Shane Handley with the 82 cm snapper he caught and released from one of the North Shore fishing platforms (Picture: Matt Handley).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Shane Handley, a proficient angler over a wide spectrum of piscatorial pursuits, releases most of the fish he catches, but – approached by brother Matt who wanted to catch a pinkie or two for the table last week – suggested they try from the North Shore fishing platforms adjacent to Lascelles Wharf.
Shane was first cab off the rank at around 8.00 am, but it was clearly no pinkie he’d hooked, it was in fact an 82 cm snapper that Shane suggested they release, and – after Matt took a picture – did so, much to the chagrin of other anglers fishing nearby.
Their next fish was a 55 cm pinkie, which they kept, releasing another of around 30 cm. These were followed by a somewhat unusual catch of two flying gurnard or latchet; one, a beauty of 50 odd cm.
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that whiting and squid remain on offer, and among those to catch them was Garry Ridgeway.
Fishing off Curlewis in 5.2 metres of water on Thursday, Garry’s catch included 12 good size whiting, all taken on squid – of which he caught another five on that outing – along with a good size flathead.
On Friday morning, Andrew Johnson and Denis O’Brien were fortunate to drop right onto a hot bite, also off Curlewis, where – in 5.5 metres of water – they had bag limit catches of whiting to 43 cm by 10.30 am.
So, with the day still young, they fished on the drift for squid, striking a motherload just offshore from the Clifton Springs ramp. However, their initial count of twenty was a little optimistic, because – once ashore – a second count revealed they’d caught only 19.
Making an early morning start to catch the first of Sunday morning’s incoming tide near Coles Beacon off the mouth of Swan Bay, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck were greeted with calm seas and drizzling rain but made a promising start on the whiting.
However, leatherjackets and yellowtail scad soon began moving in on their baits obliging them to move, more than once as it turned out, but they eventually took a bag-limit catch of whiting to 44 cm.
With the tide still coming in, they broke out the squid jigs, and fishing on the drift, eventually picked up a second bag-limit catch, and there were some really good-size specimens among those as well.
Jimmy Oldani with a sample of his catch from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).
From the beach
Early last week, Ray Millman headed down to his usual surf fishing spot just past Eastern View, only to find the ground swell just too challenging for the relatively light tackle he was using, so he went to the Lorne Pier instead.
The westerly breeze made it ideal for trying out his new, 20-gram shore-jigging lure, which is designed to remain active when paused on the retrieve, a feature allowing it to be more effective from elevated platforms like piers.
Fishing here from around 8.30 am, he picked up a dozen salmon, including one that later weighed 2 kg, which was lifted onto the pier courtesy of a crab fisherman who provided his crab net for that purpose.
Dan Gallardo with a nice brown trout from Wurdiboluc Reservoir.
Freshwater
Wurdiboluc Reservoir has been a reliable destination for anglers seeking redfin and trout (both rainbow and brown). Among those to take advantage last week was Dan Gallardo whose catch included a brown trout of about a kilogram that took a Strike Pro Bob’n Spoon.
Mark Richards hadn’t intended to fish Wurdi, but a job assignment he had out that way was postponed, so – accustomed as he was to carry his fly rod in the van – took a short detour to the reservoir, and casting the fly, caught and released a brown trout that he estimated at close to 2 kg, along with several redfin.
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the lake is fishing well, and among the successful anglers was Newport angler Jimmy Oldani who caught several chinook salmon fishing pilchard fillets just above the bottom at some depth.
And that wasn’t the only string to Jimmy’s bow for he settled in on the redfin, fishing both with scrubworms for bait, and a bladed Hester lure, his catch being almost enough to cover the cleaning table.