Colleen Howard with the snapper she caught just offshore from Geelong’s Waterfront (Picture: Ray Roberson).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Ray Robertson and partner Colleen Howard, made an early start on Saturday, sounding around off Geelong’s waterfront in search of snapper.
Not in vain as it turned out, for they found some promising marks near the wave attenuator, but initially at least, there was nothing doing, and – because they had a prior commitment that morning – their time was limited.
But, as sometimes happens, just as they were just about to pack up, Colleen hooked up to what turned out to be 77 cm snapper that took a strip of squid, and which greeted the scales for a verdict of 5.4 kg.
With rough seas on Friday, Ray Millman gave his usual surf fishing spots a miss, instead, doing the rounds from Limeburner’s Point to Geelong’s Waterfront where he saw several tailor caught from the wave attenuator.
Wasting no time in rigging a light lure-casting outfit, he was soon in business, picking up 20 tailor from around 25 to 30 cm. The only problem being their sharp teeth made mincemeat of the soft plastic lures he was using.
That didn’t seem to matter though because they were in a suicidal mood, hitting his jig heads eagerly, even though – in the closing stages at least – there wasn’t much left of their rubber bodies.
On Friday, Dennis O’Brien and a companion fished off Curlewis where they were hopeful of catching a few whiting, and they did get a few. But that was just prior to the flood tide change, after which they finished up with bag limit catches; their two biggest fish stretching the tape out to 43 cm.
Queenscliff
On Friday morning, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed out off the mouth of Swan Bay to catch the last of the ebb tide. And, anchored just off Coles Beacon, it wasn’t long before they were into the whiting.
Using pipis and squid for bait, they had their respective bag limits of fish – the biggest measuring 43 cm – by the time the tide petered out around 11.00 am.
Seven-year-old Jack McCallum with a yellowbelly that he caught from the Loddon River, just downstream from the Laanecoorie Wier (Picture: Shane McCallum).
Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters with the 4.7 kg brown trout he caught from Lake Purrumbete at the weekend (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).
Freshwater
Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters fished Lake Purrumbete on Sunday evening for an hour or so before dark.
Casting a bent-minnow surface lure in the natural smelt colour along the shallow, weed-bed margins, he caught a 77 cm, 4.7 kg brown trout (10.34 lbs), a big fish even for Purrumbete, and Michael’s biggest so far.
Kevin and Amber Wild, both members of the Maryborough Angling Club, fished Cairn Curran Reservoir on Friday, where – bobbing worms around the timbered areas – they caught 30 yellowbelly, of which they kept 7 to around 40 cm.
Fellow club member, Shane McCallum and his 7-year-old son Jack, fished the Loddon River just downstream from the Laanecoorie Weir, where – using earthworms for bait – they too caught their share of yellowbelly.
Club member, Brian Rivett, made the trip to Lake Wallace at Edenhope where he was well rewarded with several rainbow trout, the biggest weighing 3.12 kg, that he caught from the bank using Berkely Powerbait.
Paul Rahman, and his young companion Aras Veral, headed up through the Alpine National Park to the Mitta Mitta River below Lake Dartmouth at the weekend.
They were hoping to catch a trout or two. And that’s exactly what they did, embarking on a lure-casting session that produced a pair of browns, each around the 3 kg mark.
Brian Rivett with a sample of his rainbow trout catch from Edenhope’s Lake Wallace.
Kevin Wild and Dog Ingi with one of the yellowbelly they caught at Cairn Curran Reservoir (Picture: Amber Wild).
Werribee River
Frank Benvenuto says that he was lucky enough to live within 5 km or the Werribee River during government-imposed lockdown.
It’s a great fishery said Frank, enhanced by the liberation of 90,000 estuary perch in 2015 estuary. However, said Frank, 40,000 of those fish were Australian bass; a mistake.
Frank has caught and released both and is looking forward to when these fish mature. That’s when I daresay, we’ll be hearing more from Frank.
Frank Benvenuto sent in these pictures of (Left) an estuary perch he caught from the Werribee River, and an Australian bass, also from the Werribee River.
Michael’s fish goes on the scales.
Barwon estuary
With most of the discoloured water flushed from the Barwon estuary following last week’s spring tides, Simon Werner – with a good supply of bass yabbies – fished the flood tide downstream from the Ocean Grove ramp.
A good move as it turned out for, among the usual array of mullet and other small fish, he caught bream to 38 cm and silver trevally to 40 cm.
Martin asks:
Geoff, do you have any idea why fisheries officers carry so much stuff. After being approached by a couple of officers at St Helens before lockdown, I noticed they appeared to be carrying more gear than a Swiss army knife: Why is this so?
Martin, as far as I know, fisheries officers in Victoria carry capsicum spray, batons and handcuffs, but from what you say, their equipment must have been upgraded since I last took notice.