Port Albert has fished very well over the past month, especially with the snapper turning up again in great numbers.

It’s good when we have a late snapper season. While this season has been no disappointment, the really big snapper we have been used to hearing about over the past few years really haven’t shown up until now.

The biggest I’ve heard about so far was 12kg, and I’ve also seen quite a few 7-8kg fish as well.

These fish have been inside and outside the entrance, with most of the bigger fish outside around Whale Bay and along the patches of reef out to Cliffy Island.

Trevally fillets and yakkas have been producing some really big snapper, but most anglers are still only using pilchards and squid.

As well as big snapper offshore, there are also loads of gummy sharks. There are plenty of 1m long specimens, but there are also some big females to almost 6ft.

Many anglers are also getting plagued with baby gummies and baby school sharks. All you can really do is either move or persist through them in hope their parents are around.

There have been plenty of anglers drifting out wide around Cliffy Island for flathead, and it’s not hard to get the bag limit.

These fish are great eating size as well, so at least you’re guaranteed a feed.

The barracouta have been a pest out here as well, just like off McLoughlins and Lakes Entrance, but the coutas do make excellent mako shark bait.

I’ve heard of more than half a dozen makos caught this month ranging between 3-5ft.

Some have been in really close to the Port Welshpool entrance or out wide near Rabbit or Cliffy islands.

There’s been plenty of big bust-offs and bite-offs, which indicates there are still some huge toothy sharks out there, most likely either bronze whalers and smaller hammerheads.

There has been some good whiting catches lately, and also been plenty of small undersized whiting too. But if you keep moving around you’re likely to come across a patch a bigger fish between 32-35cm.

Pipis have been the best bait here, however at McLoughlins they have been taken on prawns as well, so they might be worth a shot.

I recently had a report where prawn baits resulted in more than half a dozen snapper for one group of anglers. This is probably due to the abundance of prawns in the system at the moment, so the fish are most likely accustomed to eating them, making prawn baits well worth a go.

The other bread and butter species such as flathead and garfish are also around in good numbers, it’s just a matter of getting out there and chasing them.

This month has been the best month of fishing all year, so don’t miss out on the next one!

For more information on fishing Port Albert, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 51748544 for some great deals on fishing tackle and expert advice.