In the last month the fishing around Lakes Entrance has been nothing short of sensational. I have been receiving plenty of feedback from readers with great stories and pics. Keep them coming everyone!

For the whole of February, the fishing in Lake Tyers has been the best it’s been in years. No matter where you fish in the system there have been some great bags. Areas such as the Trident Arm, the Glasshouse, Mill Point and the Nowa Nowa Arm have all produced some great fishing. If you’re a mad keen lure junkie like myself, then now is the time to be hitting Tyers.

Anywhere along the edges and in the snags there have been huge numbers of bream literally fighting each other to attack lures. Small hardbodied lures have been hard to beat, as have been small plastics; even surface lures are producing the goods.

In the deeper water lures like the Damiki Vault blades have been working a treat. For some reason colours haven’t really made much of a difference, and most of the fish have really been engulfing them. Sessions of 30 plus bream are not uncommon, and it’s great to see so many of these fish being released to preserve fish stocks. The bream have been in top condition and are still full of roe, so conservation goes a long way.

The flathead have been so thick in places they almost become annoying. They are mostly of a good eating size (35-50cm), along with a few absolute crocs mixed in to keep things interesting. There have also been a few trevally kicking around, giving anglers a scare when the rod suddenly loads up and start losing line!

Bait anglers have been doing exceptionally well too, with peeled prawn and glassies the first choice of many anglers.

Back at Lakes Entrance the front lake jetties have been firing, with schools of big luderick cruising and feeding on the pylons, along with some thumping big bream that have been very hard to hook. The luderick have been taken on shrimp and green weed, fished either on slack line or under a float.

The bream will take some patience but a small spider crab fished without any weight should see a hook-up. Just keep in mind how old these big bream are and that they are the spawning fish; an important part of our ecosystem.

Flathead have been prevalent in the front lake also, and have been falling to prawn imitations such as the ever-reliable DOA Prawn. There have been some absolute monsters up on the sand flats, and plenty of eating-size ‘frogs’ mixed in with them.

Along the rock walls the luderick have been on fire, taking green weed under a float. Watch how the specialists do it – most will be happy to give you some advice. Just remember to take care on the rocks, as they can be a difficult place to fish and very dangerous if no caution is taken.

Happily, the prawns have begun their annual run and many people have been spending evenings dipping these tasty crustaceans as they run on the outgoing tide. The big king prawns haven’t yet arrived in big numbers, but the school prawns have been abundant.

Offshore the fishing has been great, with many boats getting into plenty of snapper and gummy sharks. The Pines area has been the pick of the lot, with big numbers of gummies in the area taken on fresh pillies and squid.

There have been a few dedicated anglers chasing makos and to my knowledge there have been plenty of sightings and a few hook-ups, but none landed just yet. Squid have also been a problem for anglers fishing dead baits.

The beach scene has been just as good, with lots of gummies and huge schools of salmon along the beach taking lures and pilchards. The salmon have been 1-2kg and have been great sport.

There have been a large number of skate hampering angler’s efforts chasing gummies. I was disgusted this morning while on the way up the beach going to work to see at least six huge skate dead on the beach, killed for no reason. It took two of us to drag these huge fish back into the water, rather than leave them to rot in the sun.

On a happier note, thanks again to all who have e-mailed me their reports and pictures, please keep them coming. Take it easy on the water.

Nathan Bekker recently caught this great 2kg trevally in Lake Tyers on a Squidgy Pro worm in the grenade colour.