Trevor Holmes with his 12.2 kg Tekapo rainbow trout.
Colossal trout are to be caught from the Twizel and Tekapo canals on New Zealand’s South Island – no secret there – their size being attributed to easy pickings on the feed overflow from salmon farms within these same waters.
Naturally, these locations have attracted anglers from far and wide, including Geelong, and from where – under the expert guidance of Graham Edridge – local anglers Trevor Holmes, Michael Evans and Bjorn Mair have just returned with numerous photos of the fish they caught.
Arriving at Tekapo last Tuesday on dark, they began fishing immediately, continuing thus for the next couple of days for a total of 44 fish, some over 10 kg; the highlight being Trevor’s 12.2 kg rainbow that led him on a merry dance for over an hour before it was released to fight another day.
Bjorn Mair with his Tekapo rainbow trout of 10 kg.
Bellarine Peninsula/Corio Bay
Whiting have been somewhat scarce off Clifton Springs by all accounts, and among those to miss out were gun anglers Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien: On Friday they were beaten by the weather, which turned sour, but on Sunday it was a different story:
With almost perfect conditions they tried once more, again without success, but breaking out the squid jigs proved a good move that resulted in the capture of a dozen of these tasty cephalopods.
Also fishing for squid off The Springs on Sunday was Darcy Scott who had no trouble picking up ten in fairly short order before deciding that trying for a snapper that evening, particularly with freshly caught bait, might be a good move.
As it turned out, he got a promising reading just after dark while scanning one of his favourite areas off the Mountain View Quarries, but there was no immediate response. Eventually though, he caught two gummy sharks, each around the 5 kg mark, and an elephant fish of the same size: A good feed of fish certainly, but no snapper.
Michael Evans with a somewhat deformed rainbow trout from Tekapo that he caught after dark following their arrival.
Freshwater
Kevin Wild of Maryborough took a run out to Lake Tullaroop on Sunday where his friend Trevor Perry, who was fishing nearby, caught a brown trout measuring 60 cm.
Although there were fish rising more or less everywhere in the calm water, most were out of casting range; a difficulty that wasn’t encountered by several fly fishermen who’d caught several from a daybreak rise near the bank that morning.
In Western Victoria, John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that good size brown trout are still on offer at Lake Purrumbete with Charlie Farrugia of Oaklands Junction catching one of 2.3 kg on a bibbed, minnow-type lure.
Rainbow trout in a variety of sizes have also been caught, said John, with Trevor Brown – along with several others several others – catching fish to a kilogram or so on mudeyes fished beneath a float.
Michael Behrens with two mulloway, caught by him and his father Jamie, from the Maroochy River near Bli Bli on Saturday. One weighed 11kg and the other 12.5kg. Michael caught another that was weighed at 15.5 kg, then tagged and released.
Jamie Behrens with yet another mulloway from the Maroochy River.
Portland
Bob McPherson reports that while tuna are still present offshore, most are juveniles: But on Wednesday, Bruce Robertson, Colin McLoughlin and Adrian Jenkins caught one of 120 kg from 65 metres of water south of Lawrence Rock. The lure used was a small purple Jet-head, undoubtedly more suited to the smaller fish most anglers currently expect to catch.
However, more big fish have been caught since, on Saturday in particular when several tuna to 114 kg were taken, the most productive area being in around 50 metres of water off Cape Bridgewater
Bob McPherson photographed this southern right whale near the Lee Breakwater at Portland recently.
Matt Harris and Bailey Metch with another tuna of 101.5 kg aboard Red Hot Charters (Picture: Bob McPherson).
Conrad asks:
Geoff, do you know if anything is to be done about the state of the boat ramp and associated pontoons at Lake Bullen Merri? They have been storm-damaged to the extent they are beyond any measure of safe use.
Conrad, among others, I wrote to Jaala Pulford, State Member for Western Victoria, over this matter and can now quote the following portion of a June 28 media release:
“Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford today announced up to $15,000 through the Labor Government’s Target One Million plan to repair the storm-damaged boat ramp at Lake Bullen Merri.
The Lake Bullen Merri South Beach Foreshore Committee of Management will oversee the repairs to ensure the ramp remains safe and open for recreational anglers.
The funding is on top of $10,000 already provided for the development of a new boat launching facility to cater for growing use.”