Jim Gillians and Carter Ryan with the bronze whaler they caught offshore from Clifton Springs.
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Launching at Clifton Springs on Wednesday evening, Jim Gillians and his friend Carter Ryan anchored up in 10 metres of water more or less straight out from the boat ramp to try for a shark.
Well, there wasn’t much to do from then on save for keeping their berley slick going, but at 2.00 am, the cuttlefish head they had on for bait was taken by what was clearly a good size shark they didn’t sight for another 90 minutes.
Clearly a large bronze whaler that charged boat on a couple of occasions before swimming well out of reach again, it took them until 5.30 am to secure their catch that measured 2.7 metres.
With no ability to weigh it, they estimated it to be at least 150 kg, and that could have been fairly close.
So, what had their quarry been dining on?
An examination of its stomach content found it had a penchant for banjo sharks with three prime specimens in its belly.
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that with an improvement in the weather last week, a good many boats have been on the water targeting whiting, particularly between The Springs and Curlewis with pipis the preferred bait.
Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head also reports that whiting are the main catch followed by squid which have come on song over the past week or so.
Lockie Wombell with a nice Tassie trumpeter taken off Portland last week,
Lockie Wombell prepares to release a gummy shark taken off Portland.
Portland
With the good weather last week, Bob McPherson and Lockie Wombell headed out into 130 metres of water, where – fishing on the drift – they hoped to catch some Tasmanian trumpeter.
They only caught one as it turned out, but they caught plenty of other fish including three school shark, one large gummy shark that they released, and a variety of other edible species including flathead and morwong.
A 37 cm Macquarie perch caught by Richard Mapson from the Buffalo River in Northern Victoria on a scrubworm.
Freshwater
Lake Purrumbete continues to produce all species of trout previously liberated there, and a good many chinook salmon, mostly yearling releases, some of which are now approaching a kilogram.
However, thanks entirely to the ongoing releases of fingerlings, rather than just the yearling chinook that had become the norm in recent years, some bigger specimens have been caught. They include one of 3.85 kg taken last week by Chris Farrugia who was trolling a Tassie Devil with a downrigger.
Almost certainly, Chris’ fish was one of 40,000 fingerlings released into Lake Purrumbete on November 11, 2021, a trial in progress, that – if it’s run to its obvious conclusion – would almost certainly see the return of trophy size chinook salmon captures from Camperdown’s crater lakes.
Amber Wild with a 66 cm cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Kevin Wild).
Heading for Lake Mulwala come the weekend, Maryborough Angling Club members Kevin and Amber Wild, along with their dog Indi, were hopeful of catching a few Murray Cod, and they weren’t disappointed.
They tried both with baits of various types and lures with Amber catching their biggest at 67 cm using chicken for bait. It was released as were the others they caught.
While visiting relatives in northern Victoria, Richard Mapson and his son Archie took the opportunity to fish the nearby Buffalo River below the weir where Richard had previously caught cod on the opening early last month.
They both caught Macquarie perch. The biggest measured 37 cm and was taken on a scrubworm. Archie tried his luck with a Rapala CD5 at the junction of the Buffalo and Ovens Rivers also pinning a Macquarie.
Two Murray cod were also part of their catch: These were taken on Codman Spinnerbaits and released.
Amber Wild and Indi with Amber’s 67 cm cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Kevin Wild).
Kevin Wild with a 57 cm cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Amber Wild).
Steven asks:
Geoff, in reference to your column of December 12 in which you refer to the yellow buoys marking the perimeter of the Point Wilson exclusion zone, I wish to point out that the lights on these buoys either do not work at night, or they are so poorly lit as to be a hazard to small craft.
Geoff, whose responsibility is it to maintain the bay’s buoyage in working order?
Steven, as far as I know it is the responsibility of the Geelong Port Authority. You may care to give them a call on 03 5225 3565 with your concerns.
Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.