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OFFSHORE: It was another week of great weather with light to moderate south easterlies early in the week and little or no swell. This encouraged all manner of craft to venture out across the bar, although those who stuck close to home faired best with the fish on the middle and outer reefs playing hard to get. The temperatures moved up again when the winds took on a northerly flavour just before the weekend but, apart from the close-in pelagic activity, it was pretty quiet.
Having said that, Double Island Point turned out to be worth the effort, producing squire, moses perch and, as you can see by the accompanying photos, red emperor and mahi-mahi. Sarah Stewart (above) was up there on a full day Cougar One charter on Saturday when her pilchard bait attracted the attention of the 5kg red emperor she's pictured with.

And on the same charter, Shawn Godwin (above) tempted his 6kg mahi-mahi with a live yakka bait. The Barwon Banks were very quiet, accounting for just the odd squire and pearl perch. Closer in, Chardon's Reef was the spot for mahi-mahi and teraglin jewfish, as was North Reef but with the added bonus there of squire, pearl perch and moses perch.
It wasn't necessary to travel too far for a bit of action, however, with spotted and Spanish mackerel, bonito and mackerel tuna responding to trolled hard body lures and cast metal slugs near Little Hall's Reef and around the shark nets in Laguna Bay. Squid skirted troll baits worked well on the Spaniards and spotties at Jew Shoal over the last few days.
The larger Spaniards were still on the prowl deep on Sunshine Reef for those with the urge and the skills to tackle them.