Geoff’s Fishing Report

Mark Sesar with a sample of the silver trevally he and wife Tina caught from the Barwon estuary on Saturday afternoon (Picture; Tina Sesar).

Barwon estuary

Mark and Tina Sesar fished the Barwon Estuary from the beginning of Saturday afternoon’s flood tide despite rough and windy conditions.

Initially there wasn’t much doing apart from a couple of pretty average size whiting that took the chicken they were using for bait, but as the tide came on apace dispersing their berley, they hooked a silver trevally of about a kilogram, the first of nine as it turned out, each providing great sport on light tackle.

The action lasted about 45 minutes until the fish moved upstream with the tide, leaving the pair to contend with undersize pinkie snapper and other small fish taking their baits before calling it quits.

Also fishing the Barwon estuary on Saturday evening’s high tide, from one of the jetties in The Sheepwash, was Tony Ingram who’d found the surf at Jan Juc a little too heavy for his liking.

He was hoping to catch a mulloway, and caught two, both being under the legal size of 60 cm, and – in conversation with a local angler – learned that these smaller fish have become increasingly numerous within the estuary over the past few weeks.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

With a northerly breeze early last week, Harley Griffiths and Stanley Owen headed out off Avalon, anchoring up in one of their favourite spots in front of the aquaculture sites, where initially – apart from a banjo shark or two – there wasn’t much doing.

A wind change shortly before dark had them pulling in their lines as the boat swung around, but the last line did not come easily, in fact quite a few metres were pulled off the reel against the drag by a snapper of about 5 kg that took a strip of squid. This encouraged them to fish on into the night, but it was the only snapper they caught.

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that squid have been the main chance right along the southern side of the bay, the unsettled weather being the stumbling block, but says that those to make the effort were rewarded with some good specimens.

Whiting were scarce this week by all accounts with even the best hookers in the business getting meagre returns; and they too finished up fishing for squid, both to replenish their bait supplies and to grace the table.

In fact the only positive information I’ve had on the whiting alluded to a good catch being made off The Cottage by the Sea at Queenscliff early last week, but with no names or pack-drill, it’s less than a total affirmation.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head, reports that the going had been tough during the week with less than ideal weather conditions, but with boats out on Sunday, he found himself assisting with flathead cleaning duties. These, for the main part, were caught on the drift along edge of the Prince George Bank.

Fishing the beginning of the evening ebb tide in Symonds Channel near Mud Island early last week, Col Simmons and his companion were hoping for a gummy shark, instead they caught just about everything else from rays to gurnard, and a seven-gilled shark.

However, anglers in a boat fishing nearby were seen to hook, and eventually catch what appeared to be gummy shark that would have been well into double figures. The pair stayed on until the outgoing tide began to run too hard to fish comfortably and left.

Jack asks:

Geoff, how long do you boil crayfish ? I bought a small one from the supermarket and completely ruined it.

Jack there are several sites on the web with that information. This one is from the SCUBA doctor https://www.scubadoctor.com.au/article-cooking-crayfish.htm

1. Add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to a pot of salt, or salted water, which is especially important with big crays.

· For every 100 grams over 2 kilograms, add another 45 seconds.