The fishing in lake Tyers has been very productive for bream, flatties, trevally and a surprising number of small pinkie snapper.

The bream have scattered over the drop offs and rocky points and have been mainly targeted with metal vibes and sinking stick minnows. Some really nice fish to 1.5kg have been caught and released and sessions of 20-40 fish have been a regular occurrence. Plenty of flathead have been taken from the bream schools and Dwayne Nielsen recently got a shock when an 87cm flathead ate the tiny metal vibe. This fish was one of the most solidly built flatties I have ever seen and was released after some quick photos.

Most of the other flathead have been around the 40cm mark and are great eating at this size.

The big tailor have also reappeared around Long Point and are easily located by the birds following the schools. Trolling metal lures or diving hardbodies is a good way of picking up these fun fish. Some have been up to 60cm and no doubt there are much bigger fish there too.

Some big luderick have been taken again from the Devils Hole area by slack lining live shrimp and sandworm in the snags on heavier gear. One fish in particular weighed exactly 5lb cleaned! Even more surprising was the fish measured 47cm and looked as deep in the body as it was long. For this sort of fishing I wouldn’t recommend anything less than 12lb line. Just remember though to only take what you need for a feed and release any other fish.

Around Lakes Entrance the whiting have been hit and miss but the persistent anglers have found the fish in deeper water towards Nyerimilang. Mussel and pipi are probably the most reliable baits but they will also take sandworm or bass Yabbies. Kalimna Jetty has good numbers of Bass yabbies in winter so have a search around as these are a top bait on the whiting and a host of other species.

The flathead have been biting along the Kalimna rock wall and towards barrier landing on live mullet and soft plastic shads fished on light weights so they hang just above the bottom.

As the water gets colder the flatties will become more lethargic and downsizing both plastic size and jig weights is a good option. Try any areas where the sand meets rocks or weed bed and cover the area thoroughly.

Some good bream have been hanging around the footbridge and along the sand flats opposite McDonalds. Fishing with live prawn, shrimp or sandworm is nearly a guarantee of a few fish, and lure anglers will have fun throwing small hardbodied lures or surface plastics.

The highway bridge has been fishing well for big luderick but persistence is required. Green weed is the prime bait here and although there are lots of small fish the bigger ones are there and around the tide changes is the best time to get the bigger fish. Lots of smaller salmon and tailor have been hanging around the boat ramp and are best-targeted using metal lures or pilchard fillets.

The surf has been fishing well for big salmon and tailor on fresh squid or pilchards. Metal lures like Halco Twistys and Lazer lures are always popular choices for those wanting to cover more water. Of an evening, gummies have been caught between Pettmans Beach and eastern beach on squid legs, salmon fillets and blue poppers.

Offshore the gummies have been fishing really well around the pines and the grange. Anchoring up and berleying will attract the gummies, along with salmon, flatties and squid. If the slimy mackerel turn up they make great bait so its worth catching a few and putting one out as a livie. Flathead have been taken around the 20m mark by drifting and the 6-mile reef has been producing some nice snapper when the weather allows.

Unfortunately this will be my last area report as I have just taken up a job on Melville Island. It has been great to be able to contribute to such a wonderful magazine and would like to thank everyone for the opportunity and everyone who emailed through reports and photos.