Geoff Wilson’s Fishing Knots And Rigs

Trent Schiller with an 83 cm mulloway that he caught from the Hopkins River estuary at Warrnambool.

Warrnambool

Mulloway are presently on offer from the Hopkins River after dark according to Trent Schiller, who – well rugged up against the cold – had success during last week’s moonlit nights when he predicted (correctly it would seem), they would be out hunting.

Trent’s biggest fish measured 83 cm and took a Daiwa, 106 mm Bait Junkie, fished on a slow retrieve at the ski run near the Warrnambool boat ramp. It put up a good fight said Trent, taking several good runs on the light tackle he was using before he was able to land it.

Ray Millman with one of the salmon he caught from the beach at Eastern View.

Off the beach

With rough seas over the past couple of weeks, dedicated beach fisherman, Ray Millman, has fished instead from various structures including the Lorne Pier from which he caught any number of Australian salmon, including a couple around the 3 kg mark, on his surf spinning outfit.

Last week though, Ray was confronted with a strong northerly blowing right in his face, making fishing difficult, but for most of the West Coast, it was blowing offshore. So, he decamped from the pier in search of some beach fishing opportunities.

Prepared to return fishless, his last port of call was Eastern View where his very first cast with a 42-gram Savage Gear Sea-Missile produced a salmon of possibly 2 kg. More followed, making his eventual journey back to his vehicle, with a dozen or so salmon problematic, for the combined weight of his catch snapped the strap on his carry bag.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Andrew Johnson made a 7.00 am start off Curlewis on Tuesday to catch the incoming tide, and hopefully some whiting, but initially there wasn’t much doing.

As sometimes is the case, it took a few moves to find them, and eventually, in 4 metres of water, he caught 15 fish from 35 to 42 cm.

Early last week, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar, headed down toward the entrance of Swan Bay where they caught their respective bag limit catches of squid, including one that weighed at 1.2 kg.

That was on the last of the incoming tide, which – by early afternoon – had begun to ebb. So, they anchored up out near Coles Beacon on the whiting, again taking their respective bag limit catches, their biggest measuring 43 cm.

Making a daybreak start on Sunday to catch the ebb tide, Steve O’Keefe and Anna McLean fished in the Lonsdale Bight, down toward the prominent rock wall.

All up they caught 36 whiting, and what beauties they were with two measuring 47 cm apiece.

Michael Goldby with a pink ling taken offshore from Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Michael Goldby with a ghost cod taken offshore from Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Offshore

With a break in the weather on Saturday, Bob McPherson, Michael Goldby and Lachie Wombell headed out to the wide grounds off Portland, and – fishing on the drift in around 500 metres of water – caught a variety of fish that included ghost cod, pink ling, coral perch, school shark and several others.

Closer to home, Kevin McLoughlin and Marcus Pearson fished in 30 metres of water off Torquay where their catch included an 18 kg gummy shark that they released.

Carn Taylor with the 38.65 kg hapuka he caught out wide from Port MacDonnell, SA.

South Oz

Talking big fish, Port MacDonnell cray fisherman Carn Taylor, just over the border in South Australia, also enjoys recreational fishing. And, picking a break in the weather last week, he caught a 38.65 kg hapuka while bottom-bouncing in the deeper water.

Mind you, that’s not the first time we’ve given Carn a mention: Back on the June full moon in 2015, he caught a 154.7 kg broadbill on 37 kg tackle while fishing with Clint Wilson and Mark Day on a night-long game fishing escapade.

Freshwater

With the full moon on Tuesday, Jack Paasse and brother Anton fished Lake Bullen Merri after nightfall. However, the fishing was slow with just a couple of small chinook salmon that took live minnow suspended beneath floats, and a tiger trout of about 1 kg that Anton caught.

Not wanting to waste his supply of live minnow that took him some time to catch, on Friday, Jack launched his kayak at Lake Purrumbete where he had more action, catching six tiger trout, the biggest a brightly coloured specimen of about 2.3 kg, another of 1.5 kg, and four smaller ones.

All were caught on minnow suspended a metre or so beneath the surface on a bubble float rig and released; an impressive fishery on which Jack congratulates Fisheries Victoria.

Boating information night

On Tuesday evening 28/06/22, The Geelong and District Angling Club at 9 Yuille Street, Geelong West, are holding a boating information night from 7.30 pm with a presentation by charter boat skipper and marine consultant, Kelvin Bertacchini.

This will include a flare demonstration from 8.00 pm, and an inflatable life jacket inspection; so, bring yours along. And bring a pen to complete inspection sheets, which will be supplied.

Kelvin is also prepared to answer attendee’s questions on any aspects of boating or fishing they may care to ask.

Daniel Stranger with his 1.2 metre Murray Cod from the Murray River near Tocumwal.

Freshwater

On a recent trip up the Murray River near Tocumwal, Geelong angler Daniel Stranger, and his companion, were hoping for a decent Murray cod. Not in vain either as it turned out, for they caught and released four over the 90 cm mark; three of which measured over a metre in length, including one of 1.2 metres.

Fishing Lake Purrumbete over the weekend, Garry Ridgeway spent a good deal of time fishing whitebait suspended just above the bottom with which he was able to tempt several chinook salmon to 2.5 kg. However, large eels again proved a nuisance.

He soaked quite a few mudeye under a float, hopeful of catching one of the large brown trout that are presently on offer. The difficulty there was that every mudeye he put out was soon taken by one of the voracious tiger trout to 800 grams or so that eagerly devour such offerings.

Garry also caught up with his friend Roger Tolland who’s been launching his small craft on nearby Lake Bullen Merri and has had a good deal of success trolling Tassie Devils; most successful being a combination of a pink Tassie Devil rigged behind a flasher (sometimes referred to as a dodger), which proved far more successful on the chinook, and other species, than trolling the Tassie Devil on its own.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Picking a break in the weather last week, Gordon and Carol Williams were after the whiting again, but all was quiet until the incoming tide picked up in the early afternoon.

The bite, what there was of it, soon petered out though, persuading them to seek greener pastures down Leopold way where both the size and number of the fish improved. And, they probably would have taken their respective bag limit catches had not the stiffening breeze picked up, persuading their return to the ramp.

Australian salmon are still about in Corio Bay and often well within casting range from the various structures around the Geelong Waterfront, particularly when using metal lures of sufficient weight, say 15 grams for 3 kg tackle.

Off the beach

Fishing one of last week’s evening high tides from Bancoora Beach last week, Tony Ingram and Col Simmons were also into the salmon, both on bait and during a casting session with 40-gram chrome slices, particularly toward dark when fish topping the kilogram mark, came to the party.

Herman asks:
Geoff, I’ve read your reports from Lake Bullen Merri. However, with no boat ramp as such, how are people with larger boats able to access this fishery?

And, what’s the biggest chinook salmon you have heard of being caught from here, and is there a realistic chance of catching them from the bank?

Herman, I have already discussed the boat ramp issue on March 22 this year, and of which I’ve sent you a copy.

Both chinook salmon and rainbow trout have been caught from the bank at Lake Bullen Merri, along with other salmonids like tiger and brown trout.

Although adult chinook salmon from Lake Bullen Merri, and possibly Lake Purrumbete, reached sizes in excess of 12 kg back in the late 1970s and early 80s, when the hatchlings – after consuming their egg yolks –were released by Fisheries without delay, which remains the current procedure observed in the release of native fish – reached trophy sizes.

The current practice of on-growing chinook hatchlings on highly processed food for 12 months or so within the hatchery, appears to significantly slow their early growth resulting in adult chinook salmon not achieving anything like the sizes seen in the late 70’s and 80’s.

However, a 3-year trial of fingerling releases that commenced in 2019 has already resulted in larger adult fish, the biggest that I know of from Bullen Merri weighed 3.94 kg; internet video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qePdhBlXhpU. As far as I am aware, and for whatever reason, this trial has been discontinued.

It’s worth noting that for the past 30 years or so, prior to this, chinook salmon – having been released as yearlings – rarely reached 2 kg. So, the case for a trophy-size chinook salmon fishery, based on the early release of hatchlings – fingerlings at least – is urgently in need of consideration.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club with a sample of the redfin to be caught at Tullaroop Reservoir.

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that Tullaroop Reservoir is still producing good catches of redfin, and that he and Ken Hinks took any amount on their most recent trip, both on bait and on various lures.

Kevin also reports that club members have also been successful on Lake Fyans near Stawell where redfin have also been the main catch. And, being something of a fishing celebrity, Kevin was approached by a gentleman who was only too eager to show him his catch of a Murray cod just over a metre in length, and several yellowbelly that he’d caught from the Murray River directly below the Torrumbarry weir, upstream from Echuca, using Old Mate lures in the green colouration.

With a break in the weather on Thursday, Jack Paasse fished Lake Bullen Merri again, as he did last week. While the action was somewhat slower than during his previous trip, he managed to catch three fish; one, a well-conditioned rainbow trout of around 1.8 kg, and a couple of slightly smaller chinook salmon, all of which were released.

All three fish were caught trolling lures from his kayak; the rainbow taking a green and gold Tassie Devil while the salmon took a bibbed, minnow-type lure.

Chinook salmon have also been on offer at nearby Lake Purrumbete where Ken Stokes had no trouble taking a bag limit catch of fish to 2 kg while fishing pilchard fillets just above the bottom, along with an occasional eel; hard to avoid when fishing at this depth.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

With Thursday’s weather looking halfway decent, and the incoming tide pushing up against a light westerly breeze, Andrew Johnson headed down toward Curlewis, hopeful of catching a few whiting. Initially at least, there wasn’t much doing, so a series of moves was initiated before he found a good bite in 5 metres of water.

By then though, the westerly breeze had picked up quite a bit, chopping up against the incoming tide. But. with a good bite going – and despite the deteriorating conditions – Andrew stuck it out for a tally of sixteen keepers from 34 to 41 cm before heading back to the ramp.

Fishing in much the same area, Carol and Gordon Williams also took a respectable catch of whiting, and they probably would have taken a bag-limit catch had it not been for the darkening skies that persuaded their return to the ramp.

Jason Treloar and Harley Griffiths had snapper on their mind putting in a lengthy night vigil off North Shore, but while they picked what were almost certainly positive soundings for snapper along the Corio Channel, they had no luck in tempting one, as often is the case with cooling water temperatures.

They thought their luck had changed when, out of the blue – so to speak – one of their reels screamed off, and that felt like a decent snapper. That was until they got it alongside, when it turned out to be a gummy shark of possibly 6 kg: A good catch certainly, but not what they were after.

Anglers prepared to brave the less than friendly weather we’ve experienced over the past week or so, have been rewarded with good catches of Australian salmon, from the wave moderator and other nearby structures at the Geelong waterfront, with metal lures of sufficient weight to make a good cast, preferred.

Archie asks:

Geoff, I have heard that red and pink fishing line is the best to use for fishing leaders because red disappears under the water. Is that true?

Archie, red is the first colour of the spectrum to be lost under water but it does not disappear, it just goes grey, and as such remains visible. Similarly, pink also goes grey and is still visible.

However, I was aware of the increased promotion of red and pink leaders some years ago, and the claims made for them that included the erroneous claim that red disappears under water making the line invisible. So, you may have been reading old literature, otherwise that old furphy has made a comeback.

Least visible under water are clear nylon monofilament leaders, followed by those tinted pale blue or green.

Jack Paasse with a sample of his chinook salmon catch from Lake Bullen Merri on Sunday.

Dennis Calleja with the tiger trout, apparently in spawning mode.

Freshwater

Jack Paasse launched his Kayak on Lake Bullen Merri on Sunday, and – trolling various lures just out from the bank – he caught his bag limit of five chinook salmon, the largest weighing 2 kg.

Frank Benvenuto fished Wurdiboluc Reservoir on Sunday Afternoon, and his first cast with a mudeye, at around 3.30 pm, produced a brown trout of around 700 grams, and his second cast, another.

Frank put on a Strike pro Bob’N spoon on his other rod hoping to catch a decent redfin, but again hooked another similar size trout to the first two. In fact, he finished hooking, and then releasing, a total of ten browns, the biggest measuring 40 cm; four were caught on mudeyes, and six were taken on the spoon.

Ken Hinks of the Maryborough Angling Club with a pair of nice redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Amber Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club with yet another Murray Cod from Lake Mulwala.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park had his share of VIPs from both VRFish and Victorian Fisheries Authority at the Lake over the weekend with John ensuring they all sampled the lake’s great fishing, especially for redfin and sent in quite a few pictures of their angling success.

Rhiannon Atkinson of the Snobs Creek Hatchery, advises that on Thursday, 02/06/22 – from around 1.30 pm – it is intended that 400-tiger trout (average weight 350 grams) are to be stocked in Lake Purrumbete, along with possibly 2000 to 3000 yearling rainbows (average weight 25-30 grams).

Those interested in attending please contact Rhiannon on mobile 0407 987 016, or by email Rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au, in case there are any changes to this arrangement.

Maryborough Angling Club members Kevin and Amber Wild made the journey to Yarrawonga once more to fish Lake Mulwala, the level of the lake is being lowered to kill off the feral weed, and – from all accounts – the fishing was a bit slow. Never the less, they persisted and caught three Murray cod to 58 cm for their trouble.

Closer to home, Kevin and fellow Club member Ken Hinks took a run out on Tullaroop Reservoir where they took any amount of redfin, along with other club members including Stephen Eales and his 8 year old daughter, Lily.

Taylor Hunt of VFA with another nice redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture John Clements).

Ben Scullin, CEO of VRFish, also with a nice redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture John Clements).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Launching at St Leonards, Andrew Phillips and Mark Sesar headed down south to the Coles Beacon off the mouth of Swan Bay by around 7.30 am, hopeful of catching some whiting on the incoming tide.

Initially, they had a good bite going, but that initial promise petered out along with the tidal flow which eased off prematurely, shutting the bite down. By then though, they’d caught 30 whiting to 41 cm, and decided to go looking for squid a little closer in; a productive exercise at it turned out for they caught their respective bag limits and there were some good size specimens among them.

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park with a nice redfin.

John Clements with Jed, Cassie and Daniel Kelly from Warrnambool with nice feed of Redfin taken from Lake Purrumbete on scrub worms.

Andrew Johnson headed out off Curlewis on Friday, after several days of being afflicted by whatever winter ill is currently abroad, and tried for whiting off Curlewis.

Initially, there wasn’t much doing, but as the incoming tide picked up in the afternoon, they came on the bite and he caught 15 nice fish in quick succession before the bite shut down once more, persuading Andrew to call it quits.

Steve O’Keefe and Anna McLean fished at various spots within Corio Bay last week, taking respectable catches on each occasion using squid for bait. And on Friday, they headed down off the Queenscliff grass beds where they caught 36 whiting, a good many of these being well over the 40 cm mark.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire reports that with good weather prevailing for most of last week, clients were really doing well on the squid, and – out in the deeper water – flathead, once again proved to be a dependable catch.

Whiting were slow said Rod, but there were some good catches made off Grassy Point over the weekend, and that news spread rather quickly by the number of boats anchored up here by Sunday.

Lachie Wombell with a nice pink ling, one of several taken by he and Bob McPherson off Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Lachie Wombell with a school shark, part of a catch taken by he and Bob McPherson off Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Offshore

With Simon Werner’s friend Mick Holland down from Bendigo on Friday to do some fishing, the good weather persuaded them to take a run offshore from Barwon Heads in search of tuna.

They caught three as it turned out, ranging in size from 12 to 15 kg; one on a skirted lure on the surface in 40 metres of water, and two on deep-running minnow-type lures in 55-60 metres of water.

Fishing in around 500 metres of water offshore from Portland on Sunday, Bob McPherson and Lachie Wombell were onto a good patch of pink ling, blue-eye trevalla, ghost cod and one or two other species that should keep them in fresh fish for a while.

Rob Loats, Chairman of VRFish with another nice redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

John Clements and Anthony Foster of VFA with yet more redfin from Lake Purrumbete.

Jack asks:

My friend Dennis Calleja, caught a 2 kg tiger trout from Lake Bullen Merri over the weekend. The unusual thing was it had a big hook jaw, a ratty tail and a black belly. I thought these tigers and cheetahs were hybrid and therefore did not spawn?

Jack, thanks for the photos of Dennis with the tiger trout, and your question, that I passed on to Taylor Hunt, VFA freshwater research scientist who makes the following observations:

“Thanks very much for sharing these photos.

It does look like you’ve got a tiger trout. You are correct, they are sterile, however they can exhibit some sexual morphology such as a hooked jaw.

Like the Chinook salmon, they won’t be successful at spawning in Bullen Merri or Purrumbete due to a lack of suitable spawning habitat.

We are really impressed with how the Tiger trout have performed in both lakes since stocking and we’ve had excellent feedback from anglers.

I caught a couple of small 40cm fish last week. They were very aggressive!

We’ve seen fish to 2.5kg being caught out of Purrumbete and 2kg in Bullen Merri. I wonder how big they might get?”

Chris Stamalos with the snapper and gummy shark he caught offshore from Barwon Heads on Sunday (Victorian Inland Charters).

Chris Stamalos with the 5 kg cuttlefish he caught off Barwon Heads on Saturday (Victorian Inland Charters).

Offshore

With good weather on Sunday, Chris Stamalos was among several to head out from Barwon Heads, and with the exceptionally low tides late last week and over the weekend, it was a bumpy ride over some of the shallow sand bars.

Eventually, at anchor in 30 metres of water, Chris was soon in business with a sevengilled shark of possibly 30 kg. Fortunately, there weren’t too many of those about. Next cab off the rank was a 9 kg gummy shark followed by a 4 kg snapper, and then a 5 kg cuttlefish that was hooked in the tentacle.

Simon Werner, of Adamas Charters reports that, fishing in much the same area, his clients also took snapper to 4 kg, along with both gummy and school shark to 15 kg.

Victorian Inland Charters client Jacob with another nice redfin (Victorian Inland Charters).

Victorian Inland Charters client Jacob with another nice redfin (Victorian Inland Charters).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

On Saturday morning, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck launched at St Leonards, and on the last of the outgoing tide, headed out into around 19 metres of water, hopeful of catching a gummy shark or two. However, first up was a sevengilled shark of around 60 kg that they released, and that was followed by an 8 kg gummy shark that they kept.

All they caught after that though were flathead of various sizes, not really what they were after. So, they decided to head in toward Coles Beacon off the entrance of Swan Bay to fish for whiting.

Initially there wasn’t much doing, but when the incoming tide picked up mid-afternoon, the whiting came on the bite and by late evening, they’d topped off their bag limit catches with some bigger fish, one stretching the tape out to 43 cm.

Early on Friday morning, Andrew Johnson headed out off Curlewis, and by 6.30 am was at anchor in 5 metres of water from where he took a bag limit catch of whiting, the smallest he kept measured 35 cm, the largest 41.

With time on his hands, Andrew pulled the anchor, and – fishing on the drift in around 3 metres of water – picked up a half dozen nice squid.

Just as well there are imminent plans to excavate the Clifton Springs harbour entrance said Andrew, because – with the exceptionally low morning tides toward the end of last week, and over the weekend – he just made it back through the harbour entrance, and that was half an hour or so before low tide. Three larger craft weren’t so lucky, running aground, their owners having to wait out the tide to get back in.

Fortunately, we won’t be seeing any more really low tides until mid-June. They’re predicted to occur mid-afternoon on the 13^th and 14^th.

Amber Wild with the 72 cm Murray cod she caught during the Maryborough Angling Club outing on Lake Mulwala last week.

Off the Beach

Fishing last week’s morning low tides from the beach at Ocean Grove, Stanley Owen and Tony Ingram were initially plagued by large crabs taking their baits of squid, and – as confirmation – brought several to the beach still hanging on to what was left of their baits.

But as the tide eventually began coming in, the crabs seemed to go into hiding, heralding the first of several good bites that produced a couple of pinkie snapper and a small mulloway. And by the time the incoming tide forced their retreat, they’d added a couple of snapper nudging the 40 cm mark.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club with the 120 cm Murray cod he caught from Lake Mulwala last week (Picture: Amber Wild).

Kevin Wild with the 82 cm cod he caught during the Maryborough Angling Club outing on Lake Mulwala last week (Picture: Amber Wild).

Freshwater

Kevin and Amber Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club spent a few days at Yarrawonga on Lake Mulwala, trolling lures mainly, with Percy the Perch (an articulated rubber bodied lure), and Old Mate deep-running bibbed minnows, with one of which, Kevin plucked a 120 cm Murray Cod, his biggest to date.

They also did well during the Maryborough Angling Club’s outing on Lake Mulwala during their stay that produced a total of 20 fish that were caught and released; Kevin with an 82 cm cod and Amber, another of 72 cm.

Last Tuesday, Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters was joined by clients Mick and Steve from Horsham, both keen to go out onto Lake Purrumbete despite the stiff breeze and occasional passing shower.

Redfin were on the bite from the get-go, mainly in the usual size range, but Mick picked up a beauty of 44 cm and 1.4 kg. Altogether they probably would have caught over a hundred, keeping 60 for themselves, their families, and friends.

On Friday, client Steve, along with his two boys Jacob and Steve, were also in a redfin session; they too brought home a catch worth skiting over.

Keryn Millard with the 70 cm mirror dory she caught offshore from Portland (Picture: Dean Millard).

Offshore

Fishing offshore from Portland in 450 metres of water, Keryn Millard and her father Dean were after the usual blue eye trevalla and other deep-water species to be found out here. However, from time to time, less common species turn up.

Such was the case during last week’s trip when Keryn caught a mirror dory, and at 70 cm in length – the maximum size this species is reputed to reach according to current information – it was a good specimen. A close relative of the more widely known John Dory and its other relative, the silver dory, the mirror dory is highly regarded table fare.

Mark Powell with an impressive frost fish taken out wide from Portland.

Also fishing out wide from Portland, in 320 metres of water, was Mark Powell whose catch included an impressive frost fish of probably over 1.5 metres in length.

Fishing a little farther afield at Port MacDonnell, Clifton Springs angler Jake Callahan and company caught two barrel-size tuna, both well over the 100 kg mark on lures, one of which they kept, the other, released.

Michael Evans with a 45 cm redfin that the caught, and then released, at Wurdiboluc Reservoir.

Don Rayner with a 44 cm redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Freshwater

Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters recently visited Wurdiboluc Reservoir, where – casting Wasaby and Black Magic spoons from the rock wall during the last hour or so of daylight – caught, and then released, several redfin; the biggest stretching the tape out to 45 cm.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the lake continues to produce trophy size brown trout, and among those to catch them was Andy McCarthy who caught one of 3.86 kg while fishing along the edges of the weed beds.

Also fishing Lake Purrumbete last week was Garry Ridgeway who had no trouble catching chinook salmon on each occasion he went out, the biggest approaching 3 kg, but – fishing with whitebait suspended just above the bottom in 22 metres of water – very large eels proved to be a nuisance and were cut free beside the boat.

Fishing nearby Lake Bullen Merri on Friday morning, Roger Tolland also caught a number of chinook salmon trolling lures, with a by-catch of three tiger trout and one brown, each around 1.5 kg. However, Roger said he was surprised by the number of much larger chinook salmon – mostly in spawning coloration, and obviously from the 2019 release – that could be seen cruising around the edges of the lake, but not feeding.

Amber Wild with a nice Murray cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Kevin Wild with another nice cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Amber Wild).

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club fished with father-in-law Don Rayner on Tullaroop Reservoir early last week taking any amount of redfin on various lures, keeping just 18 to 44 cm.

On Friday, Kevin and wife Amber travelled to Yarrawonga to fish Lake Mulwala which is in the process of having the water level lowered to control the feral weed infestation. And, with the boat ramp still operable, they caught, and released, any number of cod to 70 cm trolling “Old Mate” lures in the Collingwood colours.

Andy McCarthy with 3.85 kg brown trout from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Garry Ridgeway with one of his chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Andrew Johnson was out on the whiting off Curlewis at first light on Thursday. There wasn’t much tide running and he was being bothered by small pickers, mainly leatherjackets, so he made a move but still had to wait for the incoming tide to pick up to get a response from below. When it did though, the whiting responded and he took a bag limit catch in short order.

Before raising the anchor, Andrew broke out the squid jigs and caught eight before things went quiet. But, with another bag limit catch in the offing, he pulled the anchor and caught two more while drifting on the light breeze.

Hugh Maltby and his friend Gordon with a nice catch, mainly redfin, from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Taking advantage of calm weather on Friday afternoon, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed down off the mouth of Swan Bay to fish the last of the outgoing tide for whiting. Initially the fishing was slow, but after making a couple of moves, they found a good bite out toward Coles Beacon, from which they each took bag limit catches of fish, including some real beauties; the biggest 43 cm.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that squid were on offer last week, and clients wasted no time seeking them out, some taking bag limit catches. Few whiting were caught though said Rod, but that may have been because of the focus was primarily on squid.

Adrian Cole shows the quality of whiting currently on offer. These were caught off St Leonards (Picture: Mark Sesar).

Off the beach

Early last week, Ray Millman fished at Jan Juc from dusk onwards. All he caught initially were several Whitley skates, one of which was a huge specimen some 1.5 metres across the wings that took a silver trevally Ray had foul-hooked then fished as a live bait. And, because of its size, releasing that one, as he did the others, proved something of a challenge.

Following that episode, Ray was rewarded, first with a 2.5 kg Australian salmon, followed by a another much smaller, the fillets of which he used for bait. His first capture being an elephant fish of possibly 4 kg that he released, and then a bronze whaler of just over a metre in length that he kept, along with the larger salmon.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Launching from St Leonards on Sunday afternoon, Mark and Tina Sesar, and Adrian Cole, found a good patch of squid from which they were able to extract a dozen despite the stiff sou-westerly that saw only a few boats on the water. And, with the incoming tide aligning with the breeze, they anchored up in six metres of water hopeful of catching a few whiting.

They finished up with 30 good size whiting as it turned out, but – with the weather worsening toward evening – they made tracks.

Early last week, Andrew Johnson was on the water by 6.30 am down Curlewis way in one of his usually productive whiting spots. However, with nothing doing for half an hour, he was on the move again, eventually finding a good patch of fish back toward the mussel farm off Clifton Springs in six metres of water. And it was from here that he took a bag limit catch of whiting from 34 to 42 cm.

With the day still young, he broke out the squid jigs and was initially greeted by a plethora of pea-dodgers, which he released, eventually finding a patch of bigger ones, taking ten; some for bait and others for the table.

Making an early start just offshore from the entrance of Swan Bay on Wednesday morning, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greg’s first order of business was to catch some squid, and – despite the drizzling rain – they kept at it and eventually took bag limit catches that included one of 1.5 kg. And, with still a fair amount of run on the outgoing tide, they anchored up near Coles Beacon hopeful of catch a few whiting before the tide was finished.

They caught 35 good size specimens by the time the tide had died at around 11.00 am, their biggest measuring 43 cm. But by then, the weather had worsened with the westerly picking up from 15 to 20 knots on their return trip.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that whiting, some over the 40 cm mark, and squid, both put in welcome appearances for clients, some of whom were out in indifferent weather during the week, but – for the main part anyway – returning with smiles on their faces.

Melbourne angler Paul Carbis unhooks one of 30 redfin he caught from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Freshwater

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that fishing is good from the lake, especially for redfin which seem to be the main drawcard, although Aaron Goral of Eltham managed to add a smallish tiger trout to his tally.

Melbourne angler Paul Carbis caught 30 odd redfin on scrubworms, while George Gillies from Winchelsea took a similar catch using live minnow for bait.

Chinook salmon are also on offer for those seeking them. With some – those that were released as fingerlings, and not as yearlings, which is the norm – now around the 4 kg mark: Hopefully this practice will continue.

Sam asks:

Geoff, can you enlighten me as to the meaning of “salt wedge” when applied to estuaries, and its effect on fish?

Sam, my understanding of a salt wedge estuary, is that salt water coming in from the sea, being denser than the fresh water coming down the river, in conditions of reduced flow, has the potential to form a layer beneath the fresh.

Under these conditions, this layer tends to be roughly wedge-shaped with the thin edge beginning at the bottom some distance upstream from the mouth, gradually expanding toward the sea where the water is usually salt from top to bottom.

Should an estuary become closed to the sea and stagnant, delineation between salt and fresh becomes more distinct, the deepest levels becoming oxygen-depleted and toxic. So, any significant delay in opening such an estuary to the sea increases the propensity for this toxic layer to mix with, and poison, the formerly habitable layer.

Andrew Johnson with a metre long Murray cod taken from a feeder stream near Policeman’s Paddock near Rutherglen (Picture: Jenny Johnson

Freshwater

Last week’s reference to Andrew Johnson’s trip to Gunbower on the Murray River with family and friends would probably have been relegated to history with a downpour predicted for the district last week. So, they made tracks, finishing up camping in the vicinity of Policeman’s Paddock east of Howlong as an interim stop along the way. But, with daylight to spare, Andrew investigated a smallish creek nearby.

He’d already caught an 80 cm cod at Gunbower, but he somehow felt compelled to free up a couple of rods, some chicken for bait, and to try this modest stretch of water.

And, as sometimes happens, he hooked another cod; a big one! And, when the outcome was assured, called wife Jenny on the phone to bring the measuring tape. which – when laid along the cod nose to tail – measured one metre exactly. Mind you, this wasn’t on the Murray, but in a small creek that most would have overlooked.

Ken Hinks of the Maryborough Angling Club with a 49 cm redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Victorian Inland Charters client Michelle with a 45 cm tiger trout (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters found plenty of redfin for repeat clients, Michelle, Phil and Craig on Lake Purrumbete last week. All up, after spending time avoiding pods of small fish, they finished up with 112 keepers to 39 cm, which were taken on Baltic bobbers, soft plastics, live minnow and scrubworms.

However, Michelle put her hand up for something different and Michael put out a live minnow on a bubble float rig that resulted in her capture of a 45 cm tiger trout. This initiated more of the same, accounting for two more tiger trout and a couple that were lost when the hook pulled beside the boat.

Victorian Inland Charters client Jack with a 45 cm rainbow trout (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Phoebe Coulson 9, with a flathead she caught from Corio Bay last week while fishing with her grandfather (Picture: Tackle World Cranbourne).

It was a similar story on Saturday afternoon for client Nathan and son Jack who also had the redfin coming in thick and fast, eventually keeping 25 of the larger ones for a feed. However, in the last hour of their session, out went the bubble float rig, baited with a minnow as before, and that soon took off, rewarding Jack with a 45 cm rainbow trout.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club spent some time on the Tullaroop Reservoir with fellow club member Ken Hinks, where – using small yabbies and soft plastics – they took 37 redfin and there were some good ones among these as well, one stretching the tape out to 49 cm.

Kaiden Dwyer 4, with a nice snook from the Jetty at Newhaven (Picture: Stewart Dwyer).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

On Wednesday morning, Garry Ridgeway and Lindsay Robinson headed out off Clifton Springs after the whiting. And, after making a couple of moves, found a good bite off Curlewis on the morning’s incoming tide and were back at the ramp by mid-day with bag limit catches of fish to 42 cm.

Fishing nearby was Dennis O’Brien who took a similar bag limit catch of whiting, as did Steve O’Keefe, and I guess a good many others judging by the number of folk on the water, obviously encouraged by the improvement in the weather we experienced for most of last week.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that squid have been on offer over the previous week, but whiting have been comparatively scarce. Flathead have been plentiful though said Rod, and as usual, saved the day for some.

Damon Sherriff with one of the kingfish he caught on a live slimy mackerel off Tomahawk Island, Tasmania, last week.

Roger asks:

In the past you have been critical of official responses to fish kills. Do you have anything to say about the unmitigated disaster at The Curdies, where, not only fish have been killed, but – from what I understand from media reports – some two dozen dead cattle were left to decompose in one of our premier bream fisheries?

Roger, the very best I can do is fully endorse VRFish Chair, Rob Loats’ comments on this matter via his April 21 media release:

“This is not a small, limited fish kill as stated by DELWP or a natural event as stated by the Corangamite CMA. This is an unmitigated disaster that was foreseen decades ago in risk assessments and catchment strategies ever since. If taxpayer funded agencies cannot respond in an appropriate manner, then it’s time for the current Government to direct funding to agencies that can.”

“The Victorian community deserves better than a premier fishing destination being turned into a drain with shrugged shoulders as the response.”

Paul Rahman with the mulloway he caught from the Maribyrnong River last week.

Bic, Van and Paul with a sample of their catch from the Maribyrnong River, Footscray.

Last week, Paul Rahman had a call from his pal Van, who is something of a mulloway enthusiast on both the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers in Melbourne. He’d caught a nice fish from the Maribyrnong, just upstream from Footscray the night before and suggested that Paul might like to come up for a try.

Well, Paul – along with wife Selin, and a good supply of live mullet and salmon – met up with Van, and his brother Bic for a session near the footbridge; a fairly productive one at that, for they caught three mulloway. Paul caught the biggest at 115 cm, Van caught one of 105 cm, and Bic caught the other, along with a 50 cm snapper, all on live bait.

Andrew Johnson with his 80 cm murray cod from Gunbower.

Daniel Johnson with his Murray cod from Gunbower.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

On Saturday afternoon, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar fished offshore from Point Richards for whiting, eventually finding some action in 6 metres of water off the east end of the mussel farm.

By 6.00 pm they’d taken their respective bag limit catches of whiting, the biggest measuring 43 cm, along with a couple of nice flathead, and a number of mackerel scad they kept for snapper bait.

Jenny Johnson with another Murray cod.

Simon Werner and Rod Butcher were also after the whiting, and – launching at Clifton Springs – didn’t have to cover much ground to find the them. They too took bag limit catches, their biggest fish also measured 43 cm.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire reports that whiting have been good of late and among those to take bag limit catches were Brian Cumming and his friend Cohn who took most of their fish out toward Dead Man’s Stick.

Squid have also been plentiful, while those fishing on the drift out in the deeper water have caught any amount of flathead with regular client Trent, and his son Brodie, also picking up a reasonable gummy shark each.

Caitlyn Slater with her silver perch.

Freshwater

Making the trip to Gunbower on the Murray, Andrew, Daniel and Jenny Johnson, and Caitlin Slater had some piscatorial success: Andrew caught their biggest fish, an 80 cm Murray cod that took a chicken fillet. Daniel’s best fish measured 55 cm and was taken on local shrimp. Jenny picked up another cod using cheese for bait and Caitlyn caught a 45 cm silver perch, also on cheese.

Purrumbete fish stocking
VFA Fish Stocking Coordinator, Rhiannon Atkinson advises that a total of possibly 2000 tiger trout will be liberated into Lake Purrumbete tomorrow (April 27). This is scheduled to occur from 1.00 to 1.30 pm, and – for those interested in attending – please contact Rhiannon by email rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au or phone 0407 987 016, to be advised of any changes.

Lachie Wombell with a sample of his and Bob McPherson’s whiting catch off Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Portland

Bob McPherson reports that whiting are on the go at Portland, and that he and Lachie Wombell headed out into 9 metres of water off Portland’s north shore where they picked up a good catch, some well over the 40 cm mark.

Sammy asks:

Geoff, I’ve heard that mulloway have been caught from the beach at Ocean Grove. Can you give me any details, including best times of year to fish?

Sammy, historically speaking, the beaches adjacent to car parks 17, 18 and 19W have all produced mulloway.

Although some have been caught on the high tide and at other times, the easiest, and probably the most productive times to fish are either side of the lowest tides. Those that occur on evening during October, November and December are probably the best examples because they expose enough of the beach to provide access to the deeper water beyond the sand shelf at this prime time.

In Autumn, the lowest tides occur in the mornings. These too have produced mulloway, sometimes quite late in the morning, especially if the sea is discoloured from the Barwon’s outflow following heavy rain.

At other times, when the tide recedes less far, you might have to stand on a wet beach, or even in shallow water. But, in any event, you will need the means to hold your tackle up from the beach, like a chair, or perhaps a specially constructed tripod, a good many examples of which may be found on the internet. You will also need a good sand spike for your rod.

Carmel Thompson with the 14 kg brown trout she caught from Eildon Pondage last week.

Freshwater

Carmel and Robert Thompson were delighted to snag their favorite spot on the eastern side of Eildon Pondage where, after a long drive, they wasted no time in baiting up with Berkley Powerbait.

They also spent quite a bit of time casting lures, but after three hours without a touch, they decided to pack up their gear and try somewhere else: That’s when the shadowy shape of very large fish caught their attention.

Michelle Richardson of Colac with a 2.3 kg chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Archie and Phoebe Tyler from Birchip with nice catch of redfin that they, and father Jarryd, caught on soft plastics from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Carmel wasted no time picking up her spinning rod, and – after making half a dozen or so casts with a pink Tassie Devil – hooked one hell of a fish. It took most of the line from her reel, but her patience prevailed, eventually enabling her to lead what turned out to be 14 kg brown trout into the landing net.

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the Lake has been fishing well, particularly for redfin, which seems to be what most are after. They included Jarryd Tyler with son Archie and daughter Phoebe who came all the way from Birchip for the reddies.

Chinook salmon are also on offer, and – should you know what you’re about – catching a bag limit on pilchard pieces, or whitebait, fished just above the bottom does the trick on these beauties; some exceeding 4 kg. However, lure fishing enthusiasts are also taking their share as Max and Shane Stevens of Ballarat can attest after taking several on Bent Minnow. Shane also picked up a nice tiger trout with the same approach.

Maryborough Fishing Club member Kevin Wild reports that Tullaroop Reservoir is fishing well with he and other club members taking good size redfin with a variety of methods, among them John Gray who caught one of 40 cm.

Kevin reports presently being at Lake Mulwala where he has taken a number of Murray cod to 60 cm while fishing lures around the weed beds.

Darcy Scott with his 8.3 kg snapper from Corio Bay.

Darcy Scott’s 8.3 kg snapper and the remains of the whiting head he used for bait.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Last week I mentioned that Darcy Scott’s faith in using snook (formerly called pike) for bait, hopefully to catch a snapper, proved less than successful on his first attempt. However, another try for snook produced just one, but that persuaded yet another snapper fishing session.

Making a daybreak start on Good Friday, Darcy was mooching along just west of the Wilson Spit, when the screen on his sounder lit up with the all too familiar snapper signature. His first cast with a fillet from the snook produced the first of five fish under 40 cm, and a couple a good deal larger. But by then, the snook had been used up.

Darcy Scott with yet another snapper he caught from Corio Bay over Easter.

However, there were some partially thawed King George whiting heads in the cooler, and the first of these to hit the water paid off big time; the fish he’d hooked eventually greeting the scales for a verdict of 8.3 kg, nicely rounding off his trip.

Max Stevens of Ballarat with a nice chinook salmon he caught from Lake Purrumbete on a Bent Minnow (Picture: John Clements).

Shane Stevens of Ballarat with a nice tiger trout that he caught from Lake Purrumbete on a Bent Minnow (Picture: John Clements).

Heading out from Point Richards at around 4.00 o’clock on Friday afternoon, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck were soon onto a reasonable whiting bite just east of the mussel farm.

Although slow to begin with, the bite quickened as the sun went down yielding some bigger fish, and by dark they had bag limit catches of whiting from 34 to 43 cm, along with a couple of nice flathead, each around the kilogram mark.

Jed Ferguson with his 74 cm blue spotted flathead (Picture: Adamas Charters).

Trev Perry with a nice redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that on Saturday there were good catches of whiting taken by anglers launching off Clifton Springs. Among those to catch them; on one occasion with Pete Dawson, and on another with Dennis O’Brien, was Andrew Johnson. Both trips were in 5 to 5.5 metres of water off Curlewis and resulted in bag limit catches of fish to 40 cm.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Heads reports that with benign weather last week, and over the weekend, his clients were well rewarded with catches of good size whiting, squid of mixed sizes, and quite a few cuttlefish that have shown up in significant numbers of late.

And for those venturing out into the deeper water, there was any amount of flathead to be taken on the drift.

With the northerly wind stirring up the bottom on Sunday, Simon Werner tried his luck from the Portarlington breakwater, being well aware that such conditions are productive for snapper. And, his efforts were not in vain either for he caught three, the biggest 2.5 kg.

Simon also works as a deckhand aboard Adamas fishing charters, and last week they snared a good many large flathead off Port Phillip Heads, mainly of the toothy variety, However, client Jed Ferguson snared a 74 cm, southern blue spotted flathead, which was something of a surprise considering they are most usually found in shallower water.

John Gray with a 40 cm redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Kevin Wild with his 60 Murray cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Amber Wild).

Monty asks

Geoff, I want to try for a thresher shark. I’ve heard you’ve caught them: So, what’s the best approach?

Monty, a properly set-up 24 kg game fishing outfit is adequate on thresher sharks of the sizes (up to possibly 100 kg) usually caught locally, and – of an early morning – often fairly close to shore.

A 200 lb nylon-covered wire trace and wind-on nylon monofilament leader, of that weight, or perhaps a little heavier, attached to a heavy gauge 8/0-9/0 hook, when baited with a live – or dead – fish suspended under a partially inflated balloon, should put you in the strike zone.

Another approach that works very well – again – especially early in the morning, is to troll a large, good-quality bibbed lure like the Rapala CD18. Be aware though, when using this approach, threshers are usually hooked in the tail, the lure sometimes disengaging boat-side and becoming a missile.