Clifton Springs remained a go-to location for squid and whiting over the past week as anglers awaited the annual run of snapper that begins about this time.
The Point Richards channel off Clifton Springs produced snapper to 7kg in limited numbers, which at least showed they were around.
The most effective baits were fresh squid and silver whiting.
Barry Wood ventured out from Indented Heads to drift for flathead, managing several nice-sized fish on bluebait.
Then Barry noticed something different hit his bait, so he send down a squid jig down and boated three good-sized specimens.
They were also the main target at Queenscliff with quality squid to 2kg taken in the Point Lonsdale Bight. Larger jigs accounted for most captures, with size 3.5 popular.
Whiting were also targeted with the grass beds producing fish to 45cm.
Kevin Hunter managed a flathead just over 1kg while chasing whiting on the grass beds on Saturday evening.
The Barwon River estuary held fantastic numbers of mullet, small Australian salmon and silver trevally. Cut up pippies and prawns on a running sinker rig fished from one of the numerous land-based platforms produced doog numbers of fish during the run-in tide.
Anglers who sourced live Bass yabbies caught bream in the upper reaches of the system.
The south-west coast was exceptional recently for world-class action on southern bluefin tuna.
Damien Berg and Christian Jones travelled down to Port Macdonald where they trolling a Tornado T7 skirted lure.
Their first fish tipped the scales to 100kg while their second barrel was almost an identical weight.
Trout season opened for river and streams last weekend so Dylan Pace put in some time and kilometres searching the streams surrounding Warrnambool.
Casting hard-body lures, Dylan encountered brown trout to 2kg, which fought hard in the skinny water.
Tackleworld Geelong’s Michael Moore was up again at first light trolling the lake margins of Lake Purrumbete.
Short-changed by a matter of grams for the elusive 10lb trophy trout last time, he was determined to hit the mark.
Michael’s Tassie Devil was soon taken by a trout that leapt numerous times before he boated the 75cm brown trout, which passed the magical mark to reach 5.47kg.
Michael used a twin-assist hook set-up on his lure which worked a treat in embedding both hooks well into the trout’s jaw.
He went on to fish the rest of the morning, finishing with another brown trout of 4.46kg.
Adam Van Der Lugt ventured up to Bright over the weekend but the going was tough with the rivers flowing high and dirty.
Casting hard-body lures to clean, slowing-moving clean water produced several brown trout to 35cm.
Closer to home, Michael Evans put in a few hours casting soft plastics at Wurdee Boluc Reservoir.
He caught a 1.65kg, 47cm redfin using long casts to reach weed beds.
Next week should spoilt anglers for choice, with snapper and squid a chance off Clifton Springs and Queenscliff best for large squid in good numbers.
Portland and Port Macdonald will be worth the effort for trophy tuna while trout anglers should try Lake Purrumbete.
