Frank Bluch with the 13.5 kg rainbow trout he caught from the Tekapo Canal on New Zealand’s South Island.
Frank Bluch with the 11.65 kg brown trout he caught from Lake Ruataniwha on New Zealand’s South Island.
New Zealand
Just back from New Zealand’s South Island, Geelong fly-fisherman Frank Bluch has added two potential world records to his already impressive list: A rainbow trout of 13.5 kg, taken from the Tekapo Canal on a 3 kg tippet, and a brown trout of 11.65 kg taken from Lake Ruataniwha on a 2 kg tippet.
Cody Formosa with one of the snapper he caught offshore from Point Wilson (Picture: John Formosa).
John Formosa with another good sample of his and Cody’s snapper catch.
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Heading out from St Helens at around 3.00 pm early last week with the sounder ticking over, Michael Bealham and Candace Mimms eventually located a large school of snapper and put their lines out.
Over the next three hours they brought any number of snapper alongside, three of which they kept because they were gut hooked, pulling the hooks on another five fish: All the others were released, and those they kept weighed from 3.5 to 7 kg.
Sounding along the north side of Corio Bay’s outer harbour last Sunday afternoon, John Formosa and son Cody picked up some good marks in 6.5 metres of water off Point Wilson and anchored up.
John Formosa with another good sample of his and Cody’s snapper catch.
Over went their lines baited with pilchard, and from then on it was all-hands-on deck with growling reels and buckling rods in a snapper melee, and – while they pulled the hooks on three fish – the four they caught ranged in size from 5 to 8kg.
Michael Bealham with a couple of keepers from Corio Bay (Picture: Candace Mimms).
Mark Sesar with a sample from his and wife Tina’s snapper catch (Picture: Tina Sesar).
Launching from Clifton Springs in the pre-dawn darkness on Sunday, Mark and Tina Sesar headed north past the shipping channel, and anchoring up in 8 metres of water, they were soon into good bite of legal-size pinkies.
That wasn’t quite what they were hoping for, but the pinkie bite shut down on sunrise and it wasn’t long before the squid head on Tina’s line was taken by a fish of 5 kg. That was followed half an hour later by another that was later weighed at 8.35 kg, and Mark caught their third and last fish of 5 kg.
Whiting are about as well said Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head, with clients picking good catches, some nudging the 40 cm mark, along with flathead, both species being taken both at anchor and on the drift between Grassy Point and the Governors at Indented Head.
Around 6.30 am on Friday, Andrew and Jenny Johnson headed out off Curlewis after the whiting, and at anchor in around 6 metres of water, they picked up six fish from 38 to 41 cm before the bite shut down.
They made a couple of moves but couldn’t locate any more, but Andrew’s mate Denis was on the blower, already just shy of his bag limit to the east toward the Jack Rabbit vineyard. So that’s where the pair headed, finally topping off their combined catch at 23.
Daniel Johnson with his 1.6 metre gummy shark taken from the beach at Jan Juc.
From the Beach
After cleaning their whiting, Andrew got a call from son Daniel who proposed a surf fishing trip at Jan Juc. But that was a bit much for one day.
So, Daniel and one of his workmates made the trip, and at 10.15, an hour or so before high tide, Daniel hooked what turned out to be a gummy shark that measured 1.6 metres, and which he estimated to be at least 17 kg.
Another good run followed, but that one – obviously, a toothy critter – bit through the trace and escaped, and that was their lot for the night.
Jan and Derek Pope from Ararat with one of the redfin they caught from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).
Jan Pope from Ararat with a 2.7 kg brown trout from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).
Freshwater
Casting soft plastics from the banks of the Barwon River downstream from the James Harrison Bridge on Friday afternoon, Paul Raduka caught five respectable redfin and a small estuary perch that was returned.
Prior to that though, Paul had teamed up with renowned angler Dennis McDowell on an eel fishing trip on the Waurn Ponds Creek.
Well, I don’t know whether it was the chicken liver and worms they were using for bait, but they finished with their respective bag limit catches of eels before dark, and which are now destined for the smoker.
Brian Atkinson with his young brother Luke and the carp they caught from Lake Victoria at Maryborough (Picture: Kevin Wild).
Ian Morse with his 57 cm yellowbelly from Maryborough’s Lake Victoria (Picture: Kevin Wild).
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that among the successful visitors were Derek Pope from Ararat, and wife Jan (who is deservedly known as the trout master).
They caught brown trout from 1.8 to 2.7 kg on live minnow. They also fished pilchards down deep taking chinook salmon to a kilogram.
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that the club had a bank-fishing outing close to home on Lake Victoria and some great fish were caught including Ian Morse’s two yellowbelly of 55 and 57 cm.
In all, 21 legal size yellowbelly were caught during the competition along with a big carp taken by Bailey Atkinson and his young brother Luke. Trevor Perry also caught a 46 cm yellowbelly and a good size catfish.
Amber Wild with a nice redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).
Kevin also took time to head out onto Tullaroop Reservoir with wife Amber last week where they caught some nice redfin, Amber with the biggest at 39 cm.