Dennis O’Brien with the snapper he caught off Point Richards on Friday.
Tim Johnson with one of the snapper he caught off Point Richards on Wednesday.
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Heading out on Thursday evening to catch the low tide change, Paul Rahman and Goran Nedic anchored up near the Wilson Spit.
The action was hectic from the start with pinkie snapper to 40 cm or so well and truly on the bite. Then, as the rising tide kicked in at around 9.00 pm, they took fish to 5 kg; in fact they took bag limit catches in both size categories of which Paul sent in a photo.
Fishing north of the No 9 Point Richards Channel marker from 5.00 pm on Wednesday, Tim Johnson had all the action he could handle; rods buckling and reels screaming.
Keeping one fish of around 5 kg for the table he released the others that ranged from respectable pinkies to fish near the size of the one he kept.
Tim’s father, Andrew, and his friend Dennis O’Brien, tried their luck out here on Friday in what turned out to be atrocious conditions, and initially, after dragging the anchor a number of times, they headed closer in to where it was calmer.
Andrew Johnson with the snapper he caught off Point Richards.
Brodie Harrison with the large yellowbelly he caught from Lake Eildon.
But by 6.00 pm, the wind had eased quite a bit, so heading out once more, they again faced the still lumpy conditions.
Andrew soon took a snapper on a squid head that later weighed 5.5 kg. But, with the wind squalling up once more, they were ready to call it quits for the second time when Dennis caught another snapper of 4.8 kg, and that was their lot.
Whiting are still about, and on Thursday, Pete Dawson, his friend Steve Timmins and Cousin Dave Nagle of Shepparton, tried off Curlewis in 4.5 metres of water.
While the sea was heavily discoloured from the earlier easterly blow, the fishing was OK, for they caught 45 good size whiting, the biggest stretching the tape out to 42 cm.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that whiting have also made a welcome appearance off Indented Head with both clients and independent anglers catching fish to 40 cm or so.
Among them were Jeff Richards and Chris Hateley whose first mission on Thursday was to catch squid, which they did in spades, their biggest weighing 1.8 kg. That was before settling fairly close in off the Indented Head Yacht Club on the whiting.
But, as has been the case of late, the wind squalled up again spoiling an otherwise perfect day. Never the less, they finished with 21 good size fish before calling it quits.
So much for King George whiting; school – or silver whiting as they are best known, and which make great snapper bait – are on the bite as well as Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports:
Chris Tainton was among those to pick up quite a few, as did Billy White and Dimmy Rodriguez. They also took pinkie snapper to a kilogram or so, and several flathead.
And, speaking of flathead, last Tuesday evening, lure fishing enthusiasts, Tyson Brodding and Luka Kapitelli caught 25 on soft plastics between Steeles Rocks and the mussel farm at Portarlington, along with two pinkie snapper and four squid.
Lachie Wombell with a sample of the whiting he and Bob McPherson caught at Portland over the weekend (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Terry Lindsay of Geelong with a 3.6 kg brown trout from Lake Purrumbete.
Freshwater
Fishing Cairn Curran Reservoir, Maryborough Angling Club members Kevin and Amber Wild, Don Rayner and Kevin Parker, fishing from two boats, found the reservoir heavily discoloured from recent windy conditions, but yellowbelly were on the bite.
None were huge, but they were plentiful and eager to take worms being bounced along the bottom within the timbered areas.
However, club member Brodie Harrison who was fishing at Lake Eildon, caught a very large yellowbelly trolling an Oar Gee lure. I don’t have the weight, but from the photo he sent in it looked to be the size and shape of a Sherrin football.
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that redfin and brown trout are on offer with Geelong angler Terry Lindsay catching both: The redfin were from 600 to 800 grams and caught on minnow, while his brown trout, which weighed 3.6 kg, was caught on a mudeye fished beneath a float.
Ryan Phillip with the large Australian bass he caught from Lake Bullen Merri.
Geelong anglers Garry Ridgeway and Lindsay Robinson also took trophy size brown trout, their biggest weighing 4.5 kg. These were also taken on mudeyes.
And also of interest was a large Australian bass taken from Lake Bullen Merri by Ryan Phillip of Geelong, but with no further details.