Frank Bluch with his 9.9 kg, New Zealand rainbow trout (Picture: Nicor Sutherland
Over the rainbow
Last week, Geelong angler Frank Bluch fished New Zealand’s Tekapo Canal, famed for its huge trout, and – along with guide Nicor Sutherland – caught several remarkable fish.
They included a 9.9 kg rainbow trout that Frank caught on the fly. But, while not even close to the biggest taken there, on Frank’s regulation 1 kg class tippet, it is a potential world, tippet-class record, and for which he will be making a claim.
Mark Francis with his gummy shark from Edwards Point.
Alexia Kurten with a sample of her snapper catch from Corio Bay’s inner harbour (Picture: Gustavo Kurten).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Gustavo and Alexia Kurten headed out into Corio Bay’s inner harbour on Sunday afternoon, expecting to have to fish into the late evening to catch a snapper, but that wasn’t the case.
They were onto a good patch of fish out from The Waterfront more or less straight away, both taking bag limit catches of snapper they estimated to be between 4 and 6 kg.
A 3.30 am start on Sunday saw early risers, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck anchored up just north of the No 3 Point Richards channel marker where they’d boated their first snapper by 4.30.
The bite was on, so to speak, and using squid and silver whiting for bait they had a bag limit catch of snapper to 4.5 kg by the daybreak low tide change.
With the day still young, they broke out the whiting gear, and – anchoring up just east of the Point Richards mussel farm on the rising tide – they again took bag limit catches, their biggest whiting stretching the tape out to 45 cm.
Also successful on the whiting were Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien who picked up 28 whiting to 43 cm off Curlewis.
VIC client Will with a 1.5 kg brown trout (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).
VIC client Jen with her catch of redfin (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that clients have done well on whiting, including some good ones in the 40 cm range.
These have been mainly caught between Grassy Point and the Governor Reefs. However, the murky water has slowed the squid down with very few being taken.
Client Damien, and his daughter, caught three good size gummy shark, and hooked a much larger model, obviously with teeth because it bit through the line, which may have been just as well.
On Saturday evening, Mark Francis, and companion John Jones, made the 4 km walk in to Edwards Point from St Leonards hopeful of some productive land-based fishing.
On their arrival at 6.00 pm, it was still sunny so it was no surprise that nothing was doing. But their departure at 10.00 pm saw them loaded up with pinkie snapper and a good size gummy shark.
Nathan Sobko with a good size tiger trout from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).
VIC client Mike with a 2.3 kg brown trout from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).
Freshwater
Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters reports that Lake Purrumbete is on fire at present with brown and tiger trout on offer and sends in quite a few photos.
For seeking these, Michael recommends, lure-casting the margins and trolling lures produce the goods, along with bait fishing with mudeyes beneath a float
And, as for the redfin, they are definitely on the bite with the warm weather and are being taken both on various baits – including scrubworms – and lures, with some great bags of 50 fish or more not uncommon.
Historically, Western District’s Lake Toolondo has been a productive fishery, not recently though, so the proposed diversion of water from Rocklands Reservoir – that is now at 56% capacity – to Toolondo, is welcome news.
Snobs Creek Fish Stocking Coordinator Rhiannon Atkinson advises that 5500 rainbow trout at an average size of 50g will be released into Lake Bullen Merri tomorrow (Wednesday 09/11/22) outside the club rooms at around 1:30 pm.
And, on Thursday (10/11/22), rainbow trout will be released into Lake Purrumbete at around 1.15 pm. So, should you want to attend, please contact Rhiannon by mobile, 0407 987 016, or by email rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au for relevant updates.
Lachie Wombell with a good sample of the whiting he and Bob McPherson took off Portland over the weekend (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Michael Evans with a 3.2 kg brown trout taken while casting a Bent Minnow lure along the weed margins (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).
Illegal catch uncovered
While most recreational anglers obey the rules, some succumb to the temptation of taking too many fish during a good bite.
An email from VFA recounts a recent boat seizure at St Leonards, the occupants of which took excessive catches of whiting that were confiscated, along with their boat and fishing gear.
They will now face court, along with a seafood wholesaler facing charges of being illegally supplied with such catches.
Dominic Asks:
Geoff, when I’ve been fishing for snapper lately, I get bitten off by, what I suppose are sharks. Is it unusual to have so many sharks in the bay at this time of year?
Dominic, school sharks and seven-gillers are about year-round, but most of the larger sharks, like bronze whalers, usually arrive to bear their young in the bay from November onwards.
However, this year has seen more, and earlier, shark encounters than usual, with at least one bronze whaler being hooked and identified as such. So, this may be an exceptionally sharky year.