We are starting to get more daylight, and temperatures are a bit warmer, making it more enjoyable to venture out angling. Although it will be some time before the ocean water warms up and the pelagic fish appear among the schools of bait fish.

But until then we can only look back on the season just over and re-live the finer moments and the exciting captures. Striped tuna in big schools, mako sharks captured up to 8ft and over, blue shark over 10ft, gummy sharks galore, plenty of school shark, and many other shark, barracouta by the boat load, pinkie snapper, morwong, squid, plenty of flathead both tiger and yank, gurnard, ling, blue head wrasse, leatherjacket, pike and many other fish.

That’s the fishing side of things on the other side the whales will be starting their migratory run along the coast, pods of killer whales and schools of dolphins.

But enough of that, the fishing now is still good (weather permitting), plenty of flathead, gurnard, morwong, barracouta, squid and gummy shark are on the chew. Many reports are coming in of anglers getting their bag, consisting of flathead, lots of gurnard and barracouta. Local anglers Allan Steel and Bob Marthick have been getting their share very regularly; with Bob getting the most until Allan relented and started using JIG-EM lure rigs. Allan tells me the difference was immediate and is now doing better than his mate.

The surf beaches have been fishing well all year with lots of good size salmon, tailor, flathead and shark on the chew. The beaches from Corringle, French’s Narrows. Point Ricardo, Salmon Rock, Conran and Yeerung are all taking turn of firing up. Salmon and tailor are taking metal lures, bait and poppers. Geoff Healey fishing with his son at Corringle has been having a ball catching good size salmon on light gear using flasher rigs.

Other reports of visiting anglers getting plenty of salmon and tailor, using Lazer lures at Point Ricardo. Good reports also from Salmon Rock where anglers gave been getting good size trevally, pinkie snapper, tailor and plenty of wrasse.

The Snowy River and Brodribb River estuary, although not fishing up to its usual fantastic best, is still good for the keen angler prepared to venture out in the cold of the evening. One such angler in Shane McConechy has had some excellent results fishing with his nephew Jack Armitage from Queensland. They were camped on the Snowy River bank and fished the shallows using bait and lures. They caught an excellent bag consisting of bream, luderick, trevally and mullet, with Jack capturing his biggest bream ever, a 42cm beauty caught on frozen prawn. Anglers are having plenty of fun catching salmon and tailor using metal and plastic lures.