Geoff Wilson’s Fishing Knots And Rigs

Damon with one of the three Tomahawk Island kingfish he kept during last week’s visit.

From the Beach

Early last week, Ray Millman had his lines out from the beach at Jan Juc by midnight, and – within 20 minutes or so – pulled the hook on a good-size fish that felt like a snapper.

Ray’s Confidence of more action as the tide continued to rise was justified with the capture of two 45 cm snapper, closely followed by another of 50 cm. And, although the bite continued until the tide began running off shortly after 2.00 am, most fish he caught after that were barely pan size pinkies and were returned. That, and the amount of weed gathering on his line as the tide dropped, persuaded his retreat.

Victorian Inland Charters client, Marco and his daughters Alison and Claire, after a session on the Purrumbete redfin (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Corio Bay Bellarine Peninsula

Darcy Scott was on the water off Avalon on Sunday morning, and trolling a selection of lures, caught several snook; the fish we used to call pike back in days of yore.

They weren’t for the table, but for snapper bait, both on the day, and for the future.

Their first trip that evening yielded no snapper, only the lesser prizes of a small seven-gilled shark, and a legal-size gummy.

Around 2.30 on Saturday afternoon, Andrew Phillips, along with Tina and Mark Sesar, headed out to one of their usually productive whiting spots off Point Richards, but on anchoring up, were amazed at the amount of jellyfish present.

And, their lines were only out for a short time before a plethora of banjo sharks moved in on their baits. So, wasting no time, they pulled in the anchor, which – along with the rope – was covered in jellyfish slime, and moved once more.

Rylan Hogan with his bag limit catch of chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

The next move had a seal appear alongside in anticipation of getting more than its share of their catch, so they moved yet again. And, fishing in five metres of water from 4.45 until nightfall, they caught 36 whiting including some beauties, the biggest measuring 44 cm.

Making an early start last week, Andrew and Jenny Johnson fished in 5 metres of water off Curlewis; eventually finishing up on a hot whiting bite that yielded their respective bag limit catches of fish from 34 to 41 cm.

All were caught using pipi and squid for bait, as were those that Paul Rahman – who fished much the same area in the afternoon – also caught.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that anglers fishing on the drift in the deeper water, have taken good catches of flathead, and – on those days of good water clarity – squid of mixed sizes have been on the go from Grassy Point to the Governor Reefs.

However, that wasn’t the case early on Friday afternoon when Jeff Richards and Chris Hateley headed out. The water was quite murky after Thursday’s easterly blow but they had squid and cuttlefish from a previous trip, so all was well there.

So, anchoring up on one of their favourite spots near Dead Man’s Stick, out on the Prince George Bank, they were into the whiting from around 2.00 pm on the early flood tide, the bite continuing until they each had their respective bag limit catches, returning by 5.00 pm or so.

Michael Evans with fishing, and media personality Rex Hunt, at Lake Purrumbete with a sample from the lake (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Freshwater

On Sunday, Paul Rahman took a run out to Moorabool Reservoir, where – casting vibe-pattern lures from the bank – he caught 30 redfin, a good many of them around the 800 gram mark.

Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters was out on Lake Purrumbete on Friday with clients Cam, Dean and Nate, and it didn’t take long for them to get onto the redfin. All up, they would have caught about 80, of which they kept 35, the biggest 35 cm.

Having their fill of the redfin, they set-up the downrigger, and trolling bibbed lures at around 15 metres, young Nate caught a 40 cm chinook salmon. They would have caught even more had not, what amounted to gale force winds, swept across the lake ending their session.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that, as usual, redfin are the most sought after species on the lake. However, chinook salmon, some better than 3 kg have been taken, and among those to take a bag limit catch of these was Geelong angler Rylan Hogan.

Victorian Inland Charters client, Max, with a 40 cm redfin.

Tassie Kingfish

A couple of weeks ago we featured Damon Sherriff and his son Sammy with the kingfish they caught at Tomahawk Island, Tasmania. Interestingly, my search for information on this spot, mentioned that it was a good area for catching flathead, pike, and possibly gummy shark, but kingfish didn’t even get a mention.

But I guess kingfish should be added to the list, because – just to show their catch was no fluke – Damon returned, this time trolling a Halco Lazer Pro 190 bibbed minnow; (now categorized as a “hardbody,”) and a Nomad bibbless minnow in the sardine coloration; (now categorized as a “stickbait,”) and – on this occasion – being trolled furthest back, which is now described as “the shotgun position:” Newby names for old flames!

Damon, who was fishing by himself, caught several kingfish, mostly on the small side, returning all but three; these – on getting the tape out – measured from 80 to 90 cm.

David Kramer of Cranbourne Fishing World with a kingfish that measured over a metre in length taken at Port Phillip Heads (Picture: Cranbourne Fishing World).

Port Phillip Heads

Kingfish have made a welcome re-appearance at Port Phillip Heads, and among those to catch them was David Kramer of Tackle World Cranbourne who took several – the biggest measuring over a metre in length – using freshly caught squid for bait.

They have also been a boon to charter boat operators, like Matt Cini of Reel Time Charters who found them for his clients, among them Duane Barton, who also caught one over a metre in length.

Nick Tamburro with the 65 cm rainbow trout he caught from the Moorabool Reservoir.

Kevin Wild and John Gray with a sample of their redfin and yellowbelly catch from Tullaroop Reservoir.

Corio Bay Bellarine Peninsula

On Sunday, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar were hoping the weather would ease, before heading out of Point Richards on the whiting, but that wasn’t to be the case. So, come early afternoon, they ventured out to one of their more productive spots off the east end of the mussel farm.

Initially, it was pretty tough going, but they got a few good fish in spite of the adverse conditions. However, a break in the weather from around 3.00 pm also heralded an improvement in the fishing, and by the time the tide had eased off toward evening, all three had taken their respective bag limits of whiting, the biggest of which measured 43 cm.

Paul and Selin Rahman had similar success on the whiting, taking bag limit catches off Curlewis a little earlier in the week. And, with time on their hands, they decided to head across the bay toward the Mountain View Quarries, hopeful of catching a snapper.

It wasn’t long before one of the rods buckled over to the yelp of the reel, but that was all. Whether it was a snapper or not is hard to say, but the next time it happened, it yielded a 7 kg gummy shark.

Jeremy and Michelle Richardson, and Missy, with their catch of redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Alex Toff (left) with son Elliot and their catch from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Freshwater

I’ve only had the very occasional report from the Moorabool Reservoir at Bolwarrah since it was re-opened; I believe in 2012. That was after an extended closure by the Central Highlands Water Board who had simply padlocked all of the gates and erected threatening signage, as they allegedly had a predilection to do at other waters within their domain.

Moorabool Reservoir is just over 90 km north of Geelong along Spargo-Creek Road (off the Ballan/Daylesford Road, near Bungaree). And, last week, Nick Tamburro paid a visit tempting a 65 cm rainbow trout – which later weighed 2.8 kg after being cleaned – from the bank while soaking a scrubworm. So, it definitely could be worth a visit.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that Tullaroop Reservoir is still fishing well, for redfin in particular which have responded to a variety of methods that have included jigging, and trolling, with Zerek fish-trap lures bringing home the goods.

Kevin fished here with club members Ken Hinks on one occasion, and with John Gray on another for a total catch of 67 redfin to 1.6 kg, and a yellowbelly of similar size.

Andrew Ketelaar scored both redfin and brown trout on Sunday from Wurdiboluc Reservoir, using soft plastics and Rapala Husky Jerk. bibbed lures. And, using the wind to his advantage toward evening, was able cast far enough to reach the strike zone around the weed beds. The redfin were up to 45 cm and the browns were in the 500 gram range.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the fishing is good with redfin the most sought-after fish, something to which Jeremy and Michelle Richardson of Colac could attest after making a bumper catch from 18 metres of water from the lake, along with dog Missy, last week.

Chinook salmon have also been on offer said John with Flynn Collins of Warrnambool picking up a nice one of 2.8 kg while bait fishing just above the bottom.

Flynn Collins with the 2.8 kg chinook salmon he caught from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

In memoriam: Terry Sheppard

As per the late Terry Sheppard’s wishes, there will be a gathering at Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park on Saturday May 7 next, at noon, for a BBQ lunch and the scattering of his ashes onto the lake.

To attend, RSVP Chris Farrugia on 0411 640 477 or John Clements on 0438 682 765, or by messenger, by Friday April 29 next.

Damon Sherriff with an 83 cm snapper taken off Bridport in northern Tasmania.

Tassie Snapper

Damon Sherriff’s biggest snapper off Bridport in Tasmania last week measured 83 cm. And, like the others in a bag limit catch, mainly of fish from 3 to 4 kg, was taken on the heads, and fillets of fresh mullet.

Andrew Ketelaar with one of his brown trout from Wurdiboluc Reservoir.

One of Andrew Ketelaar’s redfin from Wurdiboluc Reservoir.

Ollie asks:
Geoff, is there any difference between a stingray and a stingaree, or is the latter just slang?

Ollie, using the reference Sharks and Rays of Australia, by P.R. Last and J.D. Stevens as a guide – and leaving eagle rays out of the discussion – I can tell you that stingrays and stingarees have separate taxonomic classifications, the former being Dasyatidae and the latter Urolophidae.

The physical differences are that stingrays are generally larger, more rhomboidal in shape, and with usually longish, and – except for one or more barbed spines, and sometimes thorn-like denticles – unadorned tails.

Stingarees, on the other hand are smaller, usually more circular rather than rhomboidal in shape, with shorter tails – also equipped with barbed spines – but with characteristic leaf-shaped caudal or tail fins.

The smooth stingray, Dasyatis brevicaudata, is the largest of our local stingrays, sometimes exceeding a width of two metres. On the other hand, Urolophus gigas, or spotted stingaree is rarely more than 40 cm in width, and locally, is the most common in that classification

Darren Foster with the kingfish he caught from the St Helens Rocks in Geelong (Picture: Trelly’s fishing tackle).

Off the Beach

I suppose parking near the Torquay boat ramp shortly after 1.00 am was reason enough to attract the attention of our finest, two of whom were on patrol at that hour, but Ray Millman was going fishing and had the gear to prove it, so mutual goodnights were exchanged.

The fishing was slow from the beach just north east of the boat ramp, and for the main part, he was the sole attendee. But at around 4.00 am, Ray was approached by the same members of the constabulary whom he’d met earlier, and who – fortuitously – witnessed the capture of Ray’s only fish for the night, a snapper that measured 80 cm and registered 6 kg on his digital scales.

Maryborough Angling Club member John Rivett with a 56 cm Murray cod from Taylors Lake.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Darren Foster landed a surprise catch from the rocks at St Helens after the piece of chicken he was using for bait was taken by what turned out to be an 82 cm kingfish. And, they are seldom alone, so – hopefully – we might see a few more.

On Saturday afternoon, Jeff Richards and Chris Hateley headed out off Indented Head where they caught several squid and a cuttlefish, before anchoring up on one of their favourite whiting marks off Dean Man’s Stick, out on the Prince George Bank.

That was at around 4.30 pm to catch the first of the incoming tide. And true to form the whiting came on the bite: They were clearly headed for bag limit catches when a plethora of banjo sharks of various sizes moved in on their baits, a time-consuming exercise on their light whiting gear.

Never the less, they finished up with a total of 18 whiting, only two of which were less than 40 cm. Most were taken on cuttlefish tentacle, some on squid, and others on baits of either, garnished with pipi.

Late on Saturday afternoon, Andrew Phillips’ and Mark Sesar’s first order of business was also a session on the squid offshore from Point Richards that resulted in a bag limit catch. And, with a couple of hours of daylight remaining, they turned their attention to the whiting at their usually productive spot at the east end of the mussel farm.

They too were cooperative, and by nightfall, they’d taken yet another bag limit catch using pipis, and a portion of the squid they’d caught earlier, for bait. Their fish on this occasion ranged from 34 to 43 cm.

Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien also fished for whiting, and on Saturday – in very discoloured water on the outgoing tide – were soon into a good patch of fish in five metres of water off Curlewis, eventually bagging out on fish from 35 to 42 cm.

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that, with great weather over the weekend, Clifton Springs boat ramp car park was packed to overflowing, which just goes to show that we are in dire need to more boat launching facilities along with adequate parking.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that clients have been taking a variety of fish, with whiting and squid the most sought-after species, and they’ve been taken anywhere from Grassy Point at Portarlington to the Governor Reefs off Indented Head.

What was something of a shock, said Rod, was the number, and variety of rays – along with other discarded species – discovered along the beach on Saturday morning; a bit of a mystery that.

Maryborough Angling Club member Madi Raitt with a nice redfin from Taylor’s Lake.

Freshwater

Kevin and Amber Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club fished an interclub competition at Taylors Lake near Horsham at the weekend, and although quite a few fish, mainly redfin – one nice one taken by eight-year-old Madi Raitt – were caught on Friday before the competition started, but the fish seemed to go off the bite over the weekend.

The biggest fish taken by a club member was a 56 cm Murray Cod taken By John Rivett. However, a 99 cm cod was taken by an un-named angler from another club.

Club member Don Rayner had better luck at Tullaroop Reservoir, and took a number of good size redfin – the biggest just shy of a kilogram – trolling a deep-running variety of bibbed lure under the “feral cat” label.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that redfin have been the main catch from the lake and they’ve been up to 40 cm. Live minnow have been a preferred bait, along with scrubworms, but they’ve been taken on soft plastics and various other lures as well.

Among those to do well on the reddies were George Gillies of Winchelsea, Peter Bishop and Ben Johnson of Warrnambool and Robert Walters of Hamilton.

Chinook salmon have also been on offer, mainly in the one to 2 kg range, along with the occasional bigger fish, with John Clements and Drysdale angler Tom Hogan catching these from just on 27 metres of water.

Sammy Sherriff with his kingfish from Tomahawk Island, Tasmania.

Damon Sherriff with his kingfish from Tomahawk Island, Tasmania.

Tassie Kings

Readers would be well aware of Damon Sherriff’s snapper captures just offshore from Bridport Tasmania, bream more than 2 .5 kg from the Brid River, and the 50+cm whiting he’s caught just offshore from Waterhouse Island. But, to further demonstrate Tasmania’s variety of fish, Damon sent me photos of kingfish as well; two that he and son Sammy caught last week, just offshore from Tomahawk Island.

Tomahawk Tasmania: Fish plentiful, anglers, few.

After taking a run to Tomahawk, some 30 km east of Bridport, they launched at the local boat ramp, making the short trip to Tomahawk Island, which – although it’s only a proverbial stone’s throw from the shore – abuts deep water on the north east side, well worth the exercise of trolling a couple of good-sized bibbed lures: And, that’s what they did.

The result; two kingfish of 83 and 90 cm.

Amber Wild, and Ingi, with one of the Murray cod she caught during the Cod Nationals at Lake Mulwala last week.

Cod Nationals

Kevin and Amber Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club fished the Cod Nationals comp, held over four days at Lake Mulwala last week. The pair did well, Amber coming 23^rd overall; she and Kevin also coming 21^st in the teams’ event, wining enough in prizes to easily cover their individual entry fees of $750.00.

Tom Ireland of South Australia with a chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Hayden from South Australia with a chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that fishing has been excellent of late with redfin the most sought-after species.

However, rainbow and brown trout, and chinook salmon, have all been on offer, responding both to bait fishermen and to those casting, trolling and down-rigging with various lures.

George Vlahogiannis with a kingfish taken off Barwon Heads.

Reel Time charters’ clients’ catch off Barwon Heads.

Offshore

Arriving off Barwon Heads after two hours travel from Martha Cove, George Vlahogiannis and other clients aboard Reel Time Charters, were hoping to catch tuna, but initially there wasn’t much doing. However, a fortuitous phone call to Oscar, the skipper, had them heading in closer where a number of other boats were trolling in only 25 metres of water, and it was here they had their first strike.

The first of several as it turned out, yielding not only four southern bluefin tuna, the biggest around the 20 kg mark, but a 63 cm kingfish that George caught before it was time to head back in.

Rob Walters of Hamilton with a nice catch of redfin (Picture: John Clements).

Hayden from South Australia holding out a 38 cm redfin he caught from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that whiting have been the main attraction, and among those to take bag limit catches last week were Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck. They took their respective bag limits of fish to 42 cm off Point Richards, along with several flathead to a kilogram or so, just east of the mussel farm

Saturday morning was looking pretty grim with the outgoing tide pushing up against a strong easterly off Clifton Springs, but Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brian eventually decided to head out at around 10.00 am.

And, despite the awkward conditions with wind against tide – and possibly a metre of swell – eventually took their bag limit catches of whiting from 34 to 40 cm, along with several good size flathead, using pipis and squid for bait.

Murray and Darcy Scott headed out off Avalon on Saturday evening, also after the whiting, and – fishing in four metres of water – they too took a bag limit catch of whiting to 40 cm using pipis and squid for bait, as did Steve O’Keefe and Anna McLean on Sunday.

Launching from Swan Bay at around 6.30 am, the pair headed out in the vicinity of Coles Beason, off the entrance to Swan Bay where they took quite a few fish on the last of the ebb tide. Then waiting out slack water, were in business once more from the start of the flood, and – by 2.30 in the afternoon – they too finished with bag limit catches of whiting to 40 cm

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that squid have been present in good numbers, but sometimes touchy and whiting have been a little hard to find.

Clients fishing on the drift for flathead have had a by-catch of gummy shark, some a little too large to handle, along with the occasional pinkie snapper.

One concerning feature has been the amount of sand missing from the beach, said Rod, and – like others – believes the amount of sand being dredged in close proximity to shore – for whatever purpose – has been to blame.

Off the Beach

On Tuesday evening, Ray Millman and Callum Stavris fished from the beach at Jan Juc, and, at around 8.30 pm, Ray caught their first fish, a 2 kg salmon.

This was followed by the pair capturing a number of pinkie snapper, the biggest, a respectable 2 kg. That was toward the top of the tide, after which the sea calmed off, along with the action. And, although they fished until midnight, all they caught after that were a couple of banjo sharks that were returned.

Damon Sherriff with yet another snapper; part of a bag-limit catch taken off Bridport, northern Tasmania last week. This one measured 78 cm.

Roland asks:

Geoff, while I realize the construction of the new Bullen Merri boat ramp is expected to take possibly four months, I understood that there also is some hold-up to the temporary launching facility scheduled to provide access to this great fishery in the meantime: Do you have any info on this?

Roland, having made some enquiries, I can assure you that the Victorian Fisheries Authority (incorporating Better Boating Vic) are all-go on this proposal. However, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) have outlined extensive consultation and approval processes for such a temporary boat ramp that include; native title assessment, native veg permit, land management consent, bed and banks management consent – and so on.

This was unforeseen in our earlier discussions with VFA, during which simply placing gravel on the bank to provide short term access, was planned.

It appears that a temporary ramp is not going to be feasible given the above timelines that DELWP has outlined and the works at Bullen Merri will be completed before a temporary ramp can be installed. Better Boating Victoria is working with Corangamite Shire to see if access can be opened up as soon as it is safe to do so.

Ray Millman with the 17 kg gummy shark he caught from the beach at Jan Juc on Sunday.

Off the Beach

Dedicated beach fisherman Ray Millman prefers freshly caught Australian salmon for bait when seeking large gummy shark, mulloway or snapper from the surf, but as we mentioned last week, salmon have been hard to come by from local beaches, so Ray – along with companion Callum Stavris – made a daybreak visit to the Lorne Pier.

Casting lures, they not only caught a number of salmon, but were amazed at the size of several fish that followed their lures in without striking. The truth eventually dawned that they were kingfish, not salmon, which – true to form – can be hard to fool with offerings that readily tempt other species.

Those fresh salmon did the trick for Ray though, and an early morning session at Jan Juc on Sunday produced a 17 kg gummy shark.

Marcus Pearson with a sample of his and Kevin McLoughlin’s catch off Torquay (Picture: Kevin McLoughlin).

Offshore

Adamas charters client, Jamie Worm probably would have been satisfied with the tally of pinkie snapper he caught off Port Phillip Heads, but he also caught a 35 kg mako shark; the highlight of his trip.

Kevin McLoughlin and Marcus Pearson also picked up a similar size mako off Torquay early on Saturday morning, and – with the day still young – they investigated nearby surface activity with a spread of lures, picking up four tuna in the 15-20 kg range in fairly quick succession before returning to the boat ramp somewhat earlier than planned.

Michelle Richardson with one of the chinook salmon she caught from Lake Purrumbete.

Michael Evans and Joe Rundle with a good catch of redfin from Lake Purrumbete

Corio Bay Bellarine Peninsula

On Friday evening, Andrew Phillips and Mark Sesar took a run out off Point Richards to the east side of the Mussel farm, hoping to get onto the whiting.

With their lines out by 6.30, they were immediately onto a good bite, and by 8.00 pm, both had their respective bag limits of fish to 42 cm, along with a flathead of at least a kilogram.

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire also reports that whiting remain the main catch, and on Friday afternoon, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien also experienced a frantic whiting bite.

Anchored up in 4 metres of water off the jetty ruins east of the Clifton Springs boat ramp by 2.00 pm, they took their respective bag limit catches of whiting to 41 cm by 3.30 pm.

And, with last week’s morning high tides, Mike reports that the usual familiar faces were down on the boat harbour jetty catching garfish.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that while fishing has been good, for squid in particular, the tides seem to be falling lower than predicted, and these low and falling tides leave a wide swathe of sand, and rocks, to cross when launching and retrieving boats.

Naturally, flathead are still on offer in the deeper water said Rod, and rewarding clients efforts; those fishing on the drift in particular.

Michael Evans with a pair of brown trout of 3.58 and 3.0 kg that he caught from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Michael Evans with the 54cm rainbow trout he caught from Wurdiboluc Reservoir casting a metal spoon.

Freshwater

When Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters, has a break from work, he still goes fishing, recently at Wurdiboluc Reservoir where he caught some good size redfin, and best of all, a 54 cm rainbow trout: All were taken while casting a metal spoon.

And fishing with Chris Farrugia of Oaklands Junction, the pair had a session together on Lake Purrumbete, both catching a nice fish each, Chris with a 2 kg rainbow trout, and Michael a 1.8 kg chinook salmon. These were taken while down-rigging their lures at depths to 22 metres.

Chris Farrugia with the 2 kg rainbow trout he caught on a down-rigged lure from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Michael Evans).

However, it’s been the redfin that have kept Michael busy on charter with a steady stream of clients craving not only the action this species provides, but it’s probably the most reliable method of stocking their larder with fresh fish.

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park also reports that good fishing continues, for redfin in particular; they’re mostly fish from 400 to 800 grams, but Point Cook angler, George Anghel caught one that measured 49 cm, and probably would have weighed better than 2 kg.

Chinook salmon have also been on offer, said John and there’ve been some good ones among them: Among those to catch these were Michelle Richardson of Colac and her companion who bagged out while fishing pilchard fillets just above the bottom in 21 metres of water. Michelle also caught a 2.7 kg brown trout with the same approach.

George Anghel with the 49 cm redfin he caught from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Kaiden Dwyer 4, with his salmon from Inverloch (Picture: Stewart Dwyer).

South Gippsland

Stewart Dwyer and his 4-year-old son, Kaiden, were soaking pilchards from the beach at the entrance to Anderson’s Inlet at Inverloch, when the lad hooked a good fish as the tide turned to come in.

A decision had to be made whether or not to give the lad a hand, but he seemed to be doing alright, and eventually beached a salmon that would have been over a kilogram.

Damon Sherriff with a good sample of the snapper he and son Sammy caught on Friday, just out from the Bridport Harbour entrance in Tasmania.

Sammy Sherriff with a couple of nice reds taken offshore from the Bridport Harbour entrance.

Tassie Reds

Damon Sherriff, and his son Sammy, headed out off the Bridport Harbour entrance, northern Tasmania, on Friday evening and experienced some hectic action on the snapper.

Anchored up in 10 metres of water as the sun went down, and using fresh mackerel for bait, they caught 7 snapper altogether, the biggest weighing 6.5 kg.

Sagar, Lovish and Rohan with their bronze whaler, taken from the Point Lonsdale Pier in the early hours of Friday morning.

With bronze whaler sharks presently plentiful along our coast, it’s no wonder the Point Lonsdale Pier – a traditional hot-spot for catching them since the mid-1960s – has received some attention from shark fishing hopefuls of late.

On Thursday night, Rohan Kabir, along with brothers, Sagar and Lovish, arrived for such a session, and at 3.30 am, the small tuna Rohan had on for bait was taken by what turned out to be a bronzie of just over two metres in length.

Grazio Dalli with the bronze whaler he caught from the Point Lonsdale Pier in the early hours of Saturday morning.

On Friday night, Grazio Dalli also put in a session, and – accompanied with thunder, lightning and drenching rain – it wasn’t at all surprizing that he had the pier to himself.

He pulled the hook on his first shark encounter; that was sometime after 3.00 am. But there was no mistake with the second, eventually subduing a slightly smaller bronzie than the one Rohan and his brothers caught the night previous.

Needless to say, all of the aforementioned will have sufficient flake for quite some time.

Aldo Mase with the metre-long kingfish that took everybody aboard charter boat Adamas by surprize (Picture: Rod Lawn).

Off the beach

Ray Millman had caught quite few a juvenile bronze whalers from various beaches of late, and – motivated to catch a bigger specimen – he arrived at Jan Juc with his heaviest surf fishing outfit before dark. First off, he began a lure-casting exercise, hopeful of catching a decent size Australian salmon for bait, but although he persisted until nightfall, no salmon were forthcoming.

But he fished on into the night with what bait he had, taking four respectable pinkie snapper, and at around 1.00 am, he caught a gummy shark of approximately 7 kg; a worthwhile catch certainly, but not perhaps, all he was after.

Darcy from Epping with a redfin and a cheetah trout that he caught from Lake Purrumbete (Pictures: John Clements).

Offshore

Deckhand Simon Werner reports that Adamas charters’ crew were catching pinkie snapper and good size whiting off Ocean Grove when client, Aldo Mase, hooked something that just kept swimming.

Initially, there was a general consensus that it was probably a ray, and just a waste of time. But, something about it aroused their curiosity and Aldo was encouraged to play it out: A good move as it turned out, for – after a considerable passage of time – it eventually turned out to be whopping great kingfish. While they had nothing to weigh anything of this size, it stretched to tape out to a metre.

Maryborough Angling Club member Greg Streets with a 93 cm Murray cod that he caught from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Leonie Jones).

Maryborough Angling Club member Kevin Wild, with the Spanish mackerel he caught, on charter, off “Jumpinpin” (Picture: Amber Wild).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that local anglers have taken good catches of whiting from Curlewis, The Dell, and out toward the mussel farm: Among them were Andrew and Jenny Johnson, who returned with the goods on Friday afternoon.

Mind you they had to work pretty hard for their catch, moving position probably 7 times when each bite shut down, and returning a good many fish that didn’t quite make their personal size limit of around 33 cm. Even so, they finished with 27 keepers from 34 to 43 cm using pipis and squid strips for bait.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire reports that squid of mixed sizes have been taken in some quantity from Grassy Point near Portarlington, to the Governor Reefs off Indented Head, while whiting, while present in some angler’s catches, were by no means plentiful.

Freshwater

John Clements reports that excellent fishing from Lake Purrumbete has had an unfortunate side effect in the accumulation of discarded fish offal and frames from the cleaning table. So, please do the right thing and put your discards in the bin instead of tossing them into the lake.

Western District fisherman, Jack Passe, reminds anglers that the boat ramp at Lake Bullen Merri was closed last week for a $2.5 million upgrade that will possibly take four months. For more information, please contact Corangamite Shire on 5593 7100.

Bullen Merri has had another outbreak of blue/green algae, which is not nearly as bad as most of its previous outbreaks. This is possibly due to Corangamite Shire’s 12-month trial of solar-powered, ultrasound units supplied by EnviroSonic. The effect these units produce is to cause the algal cells to collapse, leaving fish and other aquatic life unaffected.

Should anyone require additional details about this trial, please feel free to contact Lyall Bond at lyall.bond@corangamite.vic.gov.au

David Goleby with a 95 cm mulloway that he caught on Saturday while fishing just offshore from Brisbane’s Moreton Island.

Upstate

Fishing off Brisbane’s Moreton Island on Saturday, David Goleby dropped over a live squid; a tempting bait that soon claimed a 60 cm snapper. With the bait still intact, he dropped it over once more, this time it tempted what turned out to be a 95 cm mulloway.

Maryborough Angling Club member, Kevin Wild, who was attending his son’s wedding on the Gold Coast with wife Amber, sent through a photo of himself with a Spanish mackerel, one of several fish they caught about 3 km out from “Jumpinpin” on a charter. Amber also caught some nice fish including a snapper.

Fishing personality John Bell reports on his trip to the Jewel Reef which is just north of Lizard Island in the Coral Sea: A “crazy topwater bite,” said he, sending in a picture of one of his fish, a freshly caught yellowfin tuna.

John Bell with a yellowfin tuna; a sample of the great fishing to be had at Jewel Reef in the Coral Sea.

Correction

The gentleman I named Meng Zhang last week, was in fact Meng Cheong: Apologies there.

Meng Zhang with one of the tuna caught from the charter boat Adamas on Sunday (Picture: Skipper, Rod Lawn).

Bruce Jheng with another tuna caught from Adamas (Picture: Skipper, Rod Lawn).

Offshore

Taking a run offshore from Barwon Heads on Sunday, Daniel Gallop had tuna in mind, and didn’t have to go very far to find them.

His first hook-up of five, was in 27 metres of water a kilometre or so out from Barwon Heads; four of them were bluefin tuna – two of which he returned – his biggest around 20 kg.

The other was a fair size mako shark that took his lure and leaped from the water several times before biting through the leader.

The tuna seem to be widespread: Simon Werner reports on an encounter just outside Port Philip Heads, also on Sunday, with a group of clients that included Meng Zhang and Bruce Jheng, aboard charter boat Adamas; nine anglers in all that took a total of eleven tuna, also from approximately 15 to 20 kg.

Simon also mentions that Australian salmon to 2 kg or so, are plentiful just inside Port Phillip Heads, eager to take most lures and providing an entertaining fishery for those unable to enter Bass Strait because of rough seas.

Chris Farrugia, who bagged out, both on bluefin tuna and gummy shark outside Port Phillip Heads last week.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Enticed by calm weather on Sunday afternoon, Murray and Darcy Scott launched off Avalon, but – no sooner had they done so – than the wind blew up, again from the south of south east; but they persisted, with whiting their quarry.

They soon found a good patch and had boated several before they hooked the first of several banjo sharks, that they released. Each and every one of these had obviously spooked the whiting, because – on each occasion they caught one – the whiting vanished; and this was the pattern for the afternoon and into the evening, forcing them to move several times to re-locate yet another school of whiting.

However, by dark, they’d finished up with 22 excellent fish, some nudging the 40 cm mark, which was a great effort considering the deteriorating weather and the onslaught of flat chaps.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports rough weather has been the stumbling block. However, on the days when weather permits, and clients are willing, whiting and squid have been on offer, along with flathead, and the occasional pinkie in the deeper water.

Al Castro with a nice mulloway from the Barwon estuary.

Freshwater

Danny Skene and Josh Leach have lure-fished Wurdiboluc Reservoir lately, their favourite being the good old Pegron Tiger that used to be a one-time favourite of many: Danny adds a little extra colour to the concave side with black nail polish, and reckons it ups the strike rate. Well, their catch of numerous redfin to 47 cm, and Josh’s 52 cm rainbow trout from here, speak volumes.

Michael Evans with a 3.4 kg brown trout from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Warren Hales with his 1.7 kg Cheetah trout from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday reports that among the successful anglers was Chris Farrugia of Oaklands Junction, who has taken bag limit catches of chinook salmon while trolling lures at some depth using a downrigger, while Sunshine resident Warren Hales’ catch included a 1.7 kg cheetah trout, which also garnered some attention.

Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters has had little trouble finding redfin for his clients, also on Lake Purrumbete, and during his infrequent lay days, he’s been trialling some “Bullet” lures that have proven effective on trophy size brown trout, his biggest measuring 67 cm and weighing 3.4 kg.

Another nice chinook salmon taken by Melbourne angler Colin Tissear, from Lake Bullen Merri, downrigging Tassie Devils at some depth (Picture: John Clements).

Tassie Reds

Damon Sherriff has had no trouble taking his bag limit of snapper, mostly just offshore from the Bridport harbour entrance, on every occasion that he has tried of late, mainly in the early morning or evening. And one good thing about it is, that he has this fishery virtually to himself.

Last week however, he put in a late-night vigil and was rewarded with a snapper that measured 87 cm (around 8.5 kg). Previous to that he caught a number of snapper from around 60 to 65 cm, all of which were released.

Damon Sherriff with yet another snapper, this one measuring 87 cm, and taken after dark just offshore from Tasmania’s Bridport Harbour entrance.

Garry asks,

Geoff, it’s my understanding that, as from April 1 this year, all commercial netting in Port Phillip will cease. However, I am concerned that the remaining 8 snapper longlining license holders are lobbying for an unlimited by-catch: By-catch resulting from snapper longlining is statistically predictable and definitely not unlimited: Can you clarify?

Garry, despite various rumours of backroom deals being done by Melissa Horne, the minister for fishing and boating with said license holders, I am in receipt of a media release dated 26/02/22, from her office revealing that: “Over the coming days, consultation by the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) will commence regarding the number of other species that can be caught alongside the longlined snapper.”

This is an official release by the minister: So submissions to melissa.horne@parliament.vic.gov.au, and to executive director of Fisheries Victoria, Travis Dowling travis.dowling@ecodev.vic.gov.au, by yourself and other concerned parties, congratulating them on the exclusion of non-longline by-catch like flounder, whiting and squid, should be sent post haste.

Shane Handley with the bronze whaler he caught, and released, at Point Lonsdale last week.

On Wednesday night, Shane Handley tried his luck from the Point Lonsdale Pier once more where he’d previously caught a bronze whaler of probably 160 kg, and which we featured on February 8.

His luck was in, and – using a small bonito for bait – caught another bronze whaler; less than half the size of the one previously featured, which – on this occasion – was returned, very much alive and kicking,

Senior fisheries officer David Burgess poses for a selfie with Point Lonsdale sharker, Rohan Mandad.

Fishing the beach at Jan Juc early last week, Ray Millman’s nocturnal vigil produced a couple of juvenile bronze whalers – which he returned –before hooking something much larger.

After a long struggle, he managed to bring in a large black stingray, a species with a much longer tail and tail spike than our more common smooth stingray. And this one, a male, was arcing its tail threateningly at Ray as he tried to remove the hook that was caught in its flap.

Finally, at some risk to himself, he managed to free the ray that continued arcing its tail through the surface, not only as it swam away from the beach, but on its return shortly after; extraordinary behaviour also witnessed by Ray’s companion Callum, who’d arrived soon after the initial event.

Melton angler, Mark Francis, arrived at Edwards Point (the headland just south of St Leonards) at around 7.30 pm Wednesday, after a 4 km trek in from the nearest road access.

The action began at around 8.30, with each rod signalling bites from what turned out to be pinkie snapper, only one of which he considered large enough to keep.

All was quiet after that until 10.00 pm, when on the outgoing tide, one of his rods signalled a bite from what turned out to be a gummy shark of possibly 6 kg, that was followed by a smaller gummy that he released.

Fishing from the Swan Bay jetty last week, Martinus de Lange was hoping to catch a gummy shark. However, he was surprised to find the fish that took his whole pilchard was an 80 cm flathead of possibly 3.5 kg.

Kevin McLoughlin with the bronze whaler that he and Marcus Pearson caught off Torquay on Saturday.

Martinus de Lange with the 80 cm flathead he caught from the Swan Bay jetty.

Offshore

Kevin McLoughlin and Marcus Pearson regularly fish offshore from Torquay for gummy and school shark, and on this occasion, a yellowtail scad (yakka) was among the baits they were soaking, but what they hooked seemed somewhat larger than a gummy, or even a really large school shark.

It was, in fact, a two-metre bronze whaler that should keep them in flake for some time.

Mark Francis’ gummy shark from Edwards Point at the entrance to Swan Bay.

Corio Bay

A daybreak start on Saturday saw Andrew Phillips and Mark Sesar head out to one of their usual haunts off Leopold, but with little doing from the whiting they were seeking, and with other boats arriving, up came the anchor.

Moving into deeper water did the trick, and in 7 metres off the Pelican Shores caravan park, they had a good whiting bite to themselves.

Come 8.30 am, they’d picked up 30 fish to 41 cm when the wind swung into the north east, moving them off their mark, and that – coupled with the sun breaking through – persuaded their return to the ramp.

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that whiting are on offer and among those to catch them was Andrew Johnson who also made a daybreak start, and – as in the previous report – initially found lean pickings.

However, with faith in this previously productive spot off Curlewis, he waited, and – after most of the other boats left – his patience eventually paid off with a bag limit catch of whiting to 41 cm by 10.30 am.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire reports that whiting were off the bite last week, squid though were plentiful he said, and that good size pinkie snapper were on offer at the Prince George Light.

Colin Tissear caught this 3 kg chinook salmon while downrigging a Tassie Devil at Lake Bullen Merri, along with several other chinook and rainbow trout.

Brian Rivett with a sample of the redfin currently on offer at Tullaroop Reservoir.

Freshwater

Kevin Wild reports that fellow Maryborough Angling Club members have done well at Tullaroop reservoir where Brian Rivett and Shane Stevens took redfin to 49 cm using ice jigs.

Club member Ken Hinks also took three dozen good size redfin, and reaped a serious catch of yabbies from the same water with well-placed yabby nets, while club members, Don and Robert Rayner, fished Cairn Curran Reservoir where they took any number of yellowbelly.

Greg Street with his 92 cm prize winning Murray Cod at Go Nagambie’s fishing competition.

Freshwater

Maryborough Angling Club members, Kevin and Amber Wild, participated in Go-Fish Nagambie, a competition that attracted numerous entries at $160.00 a pop.

And, no-wonder, given the prize-money on offer that included $80,000 for the largest Murray cod, and more besides.

Fortunately, the Goulburn River proved productive for most anglers including Kevin and Amber, for although they didn’t get to claim any of the prize money, they caught any number of yellowbelly, and Amber caught a 78 cm Murray cod.

Greg Street was the only club member to get a sniff of the prize money, coming in at tenth place with a 92 cm Murray cod.

Closer to home, Kevin reports that club member Stephen Eales, who ventured out on Lake Tullaroop with son Mason 3, and daughters Lily 5 and Amelia 7, found redfin really on the go.

The highlight of the day was when Mason got into difficulty with a fish despite a good deal of coaching from dad.

But, considering it turned out to be the catch of the day, a 51 cm redfin that would have probably weighed 2.5 kg, it was no wonder the lad was struggling.

On Lake Purrumbete, John Clements reports that redfin remain the main catch with John Hewitt of Port Fairy getting the job done with scrubworms while Ken Carman of Camperdown picked up his share on live minnow.

Amber Wild with her 78 cm Murray cod on the Goulburn River at Nagambie.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Andrew Johnson, like most of my other informants, have complained about the incessant winds we’ve been having of late, never the less – on Friday afternoon – they tried for whiting off Point Richards.

The fish, though plentiful were small, mostly well below their self-imposed limit somewhere in the low 30 cm range, and were returned.

By now though the wind was gusting to more than 25 knots from the south, something that would have sent most packing, but they headed to Curlewis, where – despite the atrocious conditions – they caught 30 beautiful fish to 41 cm before heading back before the tide fell uncomfortably low.

Early last week, Mark Richards tried his luck in Stingaree Bay and had a respectable tally of 14 whiting to 40 cm before a seal showed up, shutting the bite down completely.

On Thursday, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed out off Swan Island at Queenscliff after the squid, and they did very well with respectable tallies while the wind remained in the west. But, as we’ve come to expect of late, the wind came howling in from the south east, shutting down the show.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that on the days that weather allows access, whiting have been caught in good numbers anywhere from Grassy Point near Portarlington, to the Governor reefs at Indented Head.

They’ve currently been the main chance said Rod, who also managed to sneak out himself for a respectable bag of fish to 40 cm.

Andrew Ketelaar with a 4.6 kg Australian Salmon taken at Kilcunda in South Gippsland.

Off the beach

With high tides on evening last week, Tony Ingram and Col Simmons fished Thirteenth Beach near the 40W car park, as they did the fortnight previous. However, I mistakenly wrote 50W on that occasion; sorry for any confusion.

A lure-casting exercise revealed the presence of Australian salmon to 500 grams or so that had moved in on the rising tide. And, baiting with cut pilchards produced a fish or two of almost twice that size.

And that trend continued, with even larger fish making an appearance as the rising tide peaked on dark, the biggest of these nudging 2 kg.

Andrew Ketelaar of Narre Warren spends some time fishing from the beach at Kilcunda in South Gippsland where he too catches some big salmon.

Last week he caught a beauty of 4.6 kg at the tide change while walking the beach and looking for likely gutters, and the schools of salmon that have moved within casting range from the deeper water.

Finley O’Keefe with his 90 kg striped marlin from Bermagui.

Upstate

Steve O’Keefe, along with his son Finley and friend Brett Bravo, headed up to Bermagui in NSW hoping to find a marlin for Finley, and – on one of the days weather allowed access – Finley caught a striped marlin of 90 kg.

The prize catch took a slimy mackerel fished as a live bait, an offering also tempting a couple of good size shark – one a mako of perhaps 150 kg that bit through the leader – and a large whaler shark that was released alongside.

Damon Sherriff with yet another snapper taken just outside the entrance of the Bridport harbour in Tasmania; this one weighed 5.5 kg.

Tassie snapper

Damon Sherriff made yet another early morning snapper fishing trip off Bridport on Sunday, and – after a 3.00 am start – he didn’t have to wait very long before he caught his first fish, one of a double hook-up.

He finished up with a bag limit catch of snapper ranging in size from 3.5 to 5.5 kg; all taken on fresh calamari.

Shane Handley hooked up to a bronze whaler from the Point Lonsdale Pier, Grazio Dalli in the background, (Picture: Rohan Mandad).

Shane Handley with the bronze whaler he caught from the Point Lonsdale pier (Picture: Rohan Mandad).

The February new moon, which occurred last Tuesday, has always been a prime time to catch a decent shark from the Point Lonsdale pier.

So, it was no surprise that three hopefuls; Shane Handley, Grazio Dalli and Rohan Mandad, were all present and appropriately equipped.

As it turned out, they each caught sharks; Rohan and Grazio caught seven-gillers, but Shane got the one he was after, a bronze whaler of probably 160 kg that took the eel he was using for bait.

Mind you, that was the fun part, for there was quite a bit of work involved cleaning their respective catches, which should keep them, and their families, in flake for some time.

Fishing the beach just north east of the Torquay boat ramp early last week was Ray Millman who had plenty of action from around 8.30, until the bite shut down after10.30 pm.

Legal-size pinkie snapper were on offer, most of which he returned, but not the 12 kg gummy shark he caught at around 10.30.

Ray also returned an obviously newborn bronze whaler, along with several juvenile eagle rays.

Fishing RAAF’s Beach at Ocean Grove early last week, Tony Ingram and Col Simmons took advantage of the low evening tides, where – as usual, under such conditions – good size pinkie snapper were on offer, and of which they caught several.

Just on dark, with the tide beginning to creep up the beach, they were bitten off a time or two, suspecting the culprits to be the juvenile bronze whalers that have been present along our beaches of late.

Stephen Hill, president of the Lake Purrumbete Angling Club with one of the chinook salmon he’s taken recently from Lake Bullen Merri.

Kevin Wild and Darryl King 11, with a sample of their redfin catch from Tullaroop Reservoir.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Fishing off Curlewis from around 1.30 on Saturday afternoon were Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien.

Anchored up in five metres of water, they were into the whiting on their very first drop, and by 4.00 pm, they’d each taken bag limit catches of really good size fish, their biggest measuring 41 cm.

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that while pinkie snapper are also about off Curlewis, whiting remain the most sought after species,

Among those to catch their share of whiting was Pascoe Keet who picked up a good catch just out from the old jetty ruins at The Dell using pipis for bait.

Speaking of whiting, Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports, that on those rare days when favorable weather has provided access, some clients – including Brendon Clarke – have taken excellent catches fairly close to shore.

Simon Werner reports that, for most of the week, the sea has been too rough to venture offshore, but that there are numerous Australian salmon in The Rip, the biggest nudging 3 kg, and they’ve been taking almost any lure presented.

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

Paul (Babba) O’Loughlin with a 47 cm, 2 kg redfin from Lake Purrumbete.

Freshwater

Of the Camperdown crater lakes, most of the reports I receive come from Lake Purrumbete, which has been fishing extremely well, I’ve only had had the very occasional report from Lake Bullen Merri.

However, Stephen Hill of the Lake Purrumbete Angling Club has revealed that Bullen Merri is also a productive fishery, taking some great catches from here himself, mainly chinook salmon.

The biggest of these have measured around 60 cm and were taken on lures trolled at some depth.

The unwelcome news is that there is a planned closure of the Bullen Merri South Beach boat ramp for a much-needed upgrade: Please contact Corangamite Shire on 5593 7100 for more information.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that redfin the main catch from the Lake, and that Swan Hill visitors Paul (Babba) O’Loughlin and Mick Burns both caught any amount; Paul’s biggest, at 47 cm, weighed 2 kg.

Mick also picked up four nice chinook salmon trolling a metal spoon.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that on Wednesday, club members – including himself – Don and Robert Rayner, and John Rivett, took redfin to 47 cm from Tullaroop Reservoir using Baltic Bobbers.

And on Saturday, Kevin, and 11-year-old Darryl King, managed a repeat performance, while club member Stephen Eales, and companion Lion Falkenstein, did likewise.

Another club member, David Harris, visited nearby Cairn Curran Reservoir for an impressive catch of yellowbelly and a 60 cm Murray cod, all being taken on Blade lures.

Damon Sherriff with yet another snapper taken just outside the entrance of the Bridport harbour in Tasmania; it weighed 8 kg and was taken on a slimy mackerel fillet

Tassie snapper

Damon Sherriff continues to catch big snapper just outside the Bridport harbour mouth in Tasmania, including a beauty of 8 kg, of which he sent me a photo. The bait used was a slimy mackerel fillet.