Warm weather and all the fish are here, whether you fish inshore or offshore.

The next three months will see Flinders Island fishing at it’s best.

Inshore good catches of gummies and flathead are being reported from both sides of the island with larger school sharks being taken on the east coast.

Snapper are in reasonable numbers off Kangaroo Island although no reports of any very large fish caught yet.

King George whiting are around with some large fish among them, but perhaps not in the same numbers as last year.

Yellowtail kingfish have visited the Lady Barron wharf at intervals and are now in with the schools of Australian salmon off Babel and Gull islands.

Offshore, the albacore moved south in January and striped tuna are in around in large numbers just inside the shelf feeding on krill.

Also feeding on the krill are schools of redbait. Redbait are the prime source of food for the yellowfin tuna.

While sightings and catches of striped marlin are variable here from year to year at this stage all looks good for the February, March and April game-fish run.

Emails have been full of the news of the mako closure and the activities of various groups representing anglers in their efforts to change this hasty action.

The mako is an important recreational fish. I believe they are in reasonable numbers off our coast, and whatever the outcome, we hope that good science and a sensible outcome are the final result, rather than a hasty total ban based on figures from overseas.

One of the joys of a day at sea are unexpected visitors.

In the last couple of months we have had two leopard seals, which are normally an Antarctic resident come ashore on beaches. One has been on Goose Island and one at the Dock’s at the north end of Flinders Island.

I understand much of a leopard seal’s diet is penguins: perhaps they find our Flinders Island one’s tasty.