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Game on for game fishers
  |  First Published: January 2010



February offers what some would consider the best fishing of the year.

Anglers are usually blessed with warm, settled weather and clear days dominating the weather pattern.

The game angler also has a great deal to look forward to with there being recent captures of striped tuna, albacore tuna and mako sharks.

Bottom fishing is also an option for the boat angler that can get out wide with striped trumpeter and morwong perch available.

Tasman Peninsula

Recently Tasmania game anglers have been amongst the action with the first of the game fish species being caught.

As in previous years, Hypolite Rocks and further east towards the continental shelf is the location that deserves the most attention.

Hypolite Rocks is usually the centre of attention with the rock and its little brother attracting all types of marine life including seals, striped trumpeter, morwong perch, and most importantly bait fish!

Sisters Rocks further up the coast are also a personal favourite hot spot.

Lures usually consist of a spread including two or three large pushers (usually dark in colour) a smaller bullet head lure or Yo Zuri skirt and finally a deep diver such as a Mack bait or Rapala. The standard game outfits include 10kg, 15kg and 24kg overhead combos.

For those that prefer a more relaxed form of fishing bottom bouncing for gurnard, king flathead, perch and latchet can be productive.

Large threadline or Alvey reels are usually the required tools, with these spooled with 50-80lb braid.

Best baits are squid, striped tuna belly flap, pilchards and red bait.

An oversized paternoster rig is all that is required.

For those that are not afraid of getting in the water there is also healthy numbers of crayfish and abalone available.

Southport

Southport offers two distinctively different fisheries. An outside fishery where anglers can target an abundance of reef fish, and the more sheltered water where the Lune River is located on the inside of the headland.

The Lune offers typical estuary fishing with good numbers of bream, sea run and resident trout, flathead, silver trevally, Australian salmon and Atlantic salmon.

The reef fishing outside the main bay is popular, particularly during the summer months when shack owners hit their favourite hot spots.

The most popular technique is traditional bait fishing with a paternoster rig and squid or pilchards as bait being the preferred method.

For those feeling a little more active drift spinning the shoreline from a boat is also highly recommended where anglers will encounter a large array of sportfish such as Australian salmon, wrasse, pike and barracouta.

Heading up river the estuary holds a good head of large bream and sand flathead both of which can be taken on soft plastics or a running sinker rigged with bait.

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