I have often been asked which is my favourite fish.
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A fisher's standard response should be; to eat or to catch?
As far as eating goes, you can't go past whiting fillets or flathead tails; both dusted with flour and pan-fried in butter, hot or cold with salad and chips; they are superb.
As far as catching fish goes, it's a toss-up between a tuna or kingfish. Both never give up, and pound for pound give any angler a decent go for their money. A bonus is both are fine table fish as well; tuna especially, when cooked fresh.
This leads me to the call I had from Rod Lawn, from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff.
Rod said that last week he bagged all four of the above mentioned fish, flathead in good numbers and whiting inside the heads.
Rod said that there were schools of kingfish feeding on the salmon in the rip and off Point Lonsdale. At the 60 m mark, he was still hooking up to the occasional tuna.
Rod said there was some late season snapper on salmon fillets and squid to be found inside the heads, and near the ferry terminal, he was catching silver trevally. They are not bad eating either but can be a little dry.
Rod said the whiting were biting on squid, but it was a must to keep your bait fresh and cast to the sandy patches among the grass and sun wood.
Don't be eager to string when you get a bite and hang on; whiting will give a good account of themselves on light gear.
Catching flathead is like shelling peas. I cut my teeth fishing for flathead, but be warned they have a nasty spot of spikes alongside their gills, so take care when handling them.
Fishing around our area still provides plenty of action, with both cod and yellowbelly being caught on the Goulburn River from Nagambie to Murchison.
Below Toolamba and Shepparton is also worth a try; the best baits are worms, yabbies, grubs, as well as cheese and chicken. The same goes for the Murray River.
Lake Mulwala has been patchy; fish the tree line that follows the old riverbed and under the trees near the Ovens River's mouth.
Redfin are still on the go at Waranga Basin, Eildon, and Lake Hume. My newsagent (early birds get the worms) headed back to have a rematch with the fish to see if he could catch some more.
At Dartmouth, the trout are starting to feed nearer to the surface as it begins to cool down, trolling lures and baited fenders are working well.
Rivers and streams in the High Country are fishing well, although most fish are not big. They are pan-sized and still worth catching. Casting baits, lures or fly fishing is the best method or find a deep hole and angle a bait below a float.
At Eden, north of the border, Mark from Freedom Charters said bottom-bouncing the inshore reefs was providing anglers with morwong, snapper, flathead, leather jacket and other reef fish.
Mark said that he was also catching occasional kingfish.
Graham Cowley at Narooma said it was similar outside the bar, around Montague Island.
He said that bream and flathead were also providing a rough weather option around the oyster leases.
Continue to stay safe, wear a mask and wash your hands with sanitiser.
What's Trelly's poison?
Shimano Poison Adrena$549
Ask Steve Threlfall what his poison is and he doesn't hesitate: the Shimano Poison Adrena rod.
"This top-end rod absolutely rocks, they are super sensitive,” Trelly said.
The Poison Adrena range of rods are perfect for all sorts of estuary and freshwater lure fishing and come in spin and baitcast models.
They all share Shimano’s Spiral X Core, which uses carbon tape spiralling up the inside of the rod for strength and twist resistance.
Stainless guides and a titanium tip make for trouble-free and accurate casting, especially if you like to flick lures up into snags and around structures.
Metanium MGL Baitcast
$649
Trelly reckons this is a new standard for baitcasters in the Australian market and a couple have already flown out the door after arriving this week.
"You can pair this with the Poison Adrena and it has the line capacity, drag and everything you need to go after cod,” he said.
"It is important to note that this is not just a Shimano design, it is engineered in Japan."
The magnesium CoreSolid body is designed to deliver unmatched durability, rigidity and sensitivity.
To further enhance cast-ability and control, the new SVS system has been included to provide a wider range of brake adjustment via the external dial.
The Micro Module main gear is solid brass construction and Silent Tune technology reduces spool bearing vibration for smooth reeling.