Well we're right in the thick of the beach fishing season here and many anglers are experiencing the best salmon fishing that they've seen for at least the last 2 or 3 years. Numbers of fish have been good and average size has also been good - with good sized schools of bigger fish hanging about as well. As for the hot beaches, close to home the best have been Gunnamatta and Kilcunda, with Venus Bay/Walkerville excellent and the 90 mile has been very good also.
A hot tip if you're heading out to the beach - check the conditions of your chosen location from aerial maps or satellites first if possible.
When you're looking at a satellite view of your location the giveaway of deep water 'gutters' and 'holes' is easily picked up in the above photo. Gunnamatta
beach has a few nice gutters which are easily distinguished by the red stars marking them. The darker water usually means deeper water or weed and
rock - but in this case you can see that it is deep clear water. From the satellite view you can see the breaking water and the direction which the
gutters move along the beach - just bear in mind the satellites aren't updated every day so they are a 'guide' for you, when you get to the beach a
10 minute scout from the dunes or high vantage point will confirm deeper water for you.
Customer Mark has been putting his beach knowledge to good use down at Venus Bay this week with some great salmon landed. During his last few sessions
Mark has been spinning the fish up using metal stickbaits in 40g and 60g weights. Mark has caught more than his share of fish, with some models topping
3kg on the lures. Leaving them biting and having some much bigger fish shake the trebles out, Mark will be back with a vengeance after upgrading to
assist hook set ups on his lures.
Customers from the store and members of the Keysborough Angling Club fished the section of the 90 mile beach in Gippsland at Woodside beach and had some
excellent results. With all members landing salmon it was an excellent trip, and the largest salmon weighed in at 1.5kg which was caught by Mark Watson.
Over all just over 150 salmon were weighed in over the two days, which shows excellent numbers of fish.
Happy anglers with their salmon! The salmon along the 90 mile have really been hitting bluebait, with blue and red surf poppers also claiming lost of fish.
Some anglers fishing small 'bungee grubs' on the back of their poppers have been catching just as many fish as anglers who are fishing bait. The best
part about these plastics is that they're crab-proof!