This week’s article is a split between local fishing reports and highlights from the Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA) Show held recently on the Gold Coast. Tim and I made the trip up to check out all the latest gear set to hit shelves this season. Some great new products were unveiled by leading brands for both trade partners and the public—but before we dive into the gear, let’s see what anglers have been hooking into lately.
Salmon have been prolific off local beaches and piers for several weeks, with some solid models reaching up to 3.5kg. These fish provide hard, repeated runs and spectacular acrobatic leaps—an absolute thrill on light gear. Metal lures have been most effective, allowing anglers to cover more ground and keep up with fast-moving schools. The Daiwa OT Jigs have stood out as an affordable and reliable option for targeting these powerful fish. Around Port Fairy and Killarney, solid garfish have been in good numbers. Anglers using Cannonball berley, a floating ground berley mix, have been getting some great results. Fish over 40cm have been reported—perfect for a tasty feed. Offshore, there are plenty of gummy and school sharks about, but finding suitable conditions to target them has been challenging.
Trout are on the chew thanks to increased river flow from recent rain. Our trout competition continues to see some great entries roll in. Notably, Andy Cumming landed a trout within an hour of trying out his new Nomad Design Live Ops Spectre Minnow in Golden Shad, rigged on a light jighead. The internal foil in these lures gives them impressive flash and action, and they come in a variety of colours and shapes to suit different conditions. Lincoln Boekhout also reported success walking the upper Hopkins River, hooking a fish on his first cast. Unfortunately, the following 5km produced nothing—but that’s fishing! Tim Vincent scored a nice fish of 6lb on a Fish Arrow soft plastic on Tuesday afternoon, and Xav Ellul also landed a ripper in the upper Merri last week on a Daiwa Presso minnow in the 95mm size. Increased flow over Hopkins Falls (something we haven’t seen in a long time) is also likely to impact downstream conditions, especially in the estuary.
Heavy freshwater flow over the falls has pushed a noticeable layer of fresh water into the estuary, driving bream and perch to seek saltier layers beneath. Using a sounder alongside lures like blades can help you quickly locate feeding patches. At this time of year, paddle-tail soft plastics rigged on 1/12 or 1/8 oz jigheads, worked slowly, tend to be more productive than faster presentations. Adding scent can also make a big difference in triggering bites. At the Glenelg River, mulloway are on the move between Sandy Waterholes (second ski run) and Dry Creek. Blades in the 40–50mm range, worked with short sharp lifts on 6–10lb leaders, are proving effective. Again, using a sounder—especially one with side imaging or structure scan—is key to locating these elusive fish.
AFTA Show Highlights – New Gear for 2025
The AFTA show didn’t disappoint this year, with exciting new releases across rods, reels, lures, and accessories catering to all budgets.
Two standout rod series were the new Wilson Venom range, including a 7ft PE4 rod ideal for serious gummy chasers or northern reef species, and the Daiwa Infeet Interline range. The Interline rods guide the line internally from the stripper guide to the tip, improving sensitivity by eliminating standard guides that absorb blank feedback. Daiwa also refreshed the popular Demon Blood range, coming in from $449, and with many models ideal for our local offshore pelagics and bottom species. There was also a lot of affordable new ranges on order, we loved some of the options available from Shimano, TT, Samaki and the Live Fibre range from Wilson.
On the reel front, Daiwa once again impressed with the new 26 TD Sol series, now featuring a sleek navy and orange colour scheme. They not only look sharp but also feel great in-hand. For offshore enthusiasts, the Shimano Talica 40 and updated Talica 50 game reels were a hit. The 40 offers excellent line capacity at a more accessible price point—about $90 less than the 50. Budget-conscious anglers should keep an eye out for the Samaki Onyx range, especially in 2000 and 2500 sizes. At just $149.95 and finished in a stylish matte black, they’ll be a great choice for estuary anglers looking for value. There was plenty of nice baitcasters too, and there was a swing toward lighter BFS options to cast lures as light as 1 or 2g. Shimano's SLX BFS and Daiwa's Tatula BF are new models to suit this style of fishing and come in at under $350. Shimano's new Ultegra and Nasci ranges felt incredible too, both being fantastic value for their price point with some top end features.
Lure releases this year were dominated by prawn imitations, which may not impact our local scene heavily, but there were still notable standouts. Shimano reintroduced the Squidgy range with both classics and new additions - including the original Bug and Lobby. The new Glimma 90mm baitfish model features a slim minnow body with a microfibre tail that responds to the slightest rod movement—perfect for summer bream and perch on the edges and rock walls. Duo also impressed with updated colours across popular bream and trout models, with the Bivi Vibe colour range especially well-suited to southern techniques. Soft plastic releases were also standouts - the new Live Ops range from Nomad (in store now!) had some amazing options for both salt and freshwater, and the new Rapala Crush City Trickster crab is causing a lot of excitement in the bream fishing community. Berkley's Gulp squid in a 3" size will be great for pinkies and flatties, and the new TT Y-Ting jigheads paired with a 4" finesse worm will be awesome for local King George Whiting fishing.
One of the most exciting releases was AFN’s new leader material, Seapro Tournament Cofilament. This dual-layer system dramatically increases strength for a given diameter. For instance, their 6lb leader—just 0.2mm in diameter—breaks at around 15lb. The 60lb version is breaking at over 130lb, making it a must-have for serious tuna and kingfish anglers.
Expect to see these new products arriving in stores over the coming weeks—definitely worth keeping an eye out for.
With light winds forecast for Saturday and northerlies on Sunday, there could finally be a window for those who’ve been waiting to get out on the water.
Until next week—tight lines and best of luck out there!