I’ve just returned from a week of fishing in Darwin. The weather was perfect and we caught lots of big fish and mud crabs. I didn’t want to come home!

Surf fishing has improved with more salmon showing up. Baxter’s Beach is fishing well with salmon around the 1kg mark. The 3km walk over the sand dunes to get to the beach – I call it Heartbreak Hill – can be tough, especially when you have a good bag of fish to carry back. The best baits have been whitebait and squid and the best time to fish has been the last half of the run-in tide.

Some good salmon to 1.5kg are on the go at Williamson’s Beach. Whitebait, bluebait and pipis are the best baits. Kilcunda and Woolamai beaches have not been as productive with smaller salmon to 500g being caught. Whitebait, pipis and squid are the go.

The Powlett River has yielded some bream to 900g caught above the old boiler. Fresh shrimp and worm are the best baits. Some Snapper Point Angling Club members fished the Tarwin above the road bridge for estuary perch and were rewarded with some nice fish to 1kg. They fished with nippers and soft plastics and most of the perch were taken on soft plastics.

The Newhaven and San Remo jetties have been quiet with very few fish caught.

Cowes jetty has been fishing better for salmon, mullet and flathead. Fishing the run in tide has been the most successful with whitebait and pipis the best baits.

Above the San Remo bridge there have been a few whiting, mullet and silver bream. Below the bridge there are still a few whiting to 40cm and lots of undersize pinkie snapper. Outside the eastern entrance (Cape Woolamai), drifting is producing reasonable flathead, couta, squid and gurnard.

Although gurnard is considered excellent eating (regarded as poor man’s crayfish), they are best cut off. They have many spines and a prick from one of these can cause severe pain and in some cases can result in hospitalisation. The best way to neutralise the venom and the pain is to place the affected part into very hot water.

There have been some quality whiting to 48cm coming from the Cat Bay area. The area between Somers and Flinders is also producing good fish but not in big numbers. The Tortoise Head bank has been fishing well with whiting to 38cm. Best baits are pipis, squid and pilchard strips.