Linda Stewart with a sample of her, and her husband Murray’s snapper catch last week (Picture: Murray Stewart).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
As he’d done on a couple of occasions the week previous, Murray Stewart went snapper fishing again last week, this time with wife Linda.
Initially, they caught one decent fish at Murray’s preferred mark off Curlewis, but there wasn’t much doing after that; not until a friend who was on a hot bite nearby, called them over; a move that brought their final tally to six fish, the biggest of which weighed 5.8kg.
After waiting for the southerly breeze to die on Wednesday evening, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck anchored up in 8 metres of water off the Nine Foot Bank at around 8.30 pm, boating their first snapper of 4.5 kg an hour or so later.
Lachie Wombell and George Gereige with a sample of their catch of pink ling off Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Eagle rays and banjo sharks moved in after that, undoubtedly attracted by their intermittent berleying, but their patience was eventually rewarded around midnight with a second snapper of 5 kg, closely followed by another of 5.5 kg.
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that lure-fishing enthusiasts Jon Cameron and Jim Charles, who fished south of the channel off Curlewis early last week using soft plastics – Zman Jerk Shadz on that occasion – caught four pinkie snapper to 46cm along with several good size flathead.
Mike also reports that on Tuesday, Peter Clark and Des McKiernan caught 40 whiting while fishing in 4.5m of water between Beacon Point and the mussel farm: The best of these measured 38cm and were caught on squid.
A nice catch of pinkie snapper caught by Julian Gregon and his two friends (Picture: Rod Ludlow).
Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien’s hunt for whiting on Saturday was eventually successful offshore from the Leopold Caravan Parks in 4.5 metres of water, where – after making quite a few moves in less than optimum conditions, and returning a good many smaller fish – they finished with 20 keepers, some better than 40 cm.
Not so long ago, to catch a whiting of 40 or more centimetres was rare, but nowadays, catching whiting of that size is unremarkable. However, on Saturday, Jeff Richards and Chris Hateley’s catch of whiting off Indented Head included a fish that measured 50 cm.
Fishing in close proximity to “Dead Man’s Stick,” a pile marking a high patch of reef on the Prince George Bank, the pair had already caught a number of fish to 44 cm, but the 50 cm specimen – which later weighed a hair’s breadth shy of a kilogram – was a special catch of which Chris sent me a picture.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Heads reports that whiting, some in the 40 to 44 cm range, along with a good many pinkie snapper, were welcome additions to angler’s bags last week; some of the bigger whiting being accidental captures by anglers drifting for flathead in the deeper water, and on hooks – and baits – not usually intended for whiting.
Maryborough Angling Club member, Brody Harrison (who was fishing with his grandfather Ken Hinks), holding the 115 cm Murray cod with which he won second prize at the recent Yamaha Cod Classic at Lake Mulwala (Picture: Amber Stone).
Freshwater
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that golden perch (yellowbelly) have been on offer at Cairn Curran Reservoir, and – over the weekend – he and his father John picked up four averaging 40 cm between 6.00 and 8.00am.
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that Jason Eastman of Ballarat and Brian Jones of Camperdown, have taken both chinook salmon and rainbow trout while fishing land-based from the northern shore of nearby Lake Bullen Merri, with pilchard fillets the preferred bait.
On Lake Purrumbete, Brian Nygaard of Bacchus Marsh continues to take rainbow trout to 1.5kg on mudeyes, while Geoff Broughton of Geelong has done little to diminish his reputation for catching redfin.
Chris Hateley’s 50 cm whiting from Indented Head (Picture: Chris Hateley).
Corey asks:
Geoff, unlike some of the folk featured in your column, I struggle to catch a feed of whiting. My attention was drawn to your mention of using crushed mussels for berley on November 27. Now that we are not supposed to rake the pylons for mussels, where can I get them, and how would you crush them without getting splattered?
Corey, mussels are for sale from several outlets in Portarlington, and sometimes from the pier; you can’t miss the signs as you enter the town.
I asked Andrew how he crushes them, and who revealed that it’s done one layer at a time, in a 10-litre bucket, with a sledgehammer in vertical disposition. Naturally, Andrew said, the mussels must be first frozen solid, otherwise you will become splattered.