Eleven year old Renae Batten with the snapper she caught off Clifton Springs while fishing with he father Rod (Picture: Rod Batten).
Ben Young with a nice snapper taken off Clifton Springs (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).
Corio Bay/ Bellarine Peninsula
On Friday afternoon Tony Hargreaves took nieces Jamee and Jemma Beyer fishing off Clifton Springs.
Being their first time fishing from a boat, they were pretty excited to see the result of squid jigs going over the side and the capture of several southern calamari and an aero squid.
So, with a good supply of squid, both for both the table and for bait, they anchored up along the edge of the Point Wilson Spit where they hit pay dirt once more, catching eleven snapper from pinkie size to 3 kg, along with a nice flathead.
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that snapper are about and among those to catch them were Trevor Holmes and Ben Young who took fish to 6 kg, making trips both in the early morning and evening: And on Saturday morning Rod Batten and his daughter Renae caught two snapper, one weighing 3.5 kg, off Clifton Springs on Saturday morning.
There’s no shortage of whiting either said Mike, as Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien demonstrated on Friday when they found a good patch off The Springs taking 26 beauties, the biggest measuring 41 cm, along with a couple of flathead of 45 and 50 cm.
Naturally, others also did well on the whiting in what appears to be probably, for most anyway, the best whiting fishing seasons in living memory, something that Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head would agree after cleaning over 200 whiting for clients on Sunday, and that’s not counting those who took away bag limit catches to clean themselves.
Aaron Habgood with last week’s catch of whiting from Queenscliff.
Aaron Habgood with one of the snapper he caught offshore from Port Phillip Heads last week.
Freshwater
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Caravan Park reports that the fishing is good up that way at present with redfin a stand-out. Local angler Brian Nygaard scooped the pool last week taking 50 redfin to a kilogram or so on minnow fished just above the bottom. Kane Broughton and his family also caught their share using the same approach.
Trophy size brown trout are also on offer for those seeking them with the biggest sighted last week weighed 4.5 kg and was taken by Chris Redwarren of Ballarat.
John reports that nearby Lake Bullen Merri is still producing chinook salmon with Steven Hille of Camperdown and Mick Giles of the Bannockburn Angling Club among those to take bag limit catches to a kilogram or more using a variety of baits last week.
John also reports that Lake Elingamite near Cobden – where access for even small boats is often difficult – is well and truly operational following Spring rains and among those to benefit from a recent visit was Alan Grant who caught three respectable rainbow trout.
Aaron Habgood, and the young cardiology patients at the Bacchus Marsh, Lake Dewar cardiology boot camp where fishing ruled. (Picture: Aaron Habgood).
Aaron Habgood with yet another of those XOS squid off Queenscliff.
Have a heart
Prolific fishing reporter and former heart transplant recipient, Aaron Habgood, has just returned from the annual, young cardiac patient’s four day boot camp, which was held at Lake Dewar at Bacchus Marsh on this occasion. Aaron has attended this function regularly – along with a crew of cardiac specialists and nurses – since his recovery, ever reminding folk to sign up as organ donors, like those who saved his, and many other lives.
Aaron still made time early last week for taking his share of snapper from three to 6 kg in 40 odd metres of water off Port Phillip Heads, bag limit catches of whiting that he and his companions caught at Queenscliff, along with some of the biggest squid (southern calamari) that you are ever likely to see.
Steve Gack family benefit auction.
Fund raising auction
Many would know that Steve Gack, Australian manager of Stoney Creek Clothing and Daiwa Fishing Tackle representative, was tragically killed in a recent late night road accident after the car he was travelling in hit a stray cow on the Hume Highway near Barnawartha, the tragic event leaving a wife and four kids in completely unforeseen circumstances.
On Sunday November 27, a fund raising auction for their benefit, is to be held by the fishing tackle trade, along with Rex Hunt and other media personalities, at the Carlton brew house, 24 Thompson Street Abbottsford (Melway 2H C1) from 4.00 till 7.00 pm. Entry fee is $95.00 with a fantastic array of valuable goods to go under the hammer. The on-line link is https://www.facebook.com/GACKRAISERSteveGackfamily/
Anticipation: Jack Russell “Tex” is ready for action as Kevin McLoughlin brings a good size gummy shark alongside off Torquay,
Tony Hargreaves with nieces Jamee and Jemma Beyer, and their excellent catch off Clifton Springs.
Romeo asks:
Geoff, I’ve gone out for snapper with pilchards but with no luck. I think it’s because my bait keeps coming off. Every time I wind in the pilchard’s gone: What can I do?
Romeo, the problem may be caused by how you are putting the bait on. When using a pilchard or similar baitfish you can – beginning about two thirds back toward the tail – use your hook as a needle to stitch your line around the backbone two or three times working toward the head. Having done so, place the hook into, then out from the same side of the bait just behind the head, finishing up with a half hitch over the tail.
An alternative is to wrap the bait to your hook and trace with bait elastic, as many do, but it can become a little messy after a while so you need a small pair of scissors to trim off the excess elastic after a while. Using small cable ties to secure your bait I do is another alternative you may care to try, but once again you need plenty of cable ties and a small scissors to trim off the tags.