Everybody is glad to leave behind the coldest Winter we have had for a while and the longer days are staring to fire up the fish with flathead being caught in many locations throughout the system.

Once Summer is here everything will really fire up. The entrance is looking good so hopefully this year we will see a good run of prawns.

Offshore, the best fishing is around Gabo Island for gummy sharks; the water is still too cold to fire up the flathead.

Along the beaches, salmon are being caught with good action in the gutters around Betka Beach and there have also been a few tailor mixed in with the salmon.

The recent rain was enough to open the Betka River to the ocean but without more rain it won’t be long before it closes again.

Some good yellowfin bream and black bream have been caught around the bridge by anglers using fresh frozen local prawns for bait.

This Winter the tailor action in the front section of the lake was excellent with plenty of fish around 45cm to 60cm and even bigger fish getting in on the action.

Metal lures have done well but, as the fish have started to wise up, soft plastics have done the trick.

The advantage of fishing with soft plastics is you come across some good trevally and yellowfin bream as well.

The tailor are starting to spread through the lake, along with salmon. You never know where they might turn up with fish caught over near Fairhaven one day and the next day they’re caught around Cape Horn.

The most reliable area for the salmon would be around the entrance. The average size in the lake is around 1kg to 1.5kg.

The biggest surprise I’ve had lately was when one of my clients caught a blackfish while retrieving a metal lure at high speed for a tailor. We never got to take a picture because the hungry pelican that was hanging around the boat ate the blackfish, snapped the line and took off with the fish and the lure.

Fishing for bream has been tough with the rivers holding plenty of fish but catching them is another story.

Bait fishing has been best with prawns the pick of the selections. Lure fishers have struggled, with fish caught one day and then nothing the next.