Charlie Powell with the 127 kg tuna he caught from Matthew Hunt’s Fishing Services offshore from Portland (Picture: Matt Hunt).
Portland
Following the six week ban on fishing in Victoria, this immeasurably healthy activity resumed, effectively from midnight on Tuesday May 12. From then – and blessed with good weather – anglers have made up for lost time.
Tuna are still about off Portland, and there are some beauties among them as Charlie Powell discovered around 9 O’clock Wednesday morning aboard Matthew Hunt’s Fishing Services.
Trolling a Pakula floppy-floppy (a ready-rigged daisy-chain) did the trick off Cape Bridgewater in 45 metres of water; the tuna Charlie hooked giving him quite a work-out before eventually greeting the scales for a verdict of 127 kg.
Tuna must be about, for Portland angler Bob McPherson also sent me pictures of several anglers with similar catches.
Dan Mackrell with the brown trout he caught from Lake Purrumbete on Sunday morning (Picture: Mackrell Fishing).
Freshwater
John Clements reports that redfin are well and truly on the bite at Lake Purrumbete and that Brian and Ann Jones of Camperdown, and Les Broughton of Geelong, caught their share with the favoured bait being minnow.
Large brown trout are obviously still about for Dan Mackrell picked up a beauty from Lake Purrumbete in freezing conditions on Sunday morning. There was no weight given but the photo showed it had the necessary credentials to go on the wall.
Lake Bullen Merri also produced a nice rainbow trout of 1.5 kg for Terry Shepherd who fished from the bank using Berkley Powerbait.
Winston Calleja with another good sample from Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
On Thursday afternoon, from 4.30 till 5.30, Anthony Connell and Nam Huyhn gave their Zman soft plastics a run from the waterfront near the Carousel, catching – and then releasing – two good size snook, 6 silver trevally and a good many small pinkie snapper.
Taking a run out in the boat on Saturday, they caught a dozen good size flathead in the vicinity of the Western Beach moorings with the same approach.
Whiting have been the most sought after fish though, and on Wednesday morning Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck, who anchored up in 6.8 metres of water offshore from the Pelican Shores Caravan Park, Leopold, had their respective bag limit catches of whiting, the biggest measuring 43 cm, by 10.30.
Noticing that squid were following their hooked fish, they broke out the squid jigs, and – on a series of slow drifts – they took their respective bag limit catches of those as well.
By Saturday afternoon though, the number of boats on the water had increased substantially, and – as usual when this is the case – fewer whiting were caught, even by experts like Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien.
The pair didn’t catch a fish until dusk, but from then until nightfall, they caught 27 whiting, along with 4 snotty trevalla.
Mind you, there are not only whiting to be caught; Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that Chris Kfowry caught 10 nice squid offshore from the Dell, while Clinton Boyes and Richard Lambert caught 8 legal size pinkie snapper and 15 flathead more or less straight out from the boat harbour.
At Indented Head, Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire had such a busy weekend cleaning flathead for clients he finished up with fish filleters’ elbow.
Rod also mentioned that squid have been plentiful with both clients, and regular anglers – that included Jeff Richards and Chris Hateley– picking up a respectable catches of these over the weekend, the biggest specimens around the kilogram mark.
Whiting were also on the go at Queenscliff. Among those to catch them here were Joe Mortelliti and Col Feldman who’d launched at Queenscliff around 9.30. They anchored up just west of Coles Beacon off the mouth of Swan Bay. But it took a while, and a lot of berley, before whiting made inroads on the various unwanted species taking their baits.
Things were looking up once the bite started though. But, at their pre-arranged time to leave, and not wanting to overdo it – both being 84 years of age – pulled up the anchor and returned to the ramp with 21 good size whiting, along with several garfish and flathead.
Fishing the same area on Sunday were Darcy Scott, his sister Shenae, her partner Sara and Darcy’s partner Allie. They too caught 21 whiting ranging in size from 38 to 42 cm.