Geoff Wilson’s Fishing Knots And Rigs

John Logan of the Maryborough Angling Club with his prize-winning cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Freshwater

With the Murray cod season ending this week, Kevin Wild and wife Amber, along with several other members of the Maryborough Angling Club, headed up to Lake Mulwala for a season-ending fling.

The ten members finished with a total of 60 Murray cod (all caught and released), and there were some good ones among them, the biggest – a nice fish measuring 81.5 cm – being caught by club member, John Logan.

Amber Wild with a last-of-the-season Murray cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Kevin Wild with a nice brown trout taken from the bank of Tullaroop Reservoir.

Kevin reports that Tullaroop Reservoir has risen somewhat of late because of the rain.

While this has put the redfin off said Kevin, those in the know have been fishing the margins of the reservoir with both brown and rainbow trout feeding over the newly covered ground.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that redfin have also gone somewhat quiet on the lake, but he, Tom Hogan and Jacinta Kelly managed to take a reasonable catch of reddies over the weekend.

All species of trout remain on offer said John, and among those to catch them was fishing and media identity Rex Hunt, whose catch included a 2.5 kg tiger trout.

Queenscliff

The good news from Boating Victoria is that the Queenscliff boat ramp is now open and includes a new third lane. The pontoons have been upgraded, the car park has been resurfaced and now includes additional parking in response to what has been described as overflow prior to present upgrades.

The Boating Vic cameras are up and running so you can view conditions and parking before you get there, but so far there’s been no word on the progress of the very necessary fish cleaning facilities required at all major boat ramps.

Taking a run down to the entrance of Swan Bay at Queenscliff last week, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck found a good patch of whiting just east of Coles Beacon on the morning’s incoming tide, and of which they caught 27 – the biggest measuring 43 cm – before the bite petered out toward midday.

With the tide still running in, but the whiting now well and truly off the bite, they headed in closer to shore where they broke out the squid jigs.

A good move as it turned out, for they topped off their catch with several good size squid, including some of the large spawning females present at this time of year.

On Friday, Steve O’Keefe and Anna McLean had a good day on the whiting off Queenscliff, with several of their respective bag limit catches including fish well over the 40 cm mark.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Mark Richards and Taddy Donovan fished in front of Leopold’s, The Sands caravan park where Mark did well on the whiting, the weekend previous, and – from 2.30 to 4.30 on Saturday – they took 33 whiting from 36 to 42 cm.

On Thursday, Andrew Johnson was out off Curlewis by 7.30 am, and took 15 whiting within 45 minutes or so. But then a large seal moved in so further fishing would have been in vain.

But Andrew waited the seal out, and as it disappeared to greener pastures, He tried for the whiting again, but they’d gone off the bite.

Further attempts at the whiting nearby also proved fruitless, so, out came the squid jigs, and – fishing on the drift – he picked up a bag limit catch.

The following day, with the hint of spring in the air, Andrew tried for a snapper over toward the Wilson Spit, and a promising run gave him high hopes. But they faded after he retrieved his line to find the hooks had been bitten off.

Another cast with a generous bait resulted in a longer battle, but in the end, the result was the same. So, judging there were better things to do than feed what were obviously sharks, he took another bag of squid off Curlewis.

Lachie Wombell and Michael Goldby with a school shark they caught offshore from Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Portland

Taking a run out to the edge of the continental shelf off Portland in good weather on Saturday, Bob McPherson, Lachie Wombell and Michael Goldby, were hoping for some blue eye trevalla.

However, they got more than they bargained for with a mixed bag of blue-eye, pink ling, ghost cod, school shark, gemfish, nannygai and several other species.

Mike Vanderkelen one of the cutthroat trout he caught during his recent visit to Canada’s British Columbia/

Canadian cutthroat

Returning to Geelong after a visit to Canada, fly fisherman, Mike Vanderkelen, reports catching a number of cutthroat trout, or cutbow as they are referred to in British Columbia, where his visited his grandson.

All of Mike’s fish were released, and he says that in comparison with many regions in Australia, the provincial licensing and fishing regulations are very strict, with the objective of ensuring sustainable freshwater fisheries.

Other species from the region he fished include bull trout, which as the name suggests, are a larger and tougher opponent that he hopes to catch on his next visit. However, their “blue-listing” indicate populations of this species are in decline.

Chris and Mark Cassar with the bluefin tuna they caught outside Port Phillip Heads last week (Picture: Cassar Fishing Charters).

Offshore

With tuna offshore from Port Phillip Heads, Chris Cassar of Cassar Fishing Charters – along with his father Mark – picked a break in the weather last week to head out through The Rip, hoping to make contact.

Not in vain as it turned out, for Chris soon hooked a good size fish. Unfortunately, he pulled the hook on that one. But it didn’t take long to hook up once more, and – staying connected this time – brought a barrel-size tuna of possibly 100 kg alongside after 35 minutes or so.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Heading out from Clifton Springs on Wednesday morning, Andrew Johnson and Peter Dawson initially tried their luck off Curlewis where they had a good whiting bite going for about half an hour, but after that, all went quiet.

It took perhaps half a dozen moves, but staying within the Curlewis area, they finishing up with a final tally of twenty keepers from around 34 to 40 cm; a slower day than usual, but certainly not a complete waste of time. Successful baits on this occasion were pipis and strips of squid.

Mark Richards and Darren Pidgeon had a bit more action on Saturday afternoon, taking bag limit catches of whiting; their biggest measuring 42 cm. These came from five metres of water off The Sands caravan park.

The bite was on from their arrival at around 2.00 pm, and they were obliged to leave them biting just over an hour later.

Launching at St Leonards on Saturday, Harley Griffiths and Stanley Owen headed down past the Indented Head abalone farm in search of squid, which as it turned out, were a bit scarce, possibly because the water was fairly discoloured.

So, having invested in a good supply of pipis, they finished up off the entrance of Swan Bay hopeful of catching some whiting. And, with an incoming tide and south-westerly breeze making for comfortable fishing, they finishing up with a respectable catch, their biggest nudging 42 cm.

Offshore

Heading out from Barwon Heads on the weekend, Simon Werner and Jake Callahan anchored up in around 8 metres of water out from the Barwon Heads Bluff where they found no shortage of silver trevally, and there were some good size specimens among them, along with a snotty trevalla of about 1.5 kg.

Unfortunately, a seal turned up stealing any further fish they hooked, but by then they had a respectable catch of fish and headed back to Barwon Heads.

Fishing inside the Barwon estuary, just upstream from the bridge, were Chris Stamalos and his friend Stanley, and with the tide still running out and the water heavily discoloured, there was little cause for optimism.

But they stayed, and from around 3.00 pm, the incoming tide made all the difference; and from then until around 5.30, they caught Australian salmon, silver trevally, large mullet and a tailor; in all, a good catch.

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park, reports that redfin are plentiful, and that on the weekend, he and Daniel Kelly of Warrnambool caught 50 good size specimens using scrubworms for bait.

John also reports that brown trout and chinook salmon were also caught over the weekend, with Tom Hogan of Drysdale picking up several good size chinook salmon on pilchard fillets suspended a metre or two above the bottom.

Apparently, the boat ramp at Lake Bullen Merri has yet to be completed. However, a couple of temporary launching sites have been constructed, and – from all accounts, said John – the lake is fishing very well, particularly for all species of trout and chinook salmon, most being taken on trolled lures.

Abe asks:

Geoff, when the weather warms up, my wife and will be looking for a good place to take our kids, which are 6 and 7, fishing. We’ve been told that Cunningham pier is a good place: What do you think?

Abe, from my perspective, Cunningham Pier, is quite high off the water with no safety infrastructure. So, from a safety point of view, I would rather you tried from one of the various jetties at the waterfront, or perhaps Griffins Gully at Western Beach or nearby Rippleside; they might be a better choice.

Michael Evans with his 5.2 kg brown trout from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters had planned to head home from Lake Purrumbete on Wednesday afternoon, the temptation to have one last fish by himself was tempered by the almost gale force winds blowing across the lake under stormy skies.

But he went out anyway.

Eventually, after three hours of alternating casts along the weed banks with shallow running, and D & A bent minnows, he hooked a chinook salmon of about 60 cm that eventually spat the hook.

That was at around 3.30 pm, but, despite the adverse conditions, Michael persisted into what he called the golden hour; the last hour of daylight. And it was then – as he was about to lift the bent minnow lure from the water for another cast – that he was literally smashed!

Michael eventually won the battle with a brown trout that measured 77 cm and weighed 5.2 kg; his biggest trout taken in Australia. It’s going to be mounted, said Michael, and placed on his “wall of fame.”

Ray Millman with a sample of his salmon catch from Eastern View last week.

From the Beach

Fishing the beaches of Fairhaven and Eastern View initially proved fruitless for Ray Millman last week, but with a high tide just on dusk he persisted, and caught several Australian salmon on his 42-gram Savage Sea Missile up until nightfall.

Returning to Eastern View on the following morning’s high tide, also proved successful for Ray, who – once again – took another good catch of salmon of varying sizes.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

On Friday morning, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien launched at Clifton Springs, and headed down to Curlewis after the whiting, the heavily discoloured water being less of a concern than the somewhat overcast sky threatening rain.

Fortunately, the whiting weren’t hard to find, and by the time the rain set in, each had taken their respective bag limit catches of fish to 44 cm from around 5 metres of water using pipis and strips of squid for bait.

Tullaroop Reservoir

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that Tullaroop Reservoir is still fishing well, for redfin in particular, with he and John Gray catching any amount on bobbers in around 15 metres of water.

Both brown and rainbow trout have also been on offer, said Kevin, and John hooked one of possibly 3.5 kg – from what they saw of it – but unfortunately, it escaped after diving beneath the boat then throwing the lure at the surface.

As appealing as the redfin are, said Kevin, a number of anglers have been targeting these large trout, a preferred approach being to cruise the margins of the lake, casting lures in toward the shore.

Most of the action, said Kevin, is from the area known as Galloway’s at the southern edge of the lake, with the OSP bent minnow a stand-out lure.

Squid competition

Leopold Angling and Aquatic Club is conducting a squid fishing competition on Saturday, September 10 and Sunday 11, with valuable prizes to be won in each specified category. Entry fee is $10.00 for club members and $20.00 for non-members. Payment may be made at the Leopold Angling Club Rooms on Friday evening Sept 9, or by direct debit to the Club’s Bendigo Bank account, 161 429 220, and referenced with competitor’s name.

Weigh-ins will be held from 3.00 pm Saturday and from 1.00 pm on Sunday with valuable prizes awarded in a variety of sections including secret weights, and sizes based on hood measurements. There will also be raffles, door prizes and drinks at the bar.

Prior to the comp, a Squid fishing information night will be held at 6.30 pm the Leopold Angling and Aquatic Club on Friday, September 2, featuring squid aficionado and research participant, Paul Carter of Gan Craft. Entry to the information night will be from 4.30 pm. Admission to the night is free, with a Barbeque and drinks available at the bar.

Colin asks:

Geoff, I noticed you mentioned berley in your column of 12/07/22. I understand the method described, but don’t know the content of the berley: Can you help with the recipe?

Colin, suitable berley may be made up of minced fish scraps, crushed baitfish like pilchards, preferably with the addition of some tuna, or some other unrefined fish oil.

Murray Scott with a pair of nice squid from Queenscliff (Picture: Darcy Scott).

Queenscliff

On Saturday evening, Murray and Darcy Scott fished Queenscliff hopeful of a good session on the squid, and – jigging on the drift within the Lonsdale Bight – soon picked up some crackers around the 2 kg mark, but with Darcy nearly spooled of line on one protagonist, they were obliged to go in pursuit.

Darcy’s squid was the biggest he’d ever caught; it was longer than the fish bin and eventually introduced to the scales for a verdict of 4.05 kg: Now, you don’t come across many southern calamari of that size.

Steve O’Keefe and Anna McLean also had the squid jigs out in more or less the same location, but one squid was all they needed for whiting bait.

With the tide still running out, they tried for whiting in much the same area, and there is no doubt they would have taken their respective bag limit catches. However, the bite diminished as the tide eased off making the two extra fish required, a tough ask. But, with a total of 38 fish, and some over the 40 cm mark, they had little cause for complaint.

Darcy Scott with his 4.05 kg squid from Queenscliff (Picture: Murray Scott).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

On Saturday morning, Andrew Johnson headed down to one of his usual whiting marks off Curlewis. Unfortunately, though, all he encountered there were just a few small fish, so he went prospecting for more fertile ground.

As sometimes happens, it took perhaps half a dozen moves, and a considerable dent in his supply of mussels and pipis, to catch fifteen keepers among the overwhelming numbers of smaller fish that he says “were on the chew.”

Mark Richards and Darren Pidgeon headed out at around 2.30 pm on Sunday, and eventually found some whiting in front of one of Leopold’s caravan parks. Initially though, the fishing was slow and their fish, although legal size, were small. However, with a change of tide expected at around 3.30 or so, they were still hopeful of a good catch.

Not in vain either, but it took longer than expected for the incoming tide to pick up, and with it, plenty of action from the whiting. They had a tally of 38 by dusk, including some around the 40 cm mark, but reluctantly left them biting because of prior social commitments.

Freshwater

Harley Griffiths and Stan Owen usually fish Corio Bay at this time of year, but with good reports from Lake Purrumbete they’d collected a good supply of mudeyes, and – using the time-honoured bubble and indicator floats in tandem – they were hopeful of catching a good size brown trout.

Instead, they suffered an onslaught of tiger trout, mostly quite small, so they kept the remainder of their mudeyes for later, and trolling various lures, they picked up their fish of the day, a rainbow trout of possibly 2 kg.

Simon Werner tried his luck from the rock wall at Wurdiboluc Reservoir, taking a brown trout of about 600 grams on a mudeye, and a slightly larger rainbow trout on his Bob ‘N Spoon, which was eventually lost through one of the many misfortunes that plague us from time to time.

Chris asks.

Geoff; someone’s put up “No Fishing” signs on the St Helens jetty; what’s going on?

I have some history there, Chris. As a youngster I fished from the St Helens swimming enclosure, initially with at least one of my parents, and not far from where I lived at Rippleside. That would have been from the late 1940s.

When the wooden swimming enclosure was pulled down, possibly in the late 1950s or early 60s, and replaced with a concrete jetty (rather than a swimming enclosure), a “No Fishing” sign was erected at the south west corner; I imagine to encourage swimmers, which were scarce, and to dissuade its main users; fishermen.

People still fished there though, and eventually the “No Fishing” sign was removed. But, spotting a swimmer here, at any time of year, was – and still is – a challenge akin to spotting a cyclist on the newly erected, but rarely used, bike paths in Geelong’s CBD.

But as you’ve seen, the “No Fishing” signs are back, and during my visit to said jetty on Sunday, there were – as expected – people fishing there

John Gray with a large redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Stephen Eales with a redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir that hit the 50 cm mark (Picture: Stephen Eales).

Freshwater

With no shortage of clients, Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters doesn’t get much time to go fishing by himself, but mid-week had an opportunity to engage in a solo lure-casting session, picking up a 56 cm chinook salmon along with a modest tiger and brown trout, along the weed edges of Lake Purrumbete using his favorite OSP Bent Minnow lure.

Melton client, Nathan was booked in for Thursday afternoon and it wasn’t long before he too was hooked up to what turned out to be a 60 cm chinook salmon, again on the OSP Bent Minnow.

Prior to that, on Thursday morning, Michael was joined by regular clients, and great friends. from Horsham; Phil and Shell. They were keen on chasing some redfin for a feed, and – in around 12 metres of water – they found a good school and were soon coming aboard; not only the redfin, of which Shell caught the biggest at 41 cm and 1.2 kg, but she also caught a couple of tiger trout to 45 cm.

Melton VIC client, Nathan with his 60 cm chinook salmon (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Michael Evans with his 56 cm chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that redfin remain on offer at Tullaroop Reservoir, and while the average size tends to fluctuate quite a bit, a few of the larger reddies have been nudging the 50 cm mark with Club members Greg Hinks and Stephen Eales catching those.

Some 10,000 brown trout averaging 35 grams are to be liberated into Lake Purrumbete on Thursday (04/08/22), the truck being scheduled to arrive at the main boat ramp from around 1.30 pm from where the fish will be distributed around the lake.

Should you be interested in attending, please notify Fish Stocking Coordinator, Rhiannon Atkinson on rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au or give her a call on 0407 987 016, in case there are any changes to this itinerary.

Phil and Shell from Horsham with a sample of their redfin catch (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Friday morning was Jason’s birthday, and – along with Darryl, Eddie, Darryl and Shane – was ready to chase down some redfin, and in that mode, they did very well.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Taking a run down from Clifton Springs to Curlewis on Friday morning at around 9.30 to catch the incoming tide, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien were at anchor by 9.30, but they still had to wait a while before whiting bite kicked in, but when it did, moving was not an option.

Pipis and mussels both proved to be the most effective baits, and in around 4.5 metres of water they held their ground with the bite continuing until they both had taken bag limits catches of keepers, which ranged from 33 to 43 cm.

With a break in the weather on Thursday, Gordon and Carol Williams were also out after the whiting, and they too took respectable catches, some over the 40 cm mark after finding a good patch down toward Point Henry.

Fishing the ebb tide within the Lonsdale Bight at Queenscliff on Friday evening, Darcy Scott had great success on the whiting using the tentacles of freshly caught squid for bait, five of which he caught before settling in on the whiting.

His final tally was 20 whiting that included some real beauties, the biggest measuring 44 cm.

Barwon Heads

Fishing the incoming tide on the Barwon estuary on Sunday, Simon Werner and Mick Szirka each spent a lot of energy casting and retrieving soft plastics with very little to show for their efforts, initially at least. But then Mick hooked something that had them both guessing for a while.

It turned out to be a silver trevally, but at 50 cm it was larger than the usual catch from here, and it put up a great fight before they were able to get it in the landing net.

Happy with his catch, Mick left Simon to fish outside the estuary in relatively calm weather. Once again the fishing was a bit slow, but Simon eventually picked up several good size whiting near the wreck of the Orungal.

John Goleby with a Queensland groper that he caught, and then released within the port of Brisbane last week (Picture: Scott Goleby).

Upstate

Scott Goleby and son John have evolved an adventurous fishing technique within the Brisbane River, Queensland, where – by first catching some suitably-sized fish for live-bait – present them wharf-side within the shipping terminal.

They release what they catch, and catch is a tricky word because sometimes, whatever they hook, turns out to be a bit on the large side, affecting their own release.

This could have been the case last week when John hooked, and managed – after quite a tussle – to capture a Queensland groper, not full size luckily, but about right for catch and release.

Bradley asks

Geoff, I’ve fished Bancoora Beach a fair bit over the past 2 years, mainly 800m up the beach to the left just before the bluff but don’t seem to catch as many fish as the people in your reports.  Is this the spot where all of the salmon are getting caught from or are they getting caught off the rocks to the right at low tide?

Bradley, most fish the area you mention, as I have, up toward the Black Rock Bluff rather than from the reef near the  more easily accessed lifesaving club that you mentioned can be fished at low tide.

Salmon and pinkie snapper have both been caught here with the best results usually experienced toward the top of the tide, particularly when coincidental with daybreak or dusk. But, like any other fishing spot, it can be more productive on some days than others.

Tony Ingram with his 3 kg salmon from Bancoora Beach (Picture: Col Simmons).

Off the Beach

Fishing the evening high tides at Bancoora Beach toward the end of last week, Col Simmons and Tony Ingram had no problem finding schools of Australian salmon to 500 grams or so. But, with no more hits on their 40-gram metal lures after dark, they switched to baiting up with pilchards that they’d cut into bite size chunks. These attracted a nibble or two, but with no connection.

However, as the tide began falling Tony hooked a good size fish which was initially hard to identify, but once in the torchlight they could see that it was a big salmon that later greeted the scales for a verdict of 3 kg.

Queenscliff

With the first of the large spawning squid due anytime now, Darcy Scott headed down to the Point Lonsdale Bite at daybreak, hopeful of picking up a good sample, but initially at least, there wasn’t much doing. And so, after chalking up three hours of fishing with no squid, and very few more places to try, he was just going through the motions.

So, even with little hope that the remaining squid marks on his GPS would be fruitful, Darcy persisted. And, eventually, up came a squid, a real a beauty as one might expect from the area at this time of year; and it was followed by another, then another: In fact, it was a red hot go with a squid on each drop, and what beauties they were.

Darcy finished up with a bag limit catch of ten squid averaging over 2kg apiece; a total catch of 24.2 kg, and that’s not something you’d see every day, or even every season, even in ideal conditions.

Also hopeful of catching a few squid, Andrew Phillips and Mark Sesar headed down off the entrance of Swan Bay where they’d tried last week for whiting, putting their unusually poor results down to the number of dolphins in the area.

The squid on offer here were not the XOS spawners that Darcy caught further down toward Port Phillip Heads, but with their respective bag limit catches, they did well enough.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Australian salmon are on offer from structures along the Geelong’s waterfront, and among those to catch them last week was Mick Lane who caught several to 40 cm that are destined to go into the smoker: These were caught while casting and retrieving a Madmicks, soft plastic Ribbed-Fish from the Limeburner’s Point Breakwater.

Others have reportedly been caught from the Alexander Thompson and Bellarine Street Jetties and the nearby wave attenuator.

With a break in the weather on Thursday, Andrew Johnson and Mark Sesar headed out to where they’d taken took a good catch of whiting off Leopold the week previous. The picked up six respectable fish right away, but after that, all was quiet, the bite shutting down about three quarters of the way through the ebb tide.

They would have felt a little shame-faced coming in with only six fish, so they sat out the remainder of the ebb, hoping to be in business as the tide began to rise: Not in vain as it turned out, for the whiting were back on the job with the flood tide, and they eventually finished up with bag limit catches, their bigger fish measuring between 38 and 42 cm.

Freshwater

VFA Fish Stocking coordinator, Rhiannon Atkinson, advises that up to 10,000 brown trout of 25-35 grams will be stocked into Lake Bullen Merri tomorrow (Wednesday July 27), at 1.45 pm. This event is to coincide with the boat ramp upgrade at the request of current fishing and boating minister, Sonya Kilkenny.

Those interested in attending, please contact Rhiannon by email rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au or by phone 0407 987 016.

Werribee River

Marc Ainsworth of VFA and Better Boating reports the recent apprehension of four people, during a night patrol, who will face court after allegedly netting the Werribee River illegally: Quite an operation it would seem with the use of six trammel nets that measured between 24 and 102 metres.

The alleged offender’s catch filled two large fish bins – which weighed a total of 180 kg – containing 480 bream, 7 estuary perch and a flounder.

Simon Werner with a sample of the warehou catch off Ocean Grove (Picture: Rod Lawn).

Adamas deckhand, Simon Werner, reports that on a morning charter in 30 metres of water off Ocean Grove last week, their clients took an excellent catch of warehou (snotty trevalla), some well over the 3 kilogram mark, which put a smile on everyone’s faces.

Unfortunately, an afternoon charter to the same area, was greeted by a seal that snatched every single fish from their client’s lines, just for the sport of it.  Moving proved to be of no help because they would find the seal waiting for them as they anchored up for a repeat performance, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Tuna are present along our coast from Gippsland to Port MacDonnell over the South Australian border, and it was here that Melbourne angler Daniel Curmi caught a magnificent 121 kg specimen last week.

Daniel doesn’t say what method he used, but with redbait boiling at the surface when under attack from the tuna, anglers have been quick to take advantage with dipnets, scooping them up and returning them as live baits.

Daniel Curmi with a 121 kg tuna that he caught off Port MacDonnell, SA (Picture: Cranbourne fishing World).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Early last week, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar, headed down from St Leonards to the mouth of Swan Bay where they hoped for a good catch of whiting.

But there wasn’t much doing, and they wondered whether the numerous bottlenose dolphins milling around in the area, both adults and calves, may be spooking them.

So, they moved several times hoping to find an active patch of fish, going as far out as Coles Beacon, but their sum total of only six whiting, the biggest measuring 43 cm, after several moves persuaded them to break out the squid jigs and move into the shallows.

A good move as it turned out, for even with the tide running out, the water remained clear, and with no dolphins to worry about, they took bag limit catches of squid, including some big ones over the kilogram mark.

Heading down to Curlewis where they’d previously taken good catches of whiting, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien anchored up in around 4.5 metres of water, but there was nothing doing there.

So, they made several moves, eventually finding an active patch of whiting in around 5 metres of water off Leopold from which they managed take a hard-earned catch of 26, all good size fish, the biggest measuring 43 cm.

Jack Kelly, with Denim and Byron Hansford of Ocean Grove with some nice redfin from 32 to 42cm, all taken on scrubworms from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Greg Hicks with a 49 cm redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Freshwater

Taking a run out to Wurdiboluc Reservoir, Simon Werner found the surface alive with fish, mainly rainbow trout around the 600-gram mark, and of which he caught two while fishing from the rock wall using mudeyes for bait under a float.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that redfin remain on offer and have attracted anglers, including Ray Edwards and Ray Willis, from as far away as Shepparton.

Good size chinook salmon have also been on offer said John, both from Lakes Purrumbete and nearby Bullen Merri where Maz Stolowski caught quite a few, along with both rainbow and tiger trout while trolling lures.

Maryborough Angling Club member Kevin Wild reports fishing Tullaroop Reservoir last week, first with John Gray and later on with Greg Hinks. The bulk of their catch was redfin of which Greg caught one measuring 49 cm, while John’s catch included a 65 cm brown trout.

Kevin also mentions that club member Greg Streets from Stawell, has been catching any number of good size redfin from Lake Fyans in the Grampians.

John Gray with a 65 cm brown trout from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Kevin Wild with a sample of the redfin to be caught from Tullaroop Reservoir.

Stuart asks:
Geoff, where are the winter snapper? We used to catch plenty of them in years gone by, but this year I haven’t even caught one. Do you have an explanation?

Stuart, I suggest that at least some snapper will find their way down into Corio Bay each year after missing the turn toward Port Phillip Heads, in some years more than others. However, as you well know, they can be difficult to catch, particularly in years like this when water temperatures drop sharply in autumn or winter, something which seems to send them into semi hibernation.

I believe that with an increase in water temperatures, perhaps midway through next month, we will see an increase in their activity as we’ve seen in years past.

Garry Ridgeway with a 2.8 kg chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Renater Ridgeway).

Freshwater

In addition to attending the tiger trout release at Lake Purrumbete early last week, Garry Ridgeway also came equipped for a couple of days fishing, and – following the fish liberation – he and his friend Roger Tolland had a successful trolling session on nearby Lake Bullen Merri, catching a variety of fish including trout and chinook salmon.

Garry was out on Purrumbete the following day, and anchored up in 22 metres of water, he initially lowered his berley container all of the way to the bottom where his baits would be, and then at a shallower depth to initiate a good spread of scent to attract fish from farther afield.

As usual, large eels were a problem, but chinook salmon also came to the party and Garry eventually took a bag limit catch, the biggest of which weighed 2.8 kg after being bled.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club with a sample of his, and wife Amber’s redfin catch from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Amber Wild).

Also fishing Lake Bullen Merri last week were Simon Werner and son Jayden who initially caught two rainbow trout, each around the 2 kg mark, trolling Rapala deep-running lures.

They too had planned a bait-fishing exercise, and after putting the anchor down in around 20 metres of water, berleyed heavily before suspending lightly weighted baits just above the bottom, also hoping for chinook salmon.

While this created some interest, the bites they received were tentative with no hook-ups, so Jayden removed his sinker and cast his bait out, completely unweighted.

While the bait took a while to sink, the wait was worth it, producing their first chinook salmon; an epiphany of sorts, for the unweighted baits were taken hungrily and they were soon on their way to bag limit catches of chinook salmon, each just shy of a kilogram, but great fishing all the same.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Caravan Park reports that redfin remain the main attraction on the lake and among those to catch them at the weekend were Jack Kelly from Romsey, Denim and Byron Hansford from Ocean Grove, and their grandfather Daryl Hansford.

John’s photo revealed their catch covered the whole cleaning table, their biggest redfin measured 42 cm and took a scrubworm.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club fished Lake Tullaroop on two occasions last week, the first was from the bank with John Gray where their catch included several redfin and a rainbow trout of about a kilogram that was tempted with Berkley Powerbait.

Kevin’s second trip was with wife Amber, the pair taking 24 good size redfin from the boat using Micro Jigs.

Wayne Griffiths with a 46 cm bream that he caught from the Barwon River estuary.

Barwon Bream

Bream are about, but getting a report is tricky because, most of the time anyway, for most who catch them keep it a well-kept secret. Never the less, Wayne Griffiths sent me a photo of a 46 cm beauty that he tempted with a crab from the Barwon estuary upstream from the Sheepwash recently.

Ultimately, after having its photo taken, it was released to bite another day.

Right to left: Jack Kelly from Romsey, Denim and Byron Hansford from Ocean Grove, and their grandfather Daryl Hansford (Picture: John Clements).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Early last week, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien were out on the whiting from 8.00 am, and fishing the last of the outgoing tide in 4.5 metres of water off Curlewis, were onto a good bite.

They finished up with their respective bag limit catches of keepers that measured from 33 to 42 cm by mid-day, using baits of squid and pipi.

Michael Behrens with the 15.5 kg mulloway he caught from the Maroochy River at the weekend.

Upstate

Jamie Behrens is a dab hand at catching mulloway from the Maroochy River near where he lives at Bli Bli in Queensland, and at the weekend, he took his 17-year-old son Michael out, hopefully to catch one.

The signs were good approaching high slack water after dark, with pelicans working the mullet schools that were busting up all over the place. And, it was while using one of these live mullet for bait that Michael tempted a 15.5 kg mulloway.

Hugo asks

Geoff, I once had a metal lure called a “Deadly Invader.” It was a fantastic lure for land-based lure-casting from piers and rock platforms like those at Green Cape because it worked almost to the piles of a pier, or the edge of the rocks in contrast to most metal lures that begin skipping out of the water all too soon when being retrieved from raised platforms. I would love the replace it but can’t find them anywhere: Can you assist?

Hugo, the Deadly Invader was made by the South African company, Striker. They still produce a variety of lures, but no longer it would seem, the Deadly Invader.

However, an internet search found a limited number for sale at Ganis Tackle World in South Africa https://www.ganis.co.za/pi43652/ci402/fishing-lures/saltwater-lures/jigs/striker-the-deadly-invaders.html in packets of 4 in assorted sizes for 150 South African Rand, which is about AU$13.00. They may ship to Australia.

Mick Zsargo with the snook he caught from the Point Lonsdale Pier on Thursday afternoon.

Thursday’s sunshine bought a good many folk outdoors, including fishermen. Among them Mick Zsargo, a regular attendee at the Point Lonsdale Pier.

The tide was coming in; a good omen, but for most, there wasn’t much doing. Never the less, casting a 28 gram, Daiwa bibbed minnow proved a fruitful exercise for Mick for he caught two good size snook (formerly known as pike); a highlight catch on the day.

Alby Dawson with his tuna taken offshore from Lorne (Picture: Wayne Griffiths).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Making an early start on Thursday morning, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien found a good patch of whiting in 4.5 metres of water off Curlewis and picked up 25 on the last of the outgoing tide. But, as usual, as the tide slackened of around 9.00 am, so did the whiting bite.

Hopeful of another go at them, they waited out slack water; quite some time as it turned out, but as the incoming tide came on apace, their wait paid off, and – as strange as it sounds – although they didn’t move, the average size of the fish they caught on the incoming tide was a lot bigger than those they caught on the ebb, the biggest measuring 41 cm.

With bag limit catches of whiting, and the day still young, they moved into around 3.5 metres where they picked up a respectable bag of squid on the drift.

There’s whiting to be caught in the inner harbour as well, to which Paul Rahman can attest having taken a bag limit catch of fish in Stingaree Bay on Friday evening.  These were all well and truly legal size and taken on baits of pipi and squid.

Launching from St Leonards on Friday morning, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed down toward the entrance of Swan Bay, initially hoping to catch a few squid on the rising tide, but the murky water put paid to that. So, at around 11.00 am, they anchored up near Coles Beacon hopeful of getting onto the whiting, which as it happened, proved to be a fruitful exercise.

They caught their respective bag limits – some of them real beauties, the biggest measuring 44 cm – the last of which were taken in worsening weather with the wind picking up from the south east in the early afternoon, making for a bumpy ride back to the ramp.

Adamas’ clients on charter with a sample of their warehou catch taken offshore from Ocean Grove.

Offshore

Simon Werner of Adamas Fishing Charters reports finding a school of Warehou (snotty trevalla) for their clients in 30 metres of water off Ocean Grove. They caught at least forty as it turned out and there were some good ones among them.

We’ve seen a few snotties recently, some being caught from the Lorne Pier, but they’ve mainly been less than a kilogram apiece. However, those that Simon referred to, ranged in size from one to 3.5 kg. Hopefully, we’ll see more of those.

Lorne fishing regular, Wayne Griffiths reports that both those fishing from the pier, and offshore have been doing well on a variety of species including tuna, of which Wayne sent in a photo of Alby Dawson, a junior Lorne Angling Club member with a tuna of 10 kg that he caught out from Lorne.

At Port MacDonnell, just over the South Australian border, large bluefin tuna have been rounding up schools of redbait (Emmelichthys nitidus), resulting in large surface boils of these fodder species with anglers quick to take advantage with dip-nets, and returning same as live-baits. Among those to do so include Paul and Callum Ritchie and Lewis Hamer who have made the conversion of live redbait to large tuna, and who – on a recent trip – made it a family affair taking Courtney, Jacob and Cody Ritchie 6, along for an exciting ride.

Callum Ritchie and Lewis Hamer with one of the tuna they’ve caught recently from Port MacDonnell in South Australia; this one weighed 90 kg.

Hopkins River

In April last year we featured Ash Reece and his ten-year-old son Billy, who – while fishing with Andrew Johnson off Curlewis – took a good catch of whiting, Billy catching the biggest.

Well, Billy – now 11 – spent a few days with his granddad Gary at Allansford, and – after digging a few worms – Billy again took the prize catch, a 44 cm estuary perch that fell to a lowly worm.

That was just on dark, so they fished on into the night hopeful of catching more of the same, but all they caught after that were several very large eels; slippery customers that they released.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club with a nice brown trout from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Don Rayner).

Kevin Wild with a sample of the redfin currently on offer from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Don Rayner).

Freshwater

On Friday afternoon, Frank Benvenuto fished Wurdiboluc Reservoir, and initially – casting a Strike Pro Bob N Spoon from the main wall – caught two rainbow trout around the kilogram mark and missed a couple of other strikes.

All was quiet after that, so – believing a change of lure might help – he tried again, this time with a Daiwa Double Clutch that accounted for one more rainbow, but that was his lot for the day.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that Tullaroop Reservoir is still producing redfin, and that he and Don Rayner, on their trip early last week, caught any number to 1.5 kg using a variety of methods.

Brown trout are also on offer says Kevin, both as a target species for those seeking them, and as a by-catch for those targeting redfin.

Kevin also mentions that club member Greg Streets, who lives in Stawell, has been catching any number of good size redfin from nearby Lake Fyans fishing with soft plastics from his boat along the edges of the weed beds.

Ray Millman’s 15 kg gummy shark from Eastern View.

Carolyn Griffiths with the 1.52 metre gummy shark that she caught offshore from Lorne (Picture: Wayne Griffiths).

Early last week, Ray Millman and Callum Stavros arrived at Eastern View at around 5.00 am for a serious bait fishing exercise from the beach using fillets from some of the Australian salmon Ray had caught here previously, and a good bite shortly after they arrived resulted Ray beaching a 15 kg gummy shark, but all was quiet after that.

Even the salmon, that were so prolific the previous week were absent, except for a few small ones, the fillets from one that they used for bait that tempted a large, unwanted eagle ray.

However, another angler who introduced himself as George from Altona, joined them on the beach for a chat, revealing he had just taken a good catch of Warehou (snotty trevalla) to approximately 800 grams from the nearby Lorne Pier.

Wayne Griffiths reports that fishing offshore from Lorne recently with wife Carolyn produced a number of snapper to 55 cm. However, Carolyn caught the fish of the day, a gummy shark that stretched the tape out to 1.52 metres, and of which he sent me a photo.

Fishing Bancoora Beach on Thursday night’s evening high tide Col Simmons and Tony Ingram had no trouble catching Australian salmon, including some approaching the 2 kg mark, the bite lasting until just on dark when they sacrificed some of their catch for bait, hopeful of catching a gummy shark. However, a plethora of unwanted species, including skates and draughtboard sharks put paid to that exercise.

Maryborough Angling Club member Stephen Eales with a sample of his redfin catch from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Stephen Eales and son Mason 3, with a sample of their catch of redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

On the water by 9.00 am on Wednesday morning, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien found the whiting in 5 metres of water off Curlewis. The bite was on right from the start and they had no trouble taking their bag limit of whiting to 42 cm in just two hours.

With the day still young, they broke out the squid jigs, and – fishing on the drift in around 3 metres of water – they also took their respective bag limit catches of squid as well. And, as Andrew said, it was a great day’s fishing in great weather conditions that have been somewhat elusive of late.

Jaimie Behrens with a 15 kg mulloway he caught from the Maroochy River near Bli Bli in QLD last week.

Freshwater

Simon Werner visited Wurdiboluc Reservoir last week, and – casting a Strike Pro Bob N Spoon from the rock wall – picked up three modest size brown trout, and sighted others following his lure.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that Tullaroop Reservoir continues to produce redfin, and that he fished this water several times last week, variously with other club members including Stephen Eales and Stephen’s 3-year-old son Mason, and John Grey.

While redfin have been the main species caught, with catches sometimes exceeding 40 fish, brown trout are also present. And while they only caught one of modest size, some of the kayakers have taken some good size specimens.

In addition to that, Kevin reports that anglers fly-fishing from the bank of Tullaroop have also been successful, some taking good size brown trout.

George Vlahogiannis’ catch of garfish from the Frankston Pier last week.

Frankston

George Vlahogiannis doesn’t mind fishing the late shift, and – arriving at the Frankston Pier at 1.00 am one morning last week – he was soon into the garfish, and – using silverfish for bait – he’d caught 40 by 4 am and was on his way home.

Ralph asks:

Geoff, I have heard people talk about drop-shotting and drop-shotting rigs; are they the same as paternoster rigs?

Ralph, whereas a paternoster rig makes use of one or more hook-droppers standing out from the main line, the hook on a drop-shotting rig – which may be either baited, or used to present a fly or soft plastic lure – is tied directly to the main line so that it stands out more or less at right-angles.

Whereas, the sinker on a paternoster rig is tied at a fixed distance below the hook or hook dropper, the specialized sinkers used for drop-shotting make use of a wire pinch-loop that enables the sinker to be moved further away from, or closer to, the hook on the line above.

For a more in-depth description, I suggest articles such as https://www.anglingtimes.co.uk/advice/tips/drop-shotting-for-beginners/ would be a good start considering the author – although living in the UK – is fishing for similar species that we do.