Martin de Lange with his snapper from the St Leonards Pier (Picture: Rodney Beer).
Fishing from the St Leonards Pier on Friday night were Martin de Lange and Rodney Beer; both rewarded for their vigil with a number of respectable pinkie snapper to 40 cm or so using squid for bait.
However, at around 11.00 pm, Martin hooked a much bigger fish, and taking care not to bring it in too quickly because of the protruding rocks just out from the pier – remnants of what once was a great structure to fish from – the snapper, which would have been about 5 kg, was eventually captured.
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that snapper of all sizes have been caught lately, with Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck picking up two of 5 and 6 kg just north of the channel junction at sunrise on Wednesday.
Fishing in much the same area later that morning, were Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien whose initial catch, was a 50 cm flathead. But from 11.00 am or so, they caught four snapper from 3.5 to 5.8 kg and released two others.
Aaron Habgood of Reds Fishing Adventures also reports taking snapper of Clifton Springs; his biggest so far weighing 8 kg. It came from ten metres of water and took a bait of fresh squid.
Aaron also mentions having great success on large squid off Queenscliff, spotting the egg clusters being his key to success.
And, in addition to that, has been able to pick a break in the weather to fish offshore from Barwon Heads where he’s had no trouble catching some hefty gummy shark in 40 metres of water using fresh salmon fillets for bait.
Whiting have also been on offer with Murray and Darcy Scott picking up another bag limit catch off Leopold over the weekend, along with ten good size squid.
Aaron Habgood with an 8 kg snapper he caught off Clifton Springs last week (Picture: Reds Fishing Adventures).
Aaron Habgood with one of the large gummy shark he’s caught off Barwon Heads lately (Picture: Reds Fishing Adventures).
Offshore
Fishing in 30 metres of water offshore from Torquay over the weekend, Kevin McLoughlin was hoping for a good size gummy shark, of which he hooked a couple, neither resulting in a capture. However, he did catch 10 good size southern calamari.
Off the beach
Down Portland way, Bob McPherson reports that his son Scott has been making good use of a drone to take his bait from Narrawong Beach. The added distance he’s achieved with this approach has resulted in the capture of several sharks, including one small mako, and several Australian salmon to 4.5 kg.
Aaron Habgood a sample of the big squid he’s been catching off Queenscliff lately (Picture: Reds Fishing Adventures).
Freshwater
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park, reports that good size brown trout are still on offer with Daniel Sparkes taking a 3.5 kg brown trout while trolling a clown pattern Tassie Devil.
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that 14 members fished competitively at Laanecoorie Reservoir for 14 golden perch (yellowbelly), with Craig Tingey taking the biggest at 50 cm, Jon Dukker was runner up with another of 47.5 cm, while Kevin was third with a fish of 44.5 cm.
Kevin also reports that Cairn Curran Reservoir has also been producing good size yellowbelly with local anglers Kevin Parker and Robert Heyen taking fish to 50 cm.
Cam and Ash Rawlings with one of the sturgeon they caught in Canada.
Canada
Geelong angler Ash Rawlings and son Cam, don’t mind covering a bit of ground, and last week sent in pictures of sturgeon they caught from Chilliwack, Canada – presumably from the Fraser River – with the catch and release of eleven fish to 1.8 metres on a day’s charter.
Fishing Clinic
The Ron Nelson Memorial Junior Fishing Clinic, hosted by the Geelong and District Angling Clubs Inc., will be held on Sunday (28/10/18) at St Augustine’s Lake off Pigdon’s Road, Highton/Waurn Ponds. The event will run from 9.00 am till 1.00 pm. Entry is free, but bring your own fishing tackle and bait. For more information, please ring John Hotchin 5248 6817.
Ian asks:
Geoff, no longer willing to cover countless miles to Gippsland and Western Victoria in search of bream, I seek your reassurance that places closer to hand, like Thompson Creek near Breamlea – which you describe in your guide to fishing Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula – remain productive. And if so, could you provide any tips on access and where to fish?
Ian, Thompson, or Thompson’s Creek to which it is usually referred, remains a productive bream fishery. This is despite a catastrophic fish kill in the summer of 2015/16, during which the entrance remained closed for a prolonged period. This, along with poor rainfall, underscored the vulnerability of such discreet waters.
Thompson Creek flows to sea at Point Impossible, but the noted bream fishery is further upstream. Pedestrian access is from the Blackgate Road Bridge, which is but a short distance south-west from Breamlea Road; the most productive water beginning beyond the auspicious left hand bend a kilometre or so upstream from the bridge, and from there, winding several kilometres through sparsely wooded areas, upstream to the weir.