Red alert: Daniel Sparks with a sample of his recent snapper catch from Corio Bay.
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Making an early start on Wednesday morning, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck were at anchor just east of the Nine Foot Bank Pile off Avalon by daybreak, and they didn’t have long to wait for their first fish, a snapper of 3.5 kg.
Using silver whiting and squid for bait they caught four altogether, the biggest just over 5kg, before the bite shut down at 8.30 am.
Earlier in the week, on the October new moon, Daniel Sparks and his friend Trent fished the afternoon shift, also in the outer harbour but just east of Point Henry. Both took bag limit catches of snapper ranging from 6 to 8.1 kg on squid and left them biting.
Mind you, not everybody seeking snapper has been successful so I wouldn’t like to give the impression they are there for the taking; but, as someone reminded me recently, that’s why it’s called fishing and not catching.
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that although the focus has been on snapper, whiting are still on offer more or less straight out from the boat harbour and squid have been present in good numbers west from the mussel farm.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Heads reports that squid are still about, but took a bit of finding last week, but as usual, flathead saved the day for a good many with some reasonable pinkie snapper in the mix.
Don Rayner with his 56 cm yellowbelly from Cairn Curran Reservoir (Picture: Amber Wild).
Freshwater
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that 23 members fished Cairn Curran Reservoir at the weekend with Don Rayner taking the best fish, a yellowbelly measuring 56cm, one of the few larger fish taken on the day with yabbies and worms the preferred baits.
Kevin also reports that the Loddon River below Laanecoorie Reservoir remains good value with club member Robert Rayner picking up five yellowbelly to 50cm, along with a couple of cod that were released.
Gaiji Koyama with the 45 cm flathead he caught from the Mackey Street Rocks on Sunday (Picture: Seiya Koyama).
Lachie Wombell with a sample of the King George whiting to be caught at Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Off the beach
Taking advantage of the very low evening tides last week, Ray Millman fished Jan Juc, where, repeated casting with a 40 gram metal lure, produced several Australian salmon, the biggest just over a kilogram.
After last week’s storm, Ray was on the job again, this time at Torquay’s Cosy Corner with his yabby pump: So, with a good supply of yabbies, along with portion of an octopus he’d brought along, he set about fishing from the sand shelf where all was quiet until sun down.
First to put in an appearance were a couple of Tommy Rough, but as the light faded, the game became more serious with pinkie snapper to 50 cm coming to the party, along with a good size whiting that measured 46 cm.
Phil Stanford with his bag limit catch of squid from Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson)
Portland
Bob McPherson has in recent times, lamented the scarcity of whiting and squid, species that are usually on offer at Portland at this time of year. But, as the saying goes: better late than never” they are certainly there now with he and Lachie taking good catches of whiting, while Phil Stanford was among those to bring in bag limit catches of squid.
Geelong Advertiser photo of Noel Moody’s 27 pound snapper (05/09/62) held by his sons Steven, Anthony, Richard and Rodney.
Vale Noel Moody
Late of Rice Village as a nonagenarian, Noel Moody had triumphed in a number of endeavours, not the least of which was fishing, at one time from a boat he built himself.
However, Noel was also a land based angler of renown who spent time fishing for snapper, either from the once great sand spit at the Grammar School lagoon, which is now virtually gone, or from the jetty.
And it was from the jetty on September 4, 1962, he’d just reached for his rod to leave for work at the Shell Refinery at 6.20 am when his reel ran, heralding the capture of a 40 inch snapper weighing 27 pounds, a photo of which appeared next day in the Geelong Advertiser held by his sons Steven, Anthony, Richard and Rodney.
Ollie asks:
Geoff, with snapper about, and me without a boat, I am wondering if you could give me some guidance as to where I might catch a snapper land-based, I’ve tried a few spots like St Helens, but to no avail: Where do you suggest I try?
Ollie, the most consistent area to produce snapper, of any size, land-based, has been from the Portarlington Breakwaters, the one directly north of Fisher Street in particular. However, it’s rough underfoot, has no creature comforts, and you do need a long-handled landing net, and preferably a good mate who can use it to subdue any good size fish you may hook, and naturally vice versa.