Declan Betts with the 6.22 kg brown trout that he caught from Lake Purrumbete on Friday (Picture: Courtesy of Victorian Fisheries Authority).
Freshwater
John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that trophy size brown trout are still on offer at Lake Purrumbete, and on Friday, Declan Betts of Colac – who was fishing with Taylor Hunt and Anthony Forster of the Victorian Fisheries Authority, caught one that weighed 6.22 kg. It was by far biggest off five brown trout they caught that day.
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that 36 members fished Lake Mulwala over the weekend where – possibly due to the lower water levels – Murray cod were plentiful with Ken Hinks taking the biggest at 84 cm on his favourite lure, “Percy the perch.”
Biggest cod taken by lady member, Vicky Hall, measured 77.5 cm, and the largest golden perch was taken by Danny Miller. It measured 58 cm.
Wurdiboluc stocking
Cassie Milner of Barwon Water announced that the Victorian Fisheries Authority released 16,000 fingerling rainbow trout into the Wurdiboluc Reservoir last month as part of the Victorian Government’s $46 million state-wide plan (enshrined in legislation) to enable more Victorians to go fishing more often. A further release of 10,000 brown trout into this water is planned for later in the year.
Rod Lawn of Adamas Charters and crew, release a large bluefin tuna offshore from Portland.
Corio Bay Bellarine Peninsula
Years ago, anglers fished with Rangoon cane poles for warehou (snotty trevalla) from Cunningham, and of course, Yarra Street Piers. Often times the sides of each pier would be lined with poles angled at 30 degrees or so out from the pylons and tethered to the pier at the base.
With a few snotties turning up over the past week or so, we’ve seen some of those poles resurrected and back in use for this purpose. More’s the pity you can’t get them know; their fibreglass equivalents cost a fortune and their telescopic configuration makes them difficult to use in the accustomed way.
The influx of Australian salmon off the Waterfront have also been a boon to anglers, some catching them land based from various structures including the Limeburners Point breakwaters.
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that the boat ramp and other facilities at Clifton Springs attract anglers from far and wide. Among them last week, were Peter and Grant Rodgers from Maryborough who took 20 flathead to 40 cm and five whiting.
Whiting have been a bit scarce though said Mike, but on Friday Andrew Johnson tried off Curlewis where he found fishing less than comfortable with a north-west wind against the tide, along with passing rain squalls; but he caught ten keepers. However, at 3.00 pm, he found himself directly in the path of a deluge and headed back to the boat ramp.
Queenscliff
On Saturday morning, Joash Belousoff, along with his father Paul and friends Matthew and Hudson Taylor, began fishing for whiting off Queenscliff but without much luck. However, after making several moves they located a patch near the West Channel Pile off St Leonards where they caught 20 whiting, 11 flathead and six squid.
Matt Cini of Reeltime Charters with a 111 kg tuna from Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Portland
Tuna have been on offer from Portland, and – should you be able to get past the small ones – there are some barrels among them.
Reeltime Charter skipper Matt Cini has been among those to locate several fish better than 100 kg for his clients. Others have done likewise, including Rod Lawn of Adamas Charters, whose clients – Aeger Kingma, Greg Jones,Terry Mathers, Matt Sayers and Jarod Friedbolder – caught a barrel of probably 120 kg on Friday, from 50 metres of water, and released it unharmed.
Christine asks:
Geoff, I envy the folk you regularly feature in your column with freshly caught fish. I, like most others, have to rely on the fishmonger for fresh fish; but how can we tell if it’s really fresh?
Christine, when buying whole fish, the eyes are a dead-set giveaway as to its freshness. Should they be clear and convex the fish is fresh. However, if the eyes are flattened or sunken, particularly if showing a small lump over the pupil, the fish has passed its use-by date.
Filleted fish are a challenge though: Local saltwater fish like flathead, snapper and whiting should exhibit as a slightly translucent white with no sign of any yellow or brownish tinge, while fresh salmon or trout may vary from pale to deep pink.