This past month, when the weather permitted, I fished different locations with varying success. I put a day in chasing winter snapper up at the Boulton Channel, which is the northern end of Western Port Bay, and never had a touch. I fished Gunnamatta Surf Beach and landed a few nice salmon. I spent three days at Bemm River with my brother and caught plenty of bream, with some fish over a kilogram. Even though it’s the middle of winter and it’s cold, if you rug up and get out there, there’s still good fish to be caught.

Williamsons, Baxters and Gunnamatta beaches are all fishing well. Salmon up to 3kg are being caught. A lot of people regard salmon as a poor table fish, which is a bit of a misnomer. Bleed the fish as soon as it’s caught. When you fillet the fish, take the skin off and cut out all the red meat bits – you’ll be surprised. My favourite way of cooking salmon is to make fish cakes. When the fish is prepared properly, there’s no bad taste. People don’t believe me when I tell them that it’s salmon.

Below the bridge, the Cleeland Bight area is producing sweet calamari, and the odd whiting on the last of the run-off tide. There have been good schools of salmon moving in and out of the Entrance. If you see birds working, you know there’ll be salmon underneath. Cast lures where the birds are working to get into the fish.

Above the bridge, there’s been occasional big winter snapper, coming in from the northern end of the bay if you’re prepared to put the time in. Calamari are around in reasonable numbers on the Tyabb and Quail banks. A few lovely gummies are around in the deep water off Ventnor. Fishing the slack water on low or high tide is best to target them.

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Tony Dalla-Rosa with a couple of nice bream caught at the Bemm.

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The author with a 3kg Gunnamatta salmon.