Spring is well into swing now and there are some magnificent days to be had on the water.

With spring has come an increase in water temperatures in the bay, 14-16C seems to be constant at the moment and small pilchards, anchovies and the Tasmanian whitebait have moved into the bay.

Fish such as Australian salmon, tailor, pike, searun trout and even trevally will all feed heavily on these schools of bait. The schools of salmon that were holding down the channel have dispersed throughout the bay now and can be found throughout the Moulting Bay, Stiegletz Boat Ramp and Sea Scout Hall areas.

There has also been some good-sized tailor mixed in with the salmon and these fish will respond to the same techniques and lures.

Soft plastic lures such as Squidgy Fish in Mint Jelly and Silver Fox, or my favourite the new Squidgy Pro Range Flick Baits with S-Factor in Evil Minnow and Pacific Pearl patterns are dynamite on large salmon and the tailor.

There has been some large silver trevally caught in the Moulting Bay and Channel areas as well with a few fish reaching 50cm and over in length.

Once again these large fish that we have become accustomed to over the last few years have again graced us in good numbers this season.

Mixed in with some of the schools of trevally has also been some silver morwong and small snapper; a welcome catch and great sport on light tackle. They are also a great table fish.

Fishing the sandy edges of the main channel has also produced small numbers of King George whiting; this is once again testimony to the variety and diversity of species being offered in Georges Bay.

Large King flathead are now being caught a little deeper offshore. Water depths need to be around 70-80m but the fish are in tight patches and require a little more searching to find. The average sizes of the flatties however are more than making up for the effort to find them. With the striped trumpeter season closure coming to an end and reopening for November we will see a hoard of boats out on the closer reefs looking for a feed of this fine table fish. Reefs in 80-140m of water will hold good schools of fish and whilst baits such as octopus and squid take their fair share of fish, the use of knife jigs is becoming more and more popular.

Jigs in the 150-300g range are perfect weights for the varying depths and jigs such as the Shimano Lucanus Jig rigged above a snapper sinker and jigged vertically just above the reef are proving deadly on the larger fish.

November will also see the opening of the rock lobster season for recreational anglers; so long as the weather is favourable we should see some good catches of cray’s.

For all those anglers hitting the water at this time be aware of cray pot marker buoys and ropes in the water on many of the coastal reefs as they can be a hazard to boat travel and it’s a busy time at our ramps and on the water.

The last month has seen some fantastic bream catches from various east coast systems. The Scamander River, Ansons Bay and the Swan River have all produced excellent fish for the start of the spawning season and the next month should see this action increase.

The Scamander River is producing the best fishing at the moment and the stand out lures being the 100mm Squidgy Wriggler in Wasabi with S-Factor and the vibe style lures such as Strike Pro Cyber Vibe.

Jamie Henderson owns St Helens Bait & Tackle right next to the fabulous Georges Bay. Call Jamie on 03 6376 2244, he has all the latest in tackle and bait and all the latest fishing information.