Darcy Scott with the XOS squid he caught off Avalon on Saturday night (Picture: Murray Scott).
With a reported influx of snapper into the Corio Bay inner harbour, as is expected at this time of year, Murray and Darcy Scott headed out off Avalon on Saturday night – despite the rather breezy and sometimes wet conditions – hoping to catch at least one.
They had a good supply of bait, thanks to Darcy’s trip down to the Barwon River estuary where he’d caught a good many legal-size salmon, several King George whiting and plenty of mullet. And, it was a mullet fillet that was first taken.
Disappointingly, the protagonist turned out to be a banjo shark that was released. However, the next fillet produced a different result; a very large squid that had become hooked through one tentacle, and of which Murray sent me a photo.
Around 8.30 pm, one of their reels screamed off, and that felt like a decent snapper, but it was a gummy shark of around 6 kg that was foul-hooked halfway down the body; the first of four as it turned out, two nice ones and two that were just over legal size.
More fortunate on the snapper were Jason Treloar and Harley Griffiths who caught two snapper of 3 and 5 kg after picking up a promising sounding along the Corio Channel off North Shore.
On Thursday of last week, Andrew Johnson and Daniel O’Brien fished their allowable two hours, and – at anchor off Curlewis – had no trouble taking bag limit catches of whiting and four squid before heading in before curfew.
Don Rayner and Ken Hinks of the Maryborough Angling Club with one of their barramundi on the Daley River, NT.
Off the Beach
With Friday evening’s high tide, Tony Ingram and Col Simmons fished Bancoora Beach, that we’ve already mentioned had already produced good size Australian salmon. And, as it turned out, they weren’t disappointed.
Conditions were less than comfortable though with a stiff breeze and a fair sea running, but they caught quite a few salmon, the biggest around the 2 kg mark. These were caught on pilchards and squid.
Andrew Johnson and son Daniel made another daybreak start off Bancoora Beach on Sunday morning, but initially, the only fish caught was by someone who claimed to have never fished there before. He caught a salmon on his lure, first cast, but nothing after that so he left.
Too soon perhaps, for the salmon came on as the tide began running off at around 9.30 am providing Andrew and Daniel a catch of 12 before conditions deteriorated with increasing side-drift.
Mud crabs caught by members of the Maryborough Angling Club from the Adelaide River, NT.
Freshwater
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that the only locally caught fish that he knew of was a 60 cm rainbow trout taken by club member Sean Crombie on Berkley Powerbait from Lake Tullaroop.
A number of club members took a trip to Darwin where they caught barramundi in the Daley River, the biggest measured 92 cm and was taken by John Logan, and mud crabs from the Adelaide River.
Somewhat closer to home, John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that Wayne Snell caught a 3.4 kg brown trout on a mudeye suspended beneath a float, and that he caught 20 redfin from about 400 to 750 grams using soft plastics.
Laker’s Cutting
On answering a question on Laker’s Cutting near Queenscliff last week, I was informed that there are currently roadworks in Fellows Road that might prevent access.
My visit to the area did indeed confirm that the north east end of Fellows Road is indeed the site of extensive roadworks, and – at the present moment – best avoided.
Monty asks:
Geoff, I’ve noticed in one of your books that you rig those little rubber occy skirts with a ball sinker in the head. My uncle who is an old fisherman says you don’t need any sinker at all. What is right?
Monty, those little skirted lures are designed to be used with a small sinker – usually a size 0, which weighs about 4 grams – in the head; that is a fundamental design feature of the lure.
Without the sinker, one; they are difficult to deploy from the back of a moving boat in windy conditions; and two, the sinker positions the hook correctly within the skirt, and – when struck – prevents the skirt from riding up the line where a second strike could sever it.
Maribyrnong River Boat Ramp
On Tuesday April 13, a $1.6 million project to build a boat ramp on the Maribyrnong River in Ascot Vale as part of the Andrews Government’s unprecedented plan to improve facilities for recreational fishing in Victoria, the following quote being attributed to Member for Essendon, Danny Pearson:
“This new boat ramp will give boaters better access to the Maribyrnong River and means fishers will be able to land more bream, estuary perch and mullet right in the heart of Melbourne.”
However, on June 4, Danny Pearson, MP for Essendon, blindsided rec fishermen and boaters by requesting that the proposed boat ramp on the Maribyrnong River in Ascot Vale, near to where Mr Pearson lives, ‘not proceed.’
The Hon. Melissa Horne MP, can be contacted via melissa.horne@minstaff.vic.gov.au
Danny Pearson may be contacted by phone: (03) 9370 7777 or by email at danny.pearson@parliament.vic.gov.au