“80 salmon they caught on fly; the best 6lb.” Barney was passing on the classic ‘Should’ve been here last week’ fishing report. Seems that a bit over a week ago, a huge school of salmon moved into Andersons Inlet and for a time at least, the channel I’d just been pulling a Clouser through, had been alive with cracking fish that were hitting anything. By the time I arrived though, the school had moved on – either back out to sea or to somewhere within the vast network of channels that make up the Inlet. That’s salmon fishing; for the big ones anyway.

At least the couple of days I spent down that way were beautifully sunny with gentle breezes; a far cry from the wintery gales that often lash this coast. I even caught a couple of little herring, so the Inlet fishing wasn’t a complete failure.

Further west, the Powlett River was wide open to the sea and fishing quite well under the same mild, tranquil conditions as Andersons. I managed a couple of bream, some small salmon, and I think I missed a take from my nemesis – an estuary perch.

I explored some new water too, and had a lot of fun with the family – even the less fanatical fishing members were more than happy to be out in the sun.

Years ago, when I lived in Melbourne, I fished this area a lot. With a good mate now based on that coast for a few days most weeks, I’m looking forward to more visits and reacquainting myself with some of the finer points of the local fishing.