It's somewhere where, once allowed, you can take the family and the boat and make some incredible memories. That place is the mighty Gippsland Lakes.

The largest inland waterway in Victoria has some incredible fishing on offer and is a boat enthusiast's wonderland.

Nestled some 550km from Warrnambool, this vast waterway is so big it would take you a couple of weeks to explore it all.

The system stretches over 65km just east of Sale and all the way down to Lakes Entrance, where it has a permanent opening to Bass Strait.

Because of this, the diversity of species is incredible with snapper, kingfish, whiting, salmon, tailor, luderick, flathead, bream and even the odd mulloway being caught, along with a few other not so common species.

The big drawcard that brings the anglers like myself to the lakes is the bream fishing, which on its day is the benchmark around the country.

Just last month, the Vic Bream Classic series held a tournament on the arena and the winning bag was a crazy 12.82kg for their best 10 fish - a crazy sack of fish considering 10kg is the mark that many tournament anglers try to get to each comp.

So what is classed as a big bream in the Gippsland Lakes system?

I've been fishing this place for about five years now, and it never ceases to amaze me of how big these fish are.

Anywhere else, a kilogram fish would be a great fish - there they are just bag fillers and will need to be upgraded in a tournament situation.

Don't get me wrong, a kilo bream is still a substantial fish - just not there. In the Gippsland Lakes, a big fish is classed anywhere between 1.5-2kg.

They are spread right through the system - it's just that these fish are super smart and very finicky when a lure or bait lands near them.

I personally have seen 2kg-plus bream swimming around oyster filled boat hulls and jetties, where they will follow the lure out and simply look at it.

So what actually makes up the Gippsland Lakes system? There are four major rivers that flow into the lakes, which offer a constant water supply to the area. These include the Latrobe River - which is the less known out of the four - and then there's the Mitchell River, Nicholson River and the Tambo River.

Don't just think that these are all you can fish, as there are hundreds of little back shoots that you can explore. The most popular rivers to fish out of the four are definitely the Mitchell and the Tambo. Anglers line the banks in the summer in the hunt for a feed of big bream and bank access is readily available along these two rivers.

If you have a boat and are wanting some of the best fishing you've ever had, then focus your efforts around the mouths of these two rivers as they have a lot of structure and obviously lots of big bream too.

But it's not just bream that you'll catch, flathead can also be targeted frequently through the summer - they are just hard to find in the colder months due to the water temperature dropping.

If targeting a feed of flathead, then try your luck down in Lakes Entrance along North Arm, as it has many sand flats where flathead love to lay and wait for a feed.

Fresh, live prawns are by far the best bait in the system for targeting the flatties and bigger bream.

If you're into your lure casting and you're land based, then there are plenty of options around the Metung area which has stacks of jetties and pylons where the big bream live.

Cranka crabs have won many competitions in this area since being released a few years ago, so one of these is a great starting point. A basic soft plastic set-up with either a grub tail or a small paddle tail will also get you some big bites.

If you're thinking of taking the boat down for a run, then stock up on some deep and mid diving hard bodies such as the OSP Dunks, Jackall Chubbies and Atomic Crank 38s, rip them into the sand and stir it up.

The big bream have been known to not be able to resist these, so it's an essential piece of kit for there.

There are many other great places to explore while in the area such as Lake Tyers - home of the biggest flathead in Australia - the Buchan Caves and many others that the whole family will enjoy.

Accommodation is readily available most of the year, but the peak times are pretty hard to get anywhere due to the influx of tourists and holiday makers.

Caravan parks, holiday homes and luxury villas are all available, so there is something for everyone's budget.

The Gippsland Lakes are a beautiful part of our country and well worth a visit once we are all allowed.

Until next week, stay safe and take care of one another.