Port Lincoln fishing report 16/04/2015

The 2015 Riviera Port Lincoln Tuna Classic has been run and won. 18 Boats landed 324 Bluefin Tuna between them.

Most anglers caught fish on Saturday, but Sunday proved a lot harder to find the fish with only a few caught.

Results: CHAMPION BOAT – THE BATTLER, 49, Most Fish, CHAMPION MALE ANGLER – ADRIAN BOTHUR, THE BATTLER, 18 Fish, CHAMPION FEMALE ANGLER - SUSAN TARBOTTON, TARI, 19 Fish, CHAMPION JUNIOR ANGLER – SAM CZABAYSKI, SPARTACUS, 7 Fish.

Well done to all involved and congratulations to the winners.

Pictured this week is Phill Pike with a 65cm Snapper caught in Coffin Bay. Phills advice is to use fresh Salmon as bait.

Now for what was biting and where

Elliston / Sheringa

The Jetty has seen good number of Tommies, Gar and Squid. Boaties have been doing well in Anxious bay for good sized King George Whiting and Locks Well has seen Salmon up to 4Kg and large Tommies.

Sheringa has the usual suspects, Tommies, King George Whiting and some flathead and the Salmon beach has seen salmon between 2 and 4 kg.

Almonta / Gunyah Beach

There have been reports of a few small schools of Salmon along the beaches. Fish in the 2-3 Kg bracket have been caight with Pilchard baits accounting for most fish.

Farm Beach

There have been some good reports from around Farm beach saying that there have been some good sized King George Whiting being caught. Cockles and Mussels fished in the deeper water and around drop offs seem to be the best way to get the bigger fish.

Coffin Bay

Around the Ledge continues to be the pick of the spots for some nice sized King George Whiting. There have also been reports of a few Snapper and Gummy sharks caught in the deeper areas of Coffin Bay. Anglers continue to see Kingfish in shallow water, but not many have been caught. Surface lures and big soft plastics would be a good way to have some fun with these fish.

Offshore has seen plenty of Bluefin Tuna being caught between Sir Isaacs and The Hummocks. Diving minnows such as XRAPS and Halco Lasers and skirted lures in Purple or Green seem to be accounting for most fish. Dropping jigs around any of the deep lumps have accounted for many Nannygai and Snapper over the last week. The Shimano Butterfly jig continues to be the hot jig from most reports and colour does not seem to matter.

Port Lincoln

Proper bay still has a few nice Blue Swimmer Crabs getting around, but the run seems to have slowed down elsewhere. Squid seem to be increasing in numbers and size with all methods working well.

Yellowfin Whiting and Mullet have been caught along the foreshore between the Town Jetty and the Silos with local prawn and cockles being the best baits.

Offshore has seen the Bluefin Tuna go a bit quiet, but with all of the bait schools around at the moment, the fish will be concentrating on whitebait and pilchard sized meals, so try smaller minnows and skirts. Everything from Swallowtail to big Samson Fish have been caught on jigs. The Butterfly type jigs seem to be the pick here as well, with them accounting for many good fish of all species over the last few weeks.

Tumby Bay

The Group has seen a reasonable run of King George Whiting with some big fish in amongst them. Some large Snook and Squid have been caught in 3 – 5 meters of water by boaties. Some Yellowfin Whiting have been spotted along the beaches and Squid, Snook and Garfish have been caught from the Jetty.

Port Neill

Lots of different species have been caught from the Jetty. Large Snook, garfish, Tommies and Squid are the most common. Try Gents and Cockles for bait. Boaties have been getting some nice King George Whiting from the northern grounds.

Arno Bay

Local charter operators are reporting that the Snapper are still around in reasonable numbers up to about 70cm. The King George Whiting fishing is excellent with some reasonable sized fish being caught in reasonably close to shore.

Cowell

Blue Swimmer Crabs have started to thin out. King George Whiting and Snapper continue to keep boaties busy out wider.

This week's Port Lincoln fishing report is supplied by Port Lincoln Fishing and Outdoors - Port Lincoln