Paul Rahman with the mulloway he caught from the Maribyrnong River last week.
Bic, Van and Paul with a sample of their catch from the Maribyrnong River, Footscray.
Last week, Paul Rahman had a call from his pal Van, who is something of a mulloway enthusiast on both the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers in Melbourne. He’d caught a nice fish from the Maribyrnong, just upstream from Footscray the night before and suggested that Paul might like to come up for a try.
Well, Paul – along with wife Selin, and a good supply of live mullet and salmon – met up with Van, and his brother Bic for a session near the footbridge; a fairly productive one at that, for they caught three mulloway. Paul caught the biggest at 115 cm, Van caught one of 105 cm, and Bic caught the other, along with a 50 cm snapper, all on live bait.
Andrew Johnson with his 80 cm murray cod from Gunbower.
Daniel Johnson with his Murray cod from Gunbower.
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
On Saturday afternoon, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar fished offshore from Point Richards for whiting, eventually finding some action in 6 metres of water off the east end of the mussel farm.
By 6.00 pm they’d taken their respective bag limit catches of whiting, the biggest measuring 43 cm, along with a couple of nice flathead, and a number of mackerel scad they kept for snapper bait.
Jenny Johnson with another Murray cod.
Simon Werner and Rod Butcher were also after the whiting, and – launching at Clifton Springs – didn’t have to cover much ground to find the them. They too took bag limit catches, their biggest fish also measured 43 cm.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire reports that whiting have been good of late and among those to take bag limit catches were Brian Cumming and his friend Cohn who took most of their fish out toward Dead Man’s Stick.
Squid have also been plentiful, while those fishing on the drift out in the deeper water have caught any amount of flathead with regular client Trent, and his son Brodie, also picking up a reasonable gummy shark each.
Caitlyn Slater with her silver perch.
Freshwater
Making the trip to Gunbower on the Murray, Andrew, Daniel and Jenny Johnson, and Caitlin Slater had some piscatorial success: Andrew caught their biggest fish, an 80 cm Murray cod that took a chicken fillet. Daniel’s best fish measured 55 cm and was taken on local shrimp. Jenny picked up another cod using cheese for bait and Caitlyn caught a 45 cm silver perch, also on cheese.
Purrumbete fish stocking
VFA Fish Stocking Coordinator, Rhiannon Atkinson advises that a total of possibly 2000 tiger trout will be liberated into Lake Purrumbete tomorrow (April 27). This is scheduled to occur from 1.00 to 1.30 pm, and – for those interested in attending – please contact Rhiannon by email rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au or phone 0407 987 016, to be advised of any changes.
Lachie Wombell with a sample of his and Bob McPherson’s whiting catch off Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Portland
Bob McPherson reports that whiting are on the go at Portland, and that he and Lachie Wombell headed out into 9 metres of water off Portland’s north shore where they picked up a good catch, some well over the 40 cm mark.
Sammy asks:
Geoff, I’ve heard that mulloway have been caught from the beach at Ocean Grove. Can you give me any details, including best times of year to fish?
Sammy, historically speaking, the beaches adjacent to car parks 17, 18 and 19W have all produced mulloway.
Although some have been caught on the high tide and at other times, the easiest, and probably the most productive times to fish are either side of the lowest tides. Those that occur on evening during October, November and December are probably the best examples because they expose enough of the beach to provide access to the deeper water beyond the sand shelf at this prime time.
In Autumn, the lowest tides occur in the mornings. These too have produced mulloway, sometimes quite late in the morning, especially if the sea is discoloured from the Barwon’s outflow following heavy rain.
At other times, when the tide recedes less far, you might have to stand on a wet beach, or even in shallow water. But, in any event, you will need the means to hold your tackle up from the beach, like a chair, or perhaps a specially constructed tripod, a good many examples of which may be found on the internet. You will also need a good sand spike for your rod.