Ash Rawlings with one of the large squid he caught at Portland last week.
Trish Rawlings with a sample of the flathead they caught on the drift offshore
from Portland (Picture: Ash Rawlings).
Corio Bay
Late August, and the first hint of rising water temperatures, has always been a good indicator for so-called winter
snapper coming on the bite; something mentioned in last week’s report.And before last week’s inclement weather moved in, fish to 3 kg continued to be taken in close proximity to the boat moorings off both Eastern, and Western Beaches, with Jason Treloar picking up one of 6 kg just offshore from Moorpanyal Park North Shore.
Although somewhat reluctant to reveal exactly what Corio Bay real estate he was casting from, land-based angling
stalwart Danny Skene, took several snapper in abysmal conditions last week using fish heads and partial frames to defeat the smaller specimens also present.
Danny said he didn’t have long to wait for his first fish to come along; a nice one of around 3.5 kg. That was
followed in fairly quick succession by several more, mainly around the 2 kg mark with the biggest possibly 4 kg.
Danny Skene with one of the snapper he caught land based from Corio Bay last
week.
Danny Skene after working up a sweat catching Corio Bay snapper, land based.
Portland
Early last week, Cam Rawlings of Portland Bait and Tackle, put to rest a rumour that gummy shark have been a rare catch
off Portland of late after returning from a trip with his mates; their catch including three good size gummies from 80 metres of water.Cam also fished off Portland with his father Ash and mom Trish, their catch including quite a few of the flathead presently abundant offshore, while Cam caught another gummy shark, a beauty ofpossibly 30 kg that was released unharmed.
Also included in their catch was a very large squid, similar in size to the spring run of big squid that have just
turned up closer to home off Queenscliff, but have received little attention due to last week’s inclement weather.
Cam Rawlings with a gummy shark of possibly 30 kg that was released (Picture:
Ash Rawlings).
Freshwater
Readers will recall my mention of Wurdiboluc Reservoir being closed to recreational fishing on 11/08/20.
As of 21/08/20, a media release attributed to Shaun Cumming, general manager of infrastructure and technology at Barwon
Water, advises that following waters are now open to recreational fishing, in those areas where it is permitted:
Wurdiboluc Reservoir (Cape Otway Road south west of Moriac), West Barwon Reservoir (Apollo Bay Road, Forrest), Bostock
Reservoir (Old Melbourne Road, Ballan), Upper Stony Creek No1 (near Anakie on the Geelong/Ballan Road), Bolwarra Weir (via Denherts Road some 7.5 km north of Ballan; not to be confused with Bolwarra near Portland), and Painkalac
Reservoir via Airey’s Inlet.Naturally enough, protocols in respect of COVID-19, apply. Picnic and barbecue facilities at all sites remain closed; signage at same being reviewed and updated in respect of government requirements.
Colin asks
Geoff, I am encouraged by your reports of chinook salmon of a kilogram or more being taken from Lake Bullen Merri.
However, my question is: Are these the same as the quinnat salmon that used to be caught from here and Lake Purrumbete? And, didn’t they grow much larger than the chinook salmon taken here today?
Colin, your question raises some issues:
First, the fish we once referred to as quinnat salmon are now officially referred to as chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha).
Historically, chinook salmon have been recorded as growing relatively large in Lake Purrumbete and Bullen Merri: One of my erstwhile correspondents, the late Henry Rantall, caught one of 10.4 kg back in the 1980s, while Victorian Fisheries net surveys in that same time-frame took specimens to 11.8 kg; others of similar size were also caught,
Recent captures of large chinook salmon from these waters have been exceedingly rare though. They’ve include one of 8.6 kg taken from Lake Bullen Merri in 2018 by Terry Shepherd and another of 8.2 kg was taken by Jason Castles from Lake Purrumbete in 2017; both captures strongly indicate the general reduction in the size of these fish is not degraded genetics as some have suggested.