A shark after dark: Mick Kollaris (in red), Bill Athanasselis (in white with rod and reel), and the night shift from the Hotel Grand Pacific at Lorne, with the shark.
Last month, Mick Kollaris and Bill Athanasselis caught a bronze whaler shark of perhaps two metres in length from the Lorne pier, which we featured on February 20.
Returning on Thursday last week, they bagged another bronzie of about 30 kg just after dark; its tasty fillets being iced down in the Esky … but there was more to come.
From the scream of the reel, both knew this was to be a serious battle, which – by courtesy of modern telephony – soon attracted a crowd of eager bystanders including folk working the night shift at the Grand Pacific Hotel overlooking the pier.
With no hope of lifting a shark of perhaps 150 kg onto the pier, the task of leading it to a nearby beach was accomplished with the aid of many willing hands, followed by the obligatory cleaning process and distribution of the freshest of flake.
Before, or after dark? It could make a difference in the size of your catch, as Boris Stocki discovered (Picture: Steven Kovzan).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that flathead are about and there are some good ones among them as Dean McDermott and Bruno Massara can attest. They caught 17 using squid and pilchards for bait along the southern boundary of the mussel farm; the biggest measuring 55 cm.
Anglers fishing for whiting have complained that leatherjackets have been more prolific than their target species said Mike, but on Friday, Andrew Johnson and his friend Gary Crone – who finished with their respective bag limits of whiting to 38 cm – said the only delay to proceedings was a swarm of pinkie snapper, not leatherjackets, that ravaged their baits for half an hour or so in 4.5 to 6 metres of water off Curlewis.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that a break in the weather saw a good many boats out with squid the main catch. Most are small said Rod, but there are larger specimens to be caught by persistent anglers.
Victorian Inland Charters (South West) client, Nathan, with a 68 cm 3.5 kg chinook salmon from Lake Bullen Merri (Picture; Michael Evans).
Freshwater
Fishing the Murray River near Gunbower last week were Steven Kovzan, and Boris Stocki who was hoping to catch his first Murray cod, but the only one he caught that day though, was undersize.
While fishing into the night using Murray shrimp for bait, the bite nearly pulled Boris’ rod in, but a timely dive resulted in the capture of a 65 cm cod that he released. The only other fish they caught were European carp and several small silver perch.
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that Purrumbete has produced chinook salmon and rainbow trout to a kilogram or so with Jason Eastman from Ballarat among the successful anglers.
Also fishing Purrumbete was Jeff Broughton of Geelong, George Gillies of Winchelsea, and Bryan Nygaard of Bacchus Marsh, who collectively took rainbow trout on mudeye and minnow, and chinook salmon to a kilogram on various baits fished near the bottom, not to mention many redfin to 500 grams or so.
Lake Bullen Merri has been somewhat quiet said John, but Terry Sheppard and Charlie Goral of Regal Marine in Forest Hill, caught several chinook salmon fishing on pilchard fillets suspended just above the bottom.
Bryan asks:
Geoff I’ve been told that you can now fish from the Point Wilson Pier or from a boat alongside. Do you know if this is correct?
Bryan, that’s incorrect. You are not permitted to approach within 300 metres of, or fish from the Point Wilson Pier.
Along with others, I attended a meeting at the Point Wilson munitions facility In June 2006 and was provided with the following information:
The Point Wilson munitions facility, which includes the pier, is to be upgraded to receive ongoing shipments of defence ordnance. For this reason, an additional exclusion zone beyond the existing zone of 300 metres – in respect to the size and nature of these cargoes – has been marked out with yellow buoys from 1.5 to 2 km around the pier.
For security reasons, advance notice of shipping, and activation of the exclusion zone cannot be given, so your co-operation is requested when the yellow buoy lights are flashing and the red flag on the pier is flying.
My information is that the pier was never upgraded. However, the original 300 metre exclusion zone remains in force.