in good numbers around the highway bridge. Down at the mouth, a good run of flathead have turned up, and they will be marching on upstream as the water warms up. I also heard that plenty of tailor were taken down near mouth.

The Tambo is still a little dirty in colour, but has still been fishing alright, with most anglers getting nice bream closer to the mouth, with a few flatties turning up. As every week passes, the fishing will only improve.

The Nicholson is really fishing well as this report goes to press, and is definitely the hot spot of the area. Bream, flathead and even a few luderick are being caught right up past the railway bridge.

Seacombe is seeing more boats on the water and even those fishing from the bank are catching fish. The usual run of smaller bream are around, but a few legal sized fish are taking worm.

Hollands Landing has also been going really well, and those fishing worm have found bream to well over 30cm. Quite a bit of weed has been pushed into the straits by the easterly winds, but with it comes the salty water, and the flathead as well. Quite a few duskies are showing up of late, and their numbers will grow as the water clears even more.

Loch Sport still has good flathead around, and tailor are also taking lures. The bream are fairly quiet in the area, but sandworm has accounted for many yellow eye mullet.

Still the flathead are turning up in very good numbers. The main focus has been a big run of tailor, particularly around Paynesville and a few even caught off the jetties down near Lakes Entrance.

The bream are also about in big numbers, and Bruce Robinson polarised a heap of good bream to 36cm and over, but they refused all the lures and soft plastics he threw at them. First and last light will be the time to tempt these big fish from under all the jetties.

Lake Wellington and the Avon and Latrobe rivers are all very quiet with only a very small number of bream taking worm. All these waters are still quite muddy and full of carp.

CAP

This Gippsland estuary perch took another surface plastic off the top, in about 60cm of water. I tagged 15 perch and two bream in a four-hour session just after Christmas. The Gippsland Lakes are really starting to fire as summer warms up.