Daniel Stranger with his 1.2 metre Murray Cod from the Murray River near Tocumwal.
Freshwater
On a recent trip up the Murray River near Tocumwal, Geelong angler Daniel Stranger, and his companion, were hoping for a decent Murray cod. Not in vain either as it turned out, for they caught and released four over the 90 cm mark; three of which measured over a metre in length, including one of 1.2 metres.
Fishing Lake Purrumbete over the weekend, Garry Ridgeway spent a good deal of time fishing whitebait suspended just above the bottom with which he was able to tempt several chinook salmon to 2.5 kg. However, large eels again proved a nuisance.
He soaked quite a few mudeye under a float, hopeful of catching one of the large brown trout that are presently on offer. The difficulty there was that every mudeye he put out was soon taken by one of the voracious tiger trout to 800 grams or so that eagerly devour such offerings.
Garry also caught up with his friend Roger Tolland who’s been launching his small craft on nearby Lake Bullen Merri and has had a good deal of success trolling Tassie Devils; most successful being a combination of a pink Tassie Devil rigged behind a flasher (sometimes referred to as a dodger), which proved far more successful on the chinook, and other species, than trolling the Tassie Devil on its own.
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Picking a break in the weather last week, Gordon and Carol Williams were after the whiting again, but all was quiet until the incoming tide picked up in the early afternoon.
The bite, what there was of it, soon petered out though, persuading them to seek greener pastures down Leopold way where both the size and number of the fish improved. And, they probably would have taken their respective bag limit catches had not the stiffening breeze picked up, persuading their return to the ramp.
Australian salmon are still about in Corio Bay and often well within casting range from the various structures around the Geelong Waterfront, particularly when using metal lures of sufficient weight, say 15 grams for 3 kg tackle.
Off the beach
Fishing one of last week’s evening high tides from Bancoora Beach last week, Tony Ingram and Col Simmons were also into the salmon, both on bait and during a casting session with 40-gram chrome slices, particularly toward dark when fish topping the kilogram mark, came to the party.
Herman asks:
Geoff, I’ve read your reports from Lake Bullen Merri. However, with no boat ramp as such, how are people with larger boats able to access this fishery?
And, what’s the biggest chinook salmon you have heard of being caught from here, and is there a realistic chance of catching them from the bank?
Herman, I have already discussed the boat ramp issue on March 22 this year, and of which I’ve sent you a copy.
Both chinook salmon and rainbow trout have been caught from the bank at Lake Bullen Merri, along with other salmonids like tiger and brown trout.
Although adult chinook salmon from Lake Bullen Merri, and possibly Lake Purrumbete, reached sizes in excess of 12 kg back in the late 1970s and early 80s, when the hatchlings – after consuming their egg yolks –were released by Fisheries without delay, which remains the current procedure observed in the release of native fish – reached trophy sizes.
The current practice of on-growing chinook hatchlings on highly processed food for 12 months or so within the hatchery, appears to significantly slow their early growth resulting in adult chinook salmon not achieving anything like the sizes seen in the late 70’s and 80’s.
However, a 3-year trial of fingerling releases that commenced in 2019 has already resulted in larger adult fish, the biggest that I know of from Bullen Merri weighed 3.94 kg; internet video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qePdhBlXhpU. As far as I am aware, and for whatever reason, this trial has been discontinued.
It’s worth noting that for the past 30 years or so, prior to this, chinook salmon – having been released as yearlings – rarely reached 2 kg. So, the case for a trophy-size chinook salmon fishery, based on the early release of hatchlings – fingerlings at least – is urgently in need of consideration.