What a difference some warm weather makes! All of our summer species are now available and being taken right around the coast.

Boat fishermen have been enjoying a good run of snapper and flathead with the odd gummy shark being pulled over the side. That’s all made for some very respectable bags of fish.

Most of the action has been coming from down the Lighthouse way in 35m of water. Fishing slack water around the top of the tide not only makes holding the bottom a lot easier but also produces the hottest bites of the day.

Baits can vary from anything, such as pilchards and bluebait to barracouta fillets or squid. Squid seems to be the prime gummy bait if it is fresh. When I say fresh I don’t mean from the freezer. It is best if caught the same day you intend to fish.

During the summer months at Apollo Bay you will have no problem catching squid when out in 35m plus of water. Simply lower a squid jig over the side with some extra weight attached. Once it hits the bottom slowly wind it back up again. The schools of squid are sometimes so thick that they make getting bait to the bottom impossible. This can become very frustrating when trying to target others species such as snapper and flathead.

The land-based fishermen are also enjoying success from the rocks around Marengo and further along the Great Ocean Road towards Lorne at Artillery Rocks. Snapper and King George whiting have been consistently taken while silver trevally have been turning up on occasions as well. While the best fishing has been at night, some fish are still being taken early morning and late afternoon if fishing in the dark is not your cup of tea.

The boat harbour has seen a good number of silver trevally caught on pipis and pilchard fillets. Again, high tide has been the best time to target these hard little fighters. They respond very well to berley. A few mashed up pilchards in with some tuna oil and bread does the trick.

This is a great time of the year to fish and there are plenty of options available beside the ones listed above. If the sea is flat give the beaches around Cape Otway a try after dark. A gummy shark just might come your way. Alternatively, try and dive up a feed of abalone or crays.

Warm nights are great to target the rising trout in the Aire or Ford rivers and the estuary perch will be feeding again in the lower parts of the coastal flowing river systems.

If you need to be pointed in the right direction or just want some friendly advice give Surf-n-Fish a call on (03) 5237 6426.