Jacob Young with the 45 cm redfin he caught from Lake Wendouree at Ballarat.
Lake Wendouree
Jacob Young and his friend Tom Cross, both from Ballarat, ventured out to nearby Lake Wendouree last week despite the cold, wet, and windy conditions that would have dissuaded less adventurous souls.
And, despite the challenges posed by the weather, they caught two nice fish, a redfin measuring 45 cm, and a 50 cm brown trout, both being caught from the bank while casting and retrieving various lures.
Don Rayner of the Maryborough Angling Club with a nice yellowbelly from the Loddon River below Laanecoorie Weir (Picture: Amber Wild).
Ken Hinks and Don Rayner with a sample of their yellowbelly catch from the Loddon River below Laanecoorie Weir (Picture: Amber Wild).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
On Wednesday morning, Andrew Johnson and Denis O’Brien headed out to one of their formerly productive whiting spots off Curlewis only to find an overwhelming presence of small, but legal-size fish that they released.
After making several moves, they eventually found a patch of mainly larger fish, of which they caught 23 keepers up to 42 cm. However, what came as something of a surprize was the capture two snapper, one each, both around the 2 kg mark, that took a fancy to their whiting baits.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that with some good weather mid-week, clients caught reasonable catches of whiting, although there were a good many small fish among them.
Squid were also on offer said Rod, and they were widespread from the Governor Reefs to Grassy Point.
John Clements with 4-year-old granddaughter Adeline with a rainbow trout taken on scrubworms from Lake Purrumbete.
Maryborough Angling Club member Jai, with his prize-winning, 41 cm yellowbelly from the Loddon River (Picture: Amber Wild).
Barwon estuary
Putting in a lengthy session at The Sheepwash on Wednesday afternoon Jasson Treloar and Harley Griffiths were a little disappointed with a very slow tide, and – initially at least – not much interest from the fish.
However, as the tide picked up, so did the fish with mullet and salmon the main catch along with the occasional silver trevally and King George whiting, but even they slowed down later in the tide.
But, as they were in for the long haul with some crabs they’d gathered before going out, they were hopeful of catching a bream or two, and – as the tide slackened off toward evening – their investment in crab gathering paid off with two nice bream, the biggest nudging a kilogram.
Martinus de Lange has spent several evenings casting soft plastics in the vicinity of the Sheepwash boat ramp until well after dark, and has been rewarded for his efforts with several estuary perch to 30 cm.
However, on his most recent visit, he also hooked something that felt a lot larger than the estuary perch he’d been catching, and – after gaining some line – was confident of capturing whatever had taken his lure.
Unfortunately though, he and the fish parted company, along with the lure which had been bitten off. He didn’t get to see his protagonist, but it could have been a fair size tailor I suppose, they sometimes turn up in the Barwon.
Jimmy Oldani with a sample of his redfin catch from Lake Purrumbete.
Freshwater
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports the lake is fishing well with redfin the main drawcard, for Jimmy Oldani and Frank Borg in particular who took good catches of redfin.
John took his 4-year-old granddaughter Adeline out on the lake where their catch included a rainbow trout of possibly 1.5 kg taken on scrubworms.
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that around 25 members fished their monthly competition on the Loddon River downstream from the Laanecoorie Weir. Here, 20 odd legal-size yellowbelly to 52 cm were taken, along with several Murray cod that were caught and returned to the water being closed season for that species.
Kevin also reports joining Ken Hinks at Lake Lonsdale near Stawell last week, for a catch of 30 good size redfin that were taken on Beetlespin, soft plastics and soft-bodied Jackall lures.
Paul asks:
Geoff, when do you believe the snapper will come on the bite in earnest this season; those that come into the bay from Bass Strait?
Paul, converging water temperatures of Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait provide the best guide. Please check the following link:
http://www.baywx.com.au/temps.html
When the green line representing the water temperature in Bass Strait converges with the water temperatures within the bay – usually between 14 and 15 C – that is an excellent guide to when it happens. And, as you can see from the chart, that event is now well underway.