Johnathan Feeney with the mullet he caught from the Ocean Grove boat ramp pontoon on Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon, a handful of folk fishing into the face of gale force westerlies from the Ocean Grove boat ramp pontoons caught my eye. Braving the weather, I walked out to find that mullet were the catch of the day; one of which Johnathan Feeney obligingly plucked out, during my brief visit, for the benefit of my camera.
Freshwater
Even reliable contributors like John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park have had very little input from all but the very keenest of anglers last week, one of whom was Lachlan Curry who guided his Kayak into sheltered waters on Purrumbete to be rewarded with five rainbow trout to 2.2 kg, all being caught on Berkley Powerbait.
Apart from that said John, most of the action has come from the dedicated band of land-based anglers fishing Lake Bullen Merri, who – usually of an evening – continue to catch rainbow trout and chinook salmon.
Just sampling: The typical signature of large snapper just mouthing baits during winter (Picture: Murray Scott).
Prospects
With less than the usual number of reports coming in over the past week and weekend and a week of school holidays in the offing – along with the promise of improved weather – I feel a review of some prospects is in order.
Portarlington
Both the Portarlington Pier, the breakwater extending from it, and the secondary breakwater that extends from the northern end of Fisher Street have been a boon to anglers throughout the year:
Legal size Australian salmon have been caught from the pier, particularly during the afternoons, both by anglers casting metal lures and those fishing with bait.
Both breakwaters have produced legal size pinkie snapper, some weighing in at a kilogram or more, along with the occasional reasonable whiting.
Sesar took this photo of the St Leonards boat ramp. It’s covered in sand at the moment, possibly due to the weather. Let’s hope it’s soon restored, particularly with the forecast improvement in the weather.
Barwon estuary
This week’s mid-morning incoming and high tides, hold promise of mullet and silver trevally, along with an occasional legal size Australian salmon. And, for the more adventurous, the incoming tides on evening are well worth trying with the chance of catching a mulloway.
Glenelg River
Speaking of mulloway, Matt Cini of Reel Time Charters – whom we’ve mentioned lately in relation to his clients captures southern bluefin off Portland, and other species as well– demonstrated yet another string to his bow with the weather wiping out virtually all offshore fishing throughout last week, and over the weekend.
Mind you, it wasn’t all calm and serene on the Glenelg River at Nelson either, with lightning, thunder, and gale force winds ripping across Taylors Strait as night fell. But undeterred, Matt stuck it out, catching his bag limit of mulloway to 88 cm and releasing several others before calling it quits.
The Glenelg River has long been famous for mulloway, but it had been some time since we’d seen a truly big one caught here. However, an article by Anthony Brady in the June 30 edition of the Warrnambool Standard, described the capture of a 31 kg mulloway by Nelson angler Neil Humphries. Neil was using the tried and true method of slow-trolling a live mullet behind his dinghy after dark when he hooked the big fish.
So, a trip to Nelson may be worth your while. You may take your own boat, or – what would probably be more convenient for some –hire one from Nelson Boat hire; phone 08 8738 4048.
Bob McPherson took this photo of a southern Right Whale and he calf off Dutton Way.
Murray asks:
Geoff, I’ve tried for snapper on the bay a time or two of late, and – while I seem to be picking fish up on the sounder – an occasional firm and steady pull on the line is the only response I’ve had. On checking the baits, there are clear indications that something has been sampling them: Snapper do you think?
Murray, from the photo you’ve sent me there is no doubt the culprits are snapper. However, with cooling water temperatures, snapper – particularly those that have been wintering in the bay for some time – become difficult to catch, often just sampling anything edible without the usual aggression displayed in the warmer months.
I use the word “often” because there are times – even at this time of year with bay temperatures often below 10 degrees Celsius – they do feed aggressively, but for much shorter periods of time than are experienced in warmer water temperatures.