Good fishing continues into the cooler months

in deeper waters all around the state.

Anglers have been making the most of the settled weather over the last month, with a variety of popular species biting well into the Easter season.

Southern bluefin tuna continue to be caught in the southeast of the state around Cape Pillar. Jumbos (fish over 100kg) seem to have lessened off in Peninsula waters, and are now being encountered east of Maria Island and further north to Bicheno. Meanwhile, good fish have picked up in recent weeks around Fortescue Bay. School fish continue to be caught in good numbers. Bluefin are now being caught from Mewstone in the south to St Helens further up the east coast. Storm Bay blues have kept anglers happy close to Hobart.

Albacore tuna are now spread far and wide, with some fish up to 17kg being caught in the southeast near Tasman Island. Tuna have been enjoying the multitude of bait species along Tasmania’s east coast of late, and are running well off Bicheno, St Helens and Eaglehawk Neck.

Schools of yellowfin tuna have been spotted up and down the east coast.

Big numbers of arrow squid are still being caught

Although southern calamari were only small at the start of summer, the size has picked up in recent weeks, and the autumn calamari have been huge! These are available in the lower Derwent River and Channel areas. Further afield – in fact, state-wide – there are good numbers are available. April is a great time for this species.

Sand flathead are continuing to bite well on bait, lures and fly. The best spots for a feed include Storm Bay, Marion Bay, Fredrick Henry Bay and White Beach. Try trolling for this species with some RMG Poltergeist lures in R19.

Good-sized Australian salmon have been caught around Dennes Point on Bruny Island, and near Kingston and South Arm, close to the CBD. Hotspots are popping up in most regions, with anglers making the most of these impromptu schools.

Greenback flounder are now moving well, and we have had a string of settled nights recently giving anglers a chance to chase these fish in mirror conditions at night. South Arm, Lewisham, Dunalley and Orford area have all been reported to be producing fish.

Anglers continue to take tiger flathead off the east coast, out wide in 55m+ of water. An autumn run is underway off Fortescue and Storm Bays.

Mako sharks are still turmoil up in berley trails around the state.

Good striped trumpeter are now biting well on the west, south and east coasts. Settled weather has finally allowed anglers to venture out. The size has varied, but fish to 9kg have been taken.

Southern rock lobster continue to pot well in most locations. Please remember that the season closes at the end of this month for both male and female cray.

Nearly all parts of the state are continuing to enjoy a fantastic run of kingfish. The waters are cooling though, and this species might only be around for a few more weeks.

For the moment, sea-run trout continue to be caught in the mid reaches of the Derwent and Huon estuaries. Both these waters are open to angling to the Huonville and New Norfolk bridges by anglers holding a current freshwater angling licence. Spin, troll, soft plastics and fly are all producing fish.

Great late season fishing continues for black bream. They are still being caught in good numbers around Cornellian Bay, Store Point, Bowen Bridge and Cadbury Point. The use of bait has been effective, along with flies and bibbed lures.

Both brown and rainbow the surface and subsurface, such as this Doctor. trout are highly active at Great Lake, and it should continue to produce fish for the rest of April and May. With continued settled weather at this time of year, you shouldn’t have much of a problem picking a day conducive to good fishing at altitude. Enjoy the settled weather over the next few weeks or so, while it lasts.

Other waters such as Lake Pedder and Lake King William are fishing well. Easterly weather lately has seen these waters relatively calm and sheltered.

Closer to home, Craigbourne Dam has received multiple stockings of both brown and rainbow trout. Most fish seem to be around the 1kg mark, with scrub worms working well.

Picking a good day to fish is normally a challenge as we move closer to winter.

However, at the moment in the highlands, the heat is still lifting water temperatures during the middle part of the day, which is keeping trout on the prowl and in search of food. The upside has seen dawn and dusk fishing to be action-packed for the first hour of the day, and the last 3-4 hours.

With the good fishing continuing into autumn, it doesn’t get much better for anglers. Both the salt and the fresh are firing well above what they should be, so get out there for a few last trips before things shut down for the year.

Only 10 months after the DPI installed the kingfish reefs in Port Phillip Bay, recent monitoring has revealed an impressive array of marine life covering the modules.

Along with multiple sponges, sea squirts and mussels, a large school of trevally were seen darting around the structures during a VFA dive.

Varieties of invertebrate and algae species are also making the most of the large surface area provided by the modules.

The reef locations are providing a great new and safe location for anglers to target kingfish away from the busy shipping channel. VFA has also attached a receiver to one of the modules to record any tagged fish in the area. VFA scientists have also been out on the water with baited remote underwater video (BRUV) cameras recently, monitoring the colonisation of rocky reefs around Geelong. The cameras were deployed at Wilsons Reef, Moolap Reef, and Mervs Reef to compare species abundance and diversity to that of a bare sediment site.

The accompanying photo was taken at Wilsons Reef, where video footage shows leatherjacket, pinkie snapper, blue warehou and yellowtail scad. Other footage revealed plenty of flathead, the odd trevally and even a visit from sammy the seal!

You can learn more about the rocky reefs, including where they are, at vfa.vic.gov.au/ rockyreefs. – Victorian Fisheries Authority