Martinus de Lange with his flathead from Swan Bay.
Freshwater
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that anglers prepared to face last week’s inclement weather caught a few fish: Among them were Chris and Charlie Farrugia from Oaklands Junction who finished up with 12 trout (both browns and rainbows) trolling lures along the surface and behind their downrigger.
Lilydale’s Brandon Hamilton was also successful on the same water, his cast and retrieve approach producing chinook salmon, rainbow trout and a brown trout of 2 kg.
At nearby Lake Bullen Merri, William Schwarzenberg of Sunbury was also successful with the same approach taking chinook salmon and rainbow trout to a kilogram or so, while Don Swaine of Camperdown won a local competition with a similar approach.
Prospects
With fewer reports than usual, as has been the case lately, prospects for next week – weather permitting – include fishing for Australian salmon from local surf beaches like Jan Juc and Bancoora, particularly with high tides occurring in the late afternoon and evening toward the end of the week and over the weekend.
The chance of catching a snapper or two from Corio Bay is also a possibility, particularly with one being caught in rough conditions offshore from the refinery last week when in all probability, nobody else was out. And, as I’ve mentioned previously, the breakwaters at Portarlington offer opportunities for land-based anglers to catch a snapper as they have throughout the year.
For those prepared to make the journey to Portland, the Lee Breakwater has produced a couple of good size snapper lately, a regular occurrence at this time of year, particularly with the prevailing rough weather we’ve experienced lately. Premier bait for these includes the fillets from small barracouta that are easily caught from this structure.
Freshwater prospects include redfin from Wurdiboluc Reservoir where lure-casting enthusiasts like Martinus de Lange has caught several during his recent visits. Mind you, Martinus’ ongoing freshwater success has been punctuated by several equally successful saltwater forays, one in particular yielding a good size flathead from Swan Bay.
Neville asks:
Geoff, I don’t have a boat but would like to catch a feed of fish on the weekend. Where should I go?
Neville, I can’t guarantee you a feed of fish anywhere, but being on any of the Barwon estuary’s jetties or pontoons from perhaps 1.00 pm on Saturday or Sunday should allow you enough time to rig up your tackle before the tide begins coming in, hopefully, bringing with it an assortment of fish including mullet, salmon, silver trevally and whiting, or perhaps even a mulloway,
A range of baits, beginning with pipis, whitebait or pilchard fillets, should get the show on the road for you here.