Alexia Kurten with her snapper from Corio Bay (Picture: Gustavo Kurten).
Simon Williams with the snapper he caught, and then released, using a soft plastic lure (Picture: Justin Burns).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
With snapper about, most use baits of various kinds to temp them. However, on Saturday, Simon Williams rigged with a soft plastic lure on which he caught, and then released, a prime specimen off Clifton Springs.
Fishing off Point Wilson early last week, Gustavo and Alexia Kurten were also hoping for a snapper. They caught two as it turned out, Alexia with the biggest, a beauty of 5 kg, along with a gummy shark.
On Friday evening, Gustavo, along with his friend Matthew Ribcack, and Matthew’s eight-year-old son Zander, headed out off St Helens hoping for some snapper action a little closer to hand.
A good move as it turned out, for they caught six, including one approaching 5 kg. They were mostly taken on the low tide change with Zander also into the action, catching his first snapper.
Naturally, others caught them as well including Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien who anchored up just north of the No 9 Wilson Spit channel marker on Friday morning, taking their first fish before sunrise.
They each caught their respective bag limits of snapper from 4 to 5.9 kg in fairly short order before completing the day’s outing with the capture of 17 squid from the Curlewis shallows.
Matthew Ribcack and son Zander 8, and Gustavo Kurten with a sample of Saturday evening’s Corio Bay snapper catch.
Collan and Michael Erard with their snapper catch from Corio Bay.
After sounding along the edge of the Wilson Spit Channel east of Point Henry on Saturday, Collan and Malcolm Erard anchored up over some promising marks.
Each hooked a good size snapper, but Collan dropped his while Malcolm subdued one of 6 kg. However, within the hour, Collan hooked up once more, this time to a 6.7 kg fish.
Making a 5.30 am start north of the No 3 Point Richards channel marker on Wednesday, also after snapper, Andrew Phillips, Mark Sesar and Tony Greck took several fish to 4.7 kg.
Mark Sesar with a sample his and wife Tina’s whiting catch (Picture: Tina Sesar).
Melbourne angler Steve with the 3.1 kg brown trout he caught while down-rigging on Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).
However, they too eventually broke out the squid jigs and headed into the shallower water, each finishing up with their respective bag limit catches of squid that included one of 1.34 kg.
With snapper the main focus, whiting have been neglected somewhat, but Mark Sesar and wife Tina made an early start on the whiting in 5 metres of water off Clifton Springs.
With a healthy bite kicking in on the incoming tide, they kept 25 good specimens, most of which measured from 38 to 42 cm.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that whiting are still rewarding clients with the area off Grassy Point in particular, well worth a visit.
Squid too, are in good numbers said Rod, although perhaps not in the quantity seen last week. Never the less, those prepared to cover sufficient ground are finding productive patches.
Malcolm Erard with his snapper.
Collan Erard with his snapper.
Off the Beach
Arriving at Jan Juc at very first light on Wednesday, Ray Millman made his way up toward Rocky Point where he’d previously been successful on the salmon, and with a rising tide, he was hopeful.
Initial casts with his ever-reliable 42-gram Savage Sea Missile, produced no strikes, not until just on sunrise anyway when the bite began, producing salmon to 750 grams or so on almost every cast.
Dennis O’Brien with a sample of his and Andrew Johnson’s snapper catch (Picture: Andrew Johnson).
Lachie Wombell with a good sample of Portland’s weekend whiting catch (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Freshwater
On Thursday, Gustavo Kurten tried his luck at Wurdiboluc Reservoir, and using soft plastics, he caught several redfin, the biggest measuring 46 cm.
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that there are plenty of redfin on offer, as he – along with Greg Mc glade and Mathew Forsyth from Warrnambool, could attest – with scrubworms among the preferred baits.
John also reports that large brown trout are also on offer and sent in a picture of Melbourne angler Steve with a 3.1 kg brown that took a bibbed minnow trolled down deep with a downrigger.
Fish Stocking Coordinator, Rhiannon Atkinson reports that there is a planned release of up to 1200 tiger trout averaging 600 grams, into Lake Purrumbete at 1.30 pm on Thursday (27/10/22), an operation to be initiated from the boat ramp.
Dates and times may change, so potential attendees are requested to contact Rhiannon by mobile on 0407 987 016 or by email on rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au for confirmation of same.
Darcy Scott with the kingfish he caught on Monday morning at Coffin Bay, when the Rapala bibbed minnow he was trolling for baitfish was taken by a 20 kg kingfish. The Rapala bibbed minnow they were trolling is pictured showing how much the single hook on the lure – on which the kingfish was hooked – has been opened quite a bit. (Picture: Murray Scott).
Coffin Bay
Journeying from Geelong to Coffin Bay, South Australia, Murray and Darcy Scott were after the kingfish this large, but relatively shallow inlet is noted for.
Live baits like Australian salmon and snook are preferred for this exercise, but yesterday (Monday) morning they’d covered quite a bit of ground trolling small bibbed lures with no result.
As a last resort, they tried just off the slipway beside the wharf, a usually productive area, and Darcy hooked up … Not to a salmon or snook, but what turned out to be a kingfish weighing 20.05 kg that led them a merry chase through the nearby moorings.