The first fishing report back after iso is a real bumper edition, with some excellent captures by both saltwater and freshwater anglers.
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A couple of pending state records and many PBs were all caught in the first week back, so let's dive in and have a look.
SALTWATER
The tuna have well and truly flooded the offshore reports especially the influx of school-size fish being caught on a wide variety of techniques.
Generally speaking once these schools move into the shallow water they begin to feed on small white bait and are typically hard to catch but this year they have been eating almost anything.
Xavier Ellul and Luke and Mark Gercovich had a great late arvo session on stick baits cast into the many schools of busting fish.
The boys had double hook ups during this short session off Warrnambool. Sam, Ben and Tommy Powell along with Shane Murphy landed 12 tuna off Warrnambool on Saturday, trolling shallow running hard bodies and small skirts on the surface.
These slightly smaller fish then last year have been widespread from as far east as Apollo Bay and Port MacDonnell in the west.
There are some bigger fish mixed in with these school-size fish which have been a real handful for unsuspecting anglers fishing for school fish.
The other welcome return has been the school shark that have been coming in closer with some great fish taken.
John "Tack" Hewett landed a nice schoolie, a gummy and some nice pinkie snapper off Port Fairy last week while drifting in 40m of water.
Scott Gray had a nice mixed bag of pinkies, school shark and some tuna off Port Fairy too.
Drifting has been the best option and the most productive method for the offshore guys.
This also allows you to cover more ground and potentially find some new areas too that you might have missed while on anchor.
Squid and pilchards have been the pick of baits while drifting with pilchards getting the fish interested as they are a smelly bait and the squid is the tougher bait.
So, if you're drifting with a few rods then use at least one rod with pilchards as it acts as a natural berley.
For best results try looking for broken ground on the bottom on your fish finder and start there.
ESTUARIES
The estuaries across the south west have become very cold and this has had an effect on most of them around the south west.
I fished the Fitzroy on Sunday where the water was only 8.5 degrees and was crystal clear, making it very tough.
We did mange six nice bream, all on Atomic Shad 40s and a dozen or so small salmon.
The Hopkins has produced some cracking bream for both lure anglers and bait anglers alike.
Amanda Richards scored herself a 48.5cm bream while chasing mulloway at night, which is a trophy fish in anyone's books.
Mick Mahney scored his new PB twice in the one day when he snuck down early in the morning landing a 45cm bream.
Then he was back later that day with a 46! Both these fish were caught on soft plastics cast along the shallow edges.
There are a lot of anglers gearing up and getting itchy feet for the upcoming mulloway season.
There are fish in the river, but none have been landed that I know of as yet.
The tides have been great, which will make a huge difference with their bite patterns.
So if you've been thinking about targeting them, now is the time to do so.
Cut baits such as mullet and salmon fillets are a great option when the water is cold like it is now and will also give you a shot at a big bream or perch as bycatch.
When I'm targeting mulloway on cut baits, I try not to make the fillets too big as it takes the fish too long to commit to eating the bait.
I usually only use strips of mullet or salmon about 10cm long and about 3cm wide, and only put the hook through the very top of the bait and let it waft around in the current.
Remember that when chasing mulloway, patience is the key and you have to remember that it doesn't just happen every time you head out.
If you've never caught one and would like some information on these incredible fish, then come in and ask any of our helpful staff members who will be able to help you out.
FRESHWATER
The crater lakes at Camperdown have fired up this past week with some nice brown trout being landed in Lake Purrumbete and some cracking rainbows in Bullen Merri.
Dan Mackrell and Ben Hall had a great morning on Purrumbete on Sunday where they landed some great trout on hard bodies and soft plastics.
In what was an extremely cold morning the boys soon warmed up with a couple of solid fish to about 4lb.
Casting shallow running hard bodies such as the Bassday Mogul Minnows and Bassday Sugar Deeps along the weed edges, they were able to pinpoint the feeding fish.
The redfin have quietened down a fair bit and are sitting in seven-odd metres of water according to a customer who fished it last weekend too.
After a very quiet spell over the last few months, Lake Bullen Merri finally has started producing some nice fish with rainbow trout to 2kg being caught by anglers fishing off the bank and also trolling in their boats.
With winter feeling like it might be early this year we will be in for a great season all over the south west.
The rivers are still producing some cracking trout for those prepared to put in the miles.
Looking for running water anglers have been rewarded with fish to around 3lb and a few others lost that are well over that.
One unlucky angler had a 6-8lb trout shake the treble free on him, which subsequently won the trout its freedom.
With some pretty big swell coming up over the weekend I would have thought that opportunities will be limited.
If you do get out, tight lines and best of luck.
