Paul Carson and Brian Nolan with their mako shark catch off Warrnambool (Picture: Kevin McLoughlin).
Offshore
Picking a break in the weather early last week, Kevin McLoughlin, Paul Carson and Brian Nolan took a run out into 180 metres of water off Warrnambool on a late-night quest for a mako shark.
They caught two as it turned out, one of 60 kg at around midnight, and another of 80 kg at 3.00 am. They sighted a third that showed up in their berley trail but it couldn’t be tempted to take a bait.
Simon Werner continues to find any amount of tiger flathead in 30-50 metres of water for clients off Port Phillip Heads from charter vessel Adamas, but tuna – although visibly active on most days – have been difficult to tempt.
Don Rayner with one of the yellowbelly he caught from Cairn Curran Reservoir.
Amber Wild and niece Emily, with the 60 cm cod Emily caught from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Kevin Wild).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien found whiting, their usual quarry, in less than 3 metres of water off Curlewis on Friday afternoon, despite the water being discoloured from the easterlies we’ve had of late.
Never the less, they caught 30 that included several beauties; the biggest measuring 42 cm.
Also fishing for whiting, and squid, off Clifton Springs were Paul and Selin Rahman, who took excellent catches of both following an improvement in the weather on Sunday.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that, just like just almost everybody else, his activities have been restricted because of the easterly winds that have been so prevalent of late.
Never the less, those in a position to take advantage of the somewhat scarce windows of opportunity that have occurred, caught a variety of fish including pinkie snapper and flathead from the discoloured water.
Squid too have been on offer as the water clears, said Rod, usually on the incoming tide, along with occasional catches of good size whiting that are to be found, mainly in the vicinity of both the inner and outer governor reefs.
Ryley Munro of Edenhope with the 74 cm snapper he caught from the Lee Breakwater at Portland, early on Thursday morning (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Portland
Fishing from the Lee Breakwater at Portland early on Thursday morning, Ryley Munro of Edenhope probably got more than he bargained for when he hooked, and eventually landed, a large snapper.
He doesn’t say what it weighed, but it stretched the measuring tape out to 74 cm.
Danny Skene with the 70 cm brown trout he caught from Lake Purrumbete on Wednesday.
Freshwater
Fishing at Lake Purrumbete on Wednesday, Danny Skene had no trouble taking a good feed of redfin on soft plastics on the day shift, and there was more to come.
Heading out again during the last hour of daylight, he sat in tight against the weed margins, fishing a mudeye under a float. He was hoping for one of the big trout this water is famous for, and – measuring 70 cm – a big buck brown filled the bill.
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports covering quite a bit of ground last week when he fished with wife Amber, and Amber’s niece Emily Rayner at Lake Mulwala.
Emily 14, was delighted to catch two Murray cod measuring 57 and 60 cm that were both taken from the lake using chicken for bait, along with several others they caught with a similar taste for poultry.
A little closer to home, Kevin reports that Tullaroop Reservoir continues to produce good catches of redfin for club members including Danny Miller, who – along with son Kaden – caught any amount of redfin to 48 cm.
Club members Robert and John Rivett kept eight yellowbelly from a catch of twenty from Cairn Curran Reservoir, while Don Rayner and Brian Rivett, who were fishing nearby, took six keepers, also from a catch of twenty.
Also covering some ground was Steve O’Keefe, who – despite hearing promising reports from Lake Fyans in the Grampians – struggled to raise a scale there, so he tried his luck at nearby Lake Wartook.
Initially, things looked promising with a catch of redfin and rainbow trout, the biggest of the latter weighing 1.2 kg, but after a while, the action here also died.
Brandon Scott and Dan Moore visited Gippsland’s Lake Glenmaggie for the very first-time last week, making an early morning start and fishing until lunchtime.
Australian bass were on offer, and each of their best three (all released unharmed), measured 39 cm.
All were caught on deep-running, Strike-pro, cyber-crank lures fished among the snags, something that normally would be something of a challenge, but the lake is currently quite high with the snags less of a threat.
Dan Moore with one of the Australian bass he caught from Lake Glenmaggie in Gippsland.
Brandon Scott with one of the Australian bass he caught from Lake Glenmaggie in Gippsland.
Len asks:
Geoff, after an extended lay-off for a number of years, I’m returning to fishing.
Can you please advise on the occurrence of tides falling suitably low enough to pump my legal quantity of bass yabbies, preferably at the mouth of the Barwon River, so that I can fish the Sheepwash for bream.
Len, suitably low tides for pumping yabbies occur following both the new and full moons; the next suitable low tides occur in the evenings during the first week of February, and again from around 10.00 am, on February 24-26.