Tim Mitchell – Esperance, WA
On the South coast of Western Australia, March traditionally brings glassy days and hungry fish.
Southern bluefin tuna have started arriving. Whether this related to the annual salmon run, I’m not but it’s interesting to see these top sport-fish here at the same time.
My hottest jig at the moment is the Catch Betabug. It’s a This jig is dynamite jig for newbies as it doesn’t require a high level of skill or high-end long-fall jig rods to produce a productive action. With the salmon around try relocating the assist hooks to the end of the jig and casting it into a school. This will increase the swimming action on the retrieve and produce plenty of fish.
In the deeper water, demersal predators like the snapper and nannygai are taking this jig (conventionally rigged) on the drop and when slow pitched through the bottom half of the water column. I even find fish eating it with the rod in the holder while I’m doing other things.
Good luck out there and make the most of the good weather!
Ben Pinniger – Melbourne, Victoria
With Summer sliding sideways into cooler seasons water temperature around Victoria dropping fast, and the snapper will be feeding hard before they depart as well.
Autumn usually delivers calmer days and good fishing for Westernport and Port Phillip Bay. Look for XOS squid and whiting. Elephant Fish will be arriving in Westernport soon too, and these boys will provide great sport on the Catch 4-8kg spin outfits.
Personally, I’ve been fishing shallow and corner inlets with great success on silver trevally and blue spot flathead, with the best results on the Orange Assassin and Shady Lady Kaburas at 60gm. A slow drift in 6-12m with the rod in holder has seen bag limits of flathead in the 40-60cm range. The odd Gummy Shark has also bobbed up for a bit of added excitement on the Kensai slowpitch rod.
