Dan Hoey and Julian Thomson with a 149 kg tuna taken aboard Salty Dog Charters (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Portland
Bob McPherson reports that while most of the tuna currently being taken off Portland are juveniles to 18 kg or so, big fish are still on offer. Among the successful anglers last week were Sean Carter and Simon Minto whose catch on Friday included one of 110kg while fishing with skipper Jayson Turner aboard Pro Red Fishing charters. Prior to that Salty Dog Charter’s clients Dan Hoey and Julian Thomson took fish of 124 and 149kg.
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
On Saturday afternoon, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar were out off Point Henry to catch the high tide change, and hopefully a good whiting bite during the ensuing ebb, and as it turned out they weren’t disappointed.
They found their quarry in around 7 metres of water north east of the Winchester site, and within three hours, each had taken their respective bag limit catches of whiting with their bigger fish over the 40cm mark.
On Sunday, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien found a good patch of fish off Hermsley Road, Curlewis from which they caught possibly fifty fish, returning all but fifteen really good ones measuring 34cm or better.
Squid also made their presence felt by grabbing a whiting or two, something which saw a shift in focus to catching squid of which they caught eight, including two weighing 1.5kg apiece.
Speaking of squid, Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that when last week’s weather allowed access, these tasty cephalopods were far and away the main catch and there were some good ones among them. Whiting were scarce though said Rod, but flathead saved the day for some.
Simon Minto, Sean Carter and Pro Red Fishing Charters skipper, Jayson Turner with Friday’s 110 kg tuna (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Off the Beach
Early last week, Tony Ingram fished the evening high tide from the beach at Jan Juc where, as is usually the case, there was no shortage of Australian salmon. Unfortunately, most were on the small side, so hoping for something decent, he fished into the night for a gummy shark or perhaps even a mulloway, sacrificing part of his salmon catch for bait.
Tony did eventually hook an obviously good size fish: It felt like a gummy shark he said, but after a minute or so it escaped, along with his hook and trace: Almost certainly a shark, but not a gummy.
Freshwater
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the weekend was fairly quiet with few fish taken, but among the successful anglers was Colby Lesko whose catch included a brown trout of 2kg and several chinook salmon.
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that nearby Lake Tullaroop has become a popular destination with many, including he and wife Amber, taking respectable catches of redfin.
Brown trout have also been caught by anglers specifically targeting them, said Kevin, with morning and evening possibly the most productive times to seek them.
Mark Sesar and Andrew Phillips with a sample of Saturday’s whiting catch.
Hugo asks:
Geoff, I’ve heard reports of salmon being caught at Cinema Point, which is on the way to Lorne, but it’s a cliff and any access seems to be through private property. Are you able to provide any information about accessing this spot and the tackle required?
Hugo, while there may be other points of access to the rocks under Cinema Point since I fished there during the early 80s, the approach shown to me by the late Ron Kitchen was to park in the cleared area on the left hand side of the Great Ocean Road as it climbs from the beach and turns right after crossing Spout Creek, which is just past Eastern View.
From here, there’s a track down the slope to Grassy Creek, through which you can wade before proceeding along the rocky shoreline to the south west where you will eventually come across a large cave at the base of the cliff. The obvious rock platform from which you can fish is just past that. From memory, it’s about a 20 minute walk from where you park your car.
As for tackle, you can fish on the bottom with baited hooks, but it is a bit snaggy so you might first try casting with lures, and if salmon are about you should soon get a strike.