Geoff Wilson’s Fishing Knots And Rigs

One of the 50 odd big snapper (estimated weight10 kg), that Geoff Howard and I caught (on the whiting head rigs, illustrated) and released from Shark Bay West WA, a supposedly endangered fishery on our visit in August 2000.

Just prior making our trip, the WA government declared the snapper fishery here to be endangered – that being far from the truth as we were to discover – and put a ban on the taking of snapper from this water, hence our use of circle hooks to more easily facilitate catch and release from this, the most prolific snapper fishery I have ever been involved with.

Fortunately, the flawed belief that this was an endangered fishery, which was based on the collection and counting of snapper eggs – a clearly indirect method, which does not take into account the obvious abundance of the fish being caught – gathered with double-bongo plankton nets by scientists, has since been realized and that ban has now been lifted.

Recreational fishermen may now take daily, two snapper – each with a minimum size of 50 cm – from Shark Bay West.

Fish Head Rig

The heads of small fish like those of the whiting we used in Shark Bay, mullet, and most other species of suitable size, make great baits for snapper. They survive attacks by crabs, small fish and even sea lice better than flesh baits and pilchards, and big snapper love them.

This highly effective baiting technique, that is far more effective than just impaling the fish head on a hook, employs a circle hook, to which is attached a 20 cm length of hat elastic. Or, as I have done in more recent times, used a size 35 rubber band, cut to form a single elastic strand.

1. About 20 centimetres or so of hat, or other suitable elastic, is looped over the circle hook as shown, then pulled up tight.

2.A length of 0.7-or 0.8-mm galvanised tie-wire is folded over, twisted together – I used an electric drill with an Allen key in the chuck for that purpose – and cut it off at 70 mm for use as a baiting needle.

3.The baiting needle is pushed loop first through the eye tunnel of the baitfish’s head.

4.One end of your elastic is then passed through the loop in the baiting needle.

5.The needle is then withdrawn pulling the elastic through.

6.Now, push the baiting needle through the eye-tunnel of the baitfish’s head in the opposite direction and thread it with the other end of the elastic.

7.Pull that end through as well so that you now have two protruding ends.

8.Tie those two strands together under the baitfish’s head with a granny knot and pull it up firmly.

9.Your finished bait should look something like this.

10.The hooking efficacy of this bait is easily demonstrated by pulling on the leader so that the hook moves clear of, but still attached to the bait.

Mark the mulloway man

My initial contact with Mark Shean, then living at Balnarring, was in 1989, but it wasn’t about mulloway. He’d caught a good many snapper from Western Port including the recent capture of one that weighed 13.5 kg or thereabouts, and asked if he would send me a photo of it.

Mark eventually turned the conversation around to mulloway and inquired about the best approach, which prompted me to ask where he wanted to try.

“The Barwon of course.” He said, “Where you catch them.”

I replied that it would be a long way to come: I didn’t know how far at the time, but later found it was a 177 km or 354 km for the round trip, but he was adamant.

“Just answer couple of questions for me,” he asked.

Knowing of my preferred approach at the time, he asked whether he would have to slow-troll a live bait, to which I replied that most anglers fished at anchor, some using squid for bait, preferably as soon as possible after being caught.

“Oh boy,” he said, “I’d be the best squid fisherman on the Mornington peninsula!”

We discussed preferred times to fish and so forth, but I didn’t expect to hear anything else from him. And indeed, it was from a mutual friend that I heard that Mark had caught a fair-sized mulloway. That, to the best of my recollection, would have been in April of 1989.

Well, good for him I thought, he’s got one and I daresay he’d be pleased with that, but when several weeks had passed, I was again told the same thing from another source. I replied that I already knew, which drew the unexpected response that he’d caught this one just a couple of nights ago.

Naturally, I rang to congratulate Mark on his catch, to which he replied that he’d actually caught three: 37 lb, 46 lb and 58 lb, were – as I recall – the weights quoted.

Well, I knew something interesting was going on and suggested that maybe I could go out with him, not to fish, but to possibly get a picture or two. But he wasn’t keen on that, expressing his preference for fishing alone.

OK, fine by me, but I hoped that might change.

Well, eventually it did, but not until 1992 when I’d submitted my manuscript and photos for the third edition of my Sportfish publication “Fishing Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula.”

I’d submitted any number of snapper photos for the cover, but the publisher, Jeff Lawes, wanted a recent photo of a mulloway for whatever reason.

An opportunity soon arose when young Michael Stonehouse expressed a desire for me to take him mulloway fishing. And on a rowing trip in the dinghy, he caught a mulloway of 11.5 kg.

But Michael, although quite a presentable lad, failed to smile on command, and – using a film camera in the dark – I had no way of knowing that his expression, on that occasion, gave a good impersonation of the Sphinx.

I approached Mark once more, flannelled him a bit saying that I needed a photo of a good-looking guy with a mulloway for the cover of my book, and that was the start of, I think eleven trips I did with him, and in May 1992 I got that picture of Mark with a 23.5 kg mulloway.

I got more than a cover picture for my book though, and apart from a good many photos I took of him with large mulloway, sometimes several – and as many as four on one trip on September 4, 1994 – that reinforced the efficacy of baiting up with those freshly caught squid with the bite-triggering pheromones still being exuded.

As it turned out, Mark eventually caught twenty mulloway from the Barwon with an average weight of possibly 20 kg, the largest, a magnificent fish of 32 kg.

That mulloway fishery lasted until around 2000, and in 1997 there were many large mulloway caught, but that’s another story. Since then, I’ve had reports of, and photographed several medium size mulloway from the Barwon, but reports of those bigger fish have been few and far between. Hopefully that will change.

Colleen Howard with the snapper she caught just offshore from Geelong’s Waterfront (Picture: Ray Roberson).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Ray Robertson and partner Colleen Howard, made an early start on Saturday, sounding around off Geelong’s waterfront in search of snapper.

Not in vain as it turned out, for they found some promising marks near the wave attenuator, but initially at least, there was nothing doing, and – because they had a prior commitment that morning – their time was limited.

But, as sometimes happens, just as they were just about to pack up, Colleen hooked up to what turned out to be 77 cm snapper that took a strip of squid, and which greeted the scales for a verdict of 5.4 kg.

With rough seas on Friday, Ray Millman gave his usual surf fishing spots a miss, instead, doing the rounds from Limeburner’s Point to Geelong’s Waterfront where he saw several tailor caught from the wave attenuator.

Wasting no time in rigging a light lure-casting outfit, he was soon in business, picking up 20 tailor from around 25 to 30 cm. The only problem being their sharp teeth made mincemeat of the soft plastic lures he was using.

That didn’t seem to matter though because they were in a suicidal mood, hitting his jig heads eagerly, even though – in the closing stages at least – there wasn’t much left of their rubber bodies.

On Friday, Dennis O’Brien and a companion fished off Curlewis where they were hopeful of catching a few whiting, and they did get a few. But that was just prior to the flood tide change, after which they finished up with bag limit catches; their two biggest fish stretching the tape out to 43 cm.

Queenscliff

On Friday morning, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed out off the mouth of Swan Bay to catch the last of the ebb tide. And, anchored just off Coles Beacon, it wasn’t long before they were into the whiting.

Using pipis and squid for bait, they had their respective bag limits of fish – the biggest measuring 43 cm – by the time the tide petered out around 11.00 am.

Seven-year-old Jack McCallum with a yellowbelly that he caught from the Loddon River, just downstream from the Laanecoorie Wier (Picture: Shane McCallum).

Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters with the 4.7 kg brown trout he caught from Lake Purrumbete at the weekend (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Freshwater

Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters fished Lake Purrumbete on Sunday evening for an hour or so before dark.

Casting a bent-minnow surface lure in the natural smelt colour along the shallow, weed-bed margins, he caught a 77 cm, 4.7 kg brown trout (10.34 lbs), a big fish even for Purrumbete, and Michael’s biggest so far.

Kevin and Amber Wild, both members of the Maryborough Angling Club, fished Cairn Curran Reservoir on Friday, where – bobbing worms around the timbered areas – they caught 30 yellowbelly, of which they kept 7 to around 40 cm.

Fellow club member, Shane McCallum and his 7-year-old son Jack, fished the Loddon River just downstream from the Laanecoorie Weir, where – using earthworms for bait – they too caught their share of yellowbelly.

Club member, Brian Rivett, made the trip to Lake Wallace at Edenhope where he was well rewarded with several rainbow trout, the biggest weighing 3.12 kg, that he caught from the bank using Berkely Powerbait.

Paul Rahman, and his young companion Aras Veral, headed up through the Alpine National Park to the Mitta Mitta River below Lake Dartmouth at the weekend.

They were hoping to catch a trout or two. And that’s exactly what they did, embarking on a lure-casting session that produced a pair of browns, each around the 3 kg mark.

Brian Rivett with a sample of his rainbow trout catch from Edenhope’s Lake Wallace.

Kevin Wild and Dog Ingi with one of the yellowbelly they caught at Cairn Curran Reservoir (Picture: Amber Wild).

Werribee River

Frank Benvenuto says that he was lucky enough to live within 5 km or the Werribee River during government-imposed lockdown.

It’s a great fishery said Frank, enhanced by the liberation of 90,000 estuary perch in 2015 estuary. However, said Frank, 40,000 of those fish were Australian bass; a mistake.

Frank has caught and released both and is looking forward to when these fish mature. That’s when I daresay, we’ll be hearing more from Frank.

Frank Benvenuto sent in these pictures of (Left) an estuary perch he caught from the Werribee River, and an Australian bass, also from the Werribee River.

Michael’s fish goes on the scales.

Barwon estuary

With most of the discoloured water flushed from the Barwon estuary following last week’s spring tides, Simon Werner – with a good supply of bass yabbies – fished the flood tide downstream from the Ocean Grove ramp.

A good move as it turned out for, among the usual array of mullet and other small fish, he caught bream to 38 cm and silver trevally to 40 cm.

Martin asks:

Geoff, do you have any idea why fisheries officers carry so much stuff. After being approached by a couple of officers at St Helens before lockdown, I noticed they appeared to be carrying more gear than a Swiss army knife: Why is this so?

Martin, as far as I know, fisheries officers in Victoria carry capsicum spray, batons and handcuffs, but from what you say, their equipment must have been upgraded since I last took notice.

Ken Treloar with his winter snapper catch from Corio Bay (Picture: Jason Treloar).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Jason Treloar and Harley Griffiths have been picking up the occasional good size snapper near the Corio Channel, North Shore during winter, and Jason’s nephew Ken has been itching to have a go.

This was even after being told that it was usually in the cold, early hours of the morning before any snapper would likely appear.

Anyway, a late-night run with the sounder running, revealed a pod of fish near Corio Quay and over went the lines. And, it was Kenny in the hot seat, eventually catching two fish of around 6 and 7 kg, which certainly put a smile on his face.

Daylight fishing has also been good with garfish being taken from the various structures around Corio Bay’s inner harbour, St Helens promenade in particular, which – from my observation – has been rather crowded at times.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that on Saturday, flathead saved the day once more with squid and whiting being all but absent. Best results were had by anglers fishing on the drift out in 12-14 metres of water down toward St Leonards.

Stephen Eales with daughter Lily 6, and son Mason 3, and the 53 cm cod he caught from the Loddon River at Bridgewater.

Off the Beach

Arriving at the beach, just north east of the Torquay boat ramp at around midnight on Saturday, Ray Millman found the sea fairly calm, and at first the fishing was slow. However, with the tide rising, he was hopeful of catching something decent.

Eventually, the usual unwanted species like draughtboard sharks and Whitley skates moved in on his baits, but at around 3.00 am he hooked a good size fish on a squid head that took quite a bit of line before the hook pulled free.

His eventual reward came on the high tide at around 4.20 am when he hooked what turned out to be a 10 kg gummy shark that also took a squid head.

John Hewett-Longtack’s catch of redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Freshwater

Simon Werner had nothing to report himself, but his friend Michael Dean dropped in on the way back from Wurdiboluc Reservoir with two brown trout weighing 1.5 kg apiece. These were both taken on mudeyes fished beneath a float.

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that redfin are still on offer, and among those to catch them was John Hewett-Longtack of Port Fairy who caught 50 odd on soft plastics, worms and live minnow.

John also reports the capture of a brown trout of 3 kg that was taken by an angler trolling a Tassie Devil lure.

Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters reports that he’s been catching chinook to 1.5 kg from Purrumbete on pilchard fillets suspended just above the bottom. He also reports finding redfin for his clients who’ve been catching them on various baits and lures.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that both Cairn Curran and Tullaroop Reservoirs have become less than productive with the influx of fresh water, which has dropped the temperature in both waters to around 10 degrees Celsius.

Club member Stephen Eales had better luck after taking his family on a picnic/fishing trip to Bridgewater on the Loddon River, off the Calder Highway where he caught a 53 cm Murray cod that took a bait of cheese.

Colin asks:

Geoff, I’ve heard the term “salt-wedge” applied to some estuaries; what does it mean?

Colin, my understanding of a salt-wedge estuary is that when the tidal interaction with the sea is either very weak or absent, the salt water within the estuary, being denser than the fresh water coming down the river, has the potential to form a layer beneath the fresh.

This layer tends to eventually become roughly wedge-shaped with the thinnest edge beginning at the bottom furthest upstream from the mouth, its comparative depth becoming greater the further one travels downstream.

Should an estuary become completely closed to the sea, and the delineation between salt and fresh becoming more distinct over time, the deepest levels of the estuary become stagnant, anaerobic and toxic.

With no action being taken to open such an estuary to the sea, the greater the potential is for catastrophic kills to occur. This is because when opening eventually does occur, the mixture this toxicity with the formerly benign layers kills fish and other aquatic species.

Fishing was still popular at St Helens.

While it’s great to see so many people fishing at places like St Helens over the weekend. However, due to the government-imposed lockdown, I have none of the usual fishing reports, save for one that is a little unusual.

Dorsal view of the salmon and the rubber band securely fastened behind its head (Picture: Murray Scott).

Murray and Darcy Scott were engaged in the allowable 2 hours of fishing within 5 km of their home on Corio Bay, and – under present lockdown guidelines –  among their catch was an Australian salmon with a rubber band securely fastened behind its head.

It seemed as though the fish had actually swum into the rubber band, and – judging by the ring-barking produced – the fish had grown somewhat since the incident with considerable tissue damage being evident.

Ventral view of the salmon and the rubber band securely fastened behind its head (Picture: Murray Scott).

Butterfly Filleting a Whiting as demonstrated by Tib Polgar

With virtually no fishing reports, apart from the one described –  I can instruct on topics related to fishing, in this case with a “how to” on butterfly filleting a whiting using sketches I made following a demonstration by noted angler, Tib Polgar.

1.      Using scissors, cut off the anal and dorsal fins.

2. Make a vertical cut across the belly, right up behind the pectoral fins.

3. Extend the cut to the dorsal surface on side one.

4. Then, make a cut right along the backbone from the head,

almost down to the tail, only not too deep to begin with.

5. Start at the beginning again, this time carefully exposing

the rib cage.

6. Extend the cut right down to the tail this time, push the

knife all the way through and free the first side of the fillet

from the tail.

7. Turn the fillet over, extend the first cut to the dorsal surface as before, then, place

your hand firmly on the fish as you make your first cut along the backbone on the

opposite side of the fish.

8. Carefully cut the flesh away from the rib cage as before.

9. Having completed the cuts as described you should now be

able to free the fillet from the carcase by holding the fillet

down with the flat of your knife as you lift the head and

frame.

Goran Nedic shows off one of the mulloway he caught from the Glenelg (Picture: Paul Rahman).

With the Glenelg River, near the South Australian Border, open to the sea and tidal, Paul Rahman and Goran Nedic headed down that way for a couple of days last week. And, with a good supply of freshly caught squid they were hoping for a mulloway or two.

Well, they got that in spades with bag limit catches of fish from 90 cm to 1.05 metres; certainly, a great result. It would have been even better though had they caught the fish that stripped what Paul estimates to have been a hundred metres of line from his reel.

Hard to say just how big it was, for after coaxing it almost all the way back to the boat, it gave a final headshake and threw the hook.

Speaking of mulloway, I had many a fishing report from Alberto Ortega and his late wife Francis back in the 1990s, and several of them were of large mulloway, up to 136 cm that the pair caught from the Barwon estuary, pictures of which I used in my report.

I had a message from Alberto’s grandson Tony over the weekend. He’s been fishing with Alberto – now 90 years old – at Kalbarri in Western Australia and who sent me several photos of mulloway they caught over there.

According to Tony, their next stop is Cairns!

A good day’s catch from the Glenelg estuary near Nelson (Picture: Paul Rahman).

Paul Rahman with an impressive pair of mulloway (Picture: Goran Nedic).

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that Lake Tullaroop is still producing redfin and sent me a photo of one measuring 45 cm taken by club member John Gray.

And, on the weekend, Kevin – along with wife Amber – arrived at the Lake to find an angler fishing from the bank had just taken a respectable rainbow trout on Berkley Powerbait.

Most of the redfin they caught were a little on the small side, but they did finish up with five keepers.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that redfin continue to remain on tap, and that he and Bruno Portaro had no trouble taking their share on live minnow and 3” Berkeley pumpkinseed, split-tailed, soft plastics.

Apart from the redfin, said John, chinook salmon are the best chance being taken on various lures, preferably rigged as some depth, and on pilchards or whitebait fished just above the bottom.

John Gray of the Maryborough Angling Club with a 45 cm redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Alberto Ortega with one of the mulloway he caught at Kalbarri in WA (Picture: Tony Ortega).

Queenscliff Boat Ramp

The upgrade of Queenscliff’s boat ramp is underway and originally included plans for a fish cleaning facility. However, because of complainants living close by, that part of the plan has been scrapped.

Unfortunately, there will always be objections to fishing infrastructure, noise, pollution, odors etcetera, but of course these objections are widespread about many activities. Items of consideration include:

• Queenscliff’s history as a fishing port.
• Our state government’s promotion of recreational fishing, the value of same being valued to Victoria at $7.1 billion in the Ernst and Young report of 2020, something easily checked.

In my view, having a modern boat ramp without a fish cleaning facility would be ludicrous. So, I urge all who share that view to write an email of support for the FCF to councilor and mayor of Queenscliff, Ross Ebbels: ross.ebbels@queenscliffe.vic.gov.au and Cc that to Anthony McGrath anthony.mcgrath@vfa.vic.gov.au of the Victorian Fisheries Authority.

Bob McPherson took this photo of two southern right whales just off the surf break at Narrawong near Portland.

Martin asks:

Geoff, I’ve noticed the council has put up “No Fishing” signs at the entrances to the Eastern Beach promenade. The lower landing where we fish has no engagement with swimmers. What’s your view?

Martin, on Sunday, I drove down to Eastern Beach but couldn’t find a parking spot along Ritchie Boulevard and found myself in a queue of cars doing likewise. Eventually, I walked down after finding a park in Eastern Beach Road, but they too were scarce.

There wasn’t a soul swimming, and the diving boards – from where I used to dive as a youngster – were barricaded off. The promenade was crowded with Sunday browsers and dog-walkers, some with multiple canines raising the obvious question of hygiene.

My opinion Martin, is that – in consideration that this structure is for swimmers – there should be reserved parking for same – should any arrive – a ban on people walking dogs along the promenade, and tolerance for people fishing from the lower deck, which was originally the pick-up and drop-off point for the Geelong water taxi many years ago.

John Goleby with his 76 cm tailor from the mouth of the Brisbane River (Picture: Scott Goleby).

Reports are few and far between this week because of the Covid lockdown.

However, I was sent a report, and photo, of Lachie Wombell with a 46 cm redfin he caught recently while casting and retrieving a soft plastic lure from the Crawford, sometimes known as the Smoky River, in the Hotspur area of south western Victoria; certainly, an impressive catch from such a small stream.

John Goleby with another gold-spot cod taken in close proximity to one of the channel markers inside the mouth of the Brisbane River (Picture: Scott Goleby).

Brisbane

Last week I mentioned that Scott Goleby and his son John had been live-baiting around the wharves of Queensland’s Brisbane Port, and getting “done” on almost every occasion as the large inhabitants from beneath invariably managed to flee back to their refuge and part company.

That was, as I explained last week, with the exception of a gold-spot cod of possibly a metre in length that – inexplicably – headed out into open water, was caught and released. So, they decided, some revision of tactics was in order.

Scott told me over the weekend that after another capture of live-bait; a mixture of scad (yakkas), small pike and other odds and sods, they headed for one of the large channel markers, rather than at dockside, hopeful that similar denizens could be tempted from there.

So, with the electric motor running to hold position in the current, and the 50 hp outboard (for extra muscle) also ticking over, over went their first bait.

It was taken almost immediately by another large gold-spot cod that was wrestled into open water, photographed and released.

“Show and tell” obviously, followed down below because all was quiet after that.

Eventually though, they caught a 76 cm tailor, an impressive fish certainly, but nothing comparable in size to the next, another tailor that would have probably measured 90 cm. But that one snipped through the leader beside the boat and escaped.

Lachie Wombell with the 46 cm redfin he caught from the Crawford River in south western Victoria.

Prospects

Again, because of the lock-down with fewer reports than usual, local prospects for next week – weather permitting – include fishing for Australian salmon from local surf beaches like Jan Juc and Bancoora, particularly with high tides occurring in the late afternoon and evening toward the end of the week and over the forthcoming weekend.

The chance of catching a decent snapper or two from Corio Bay also remains a possibility with Jason Treloar recently catching one off North Shore in rough conditions when in all probability, nobody else was out.

And, as I’ve sometimes mentioned, the Portarlington breakwaters offer land-based anglers the opportunity to catch a snapper or two as they have throughout the year, with any forthcoming lockdown restrictions in mind of course.

Freshwater prospects include redfin and trout (both brown and rainbow) from Wurdiboluc Reservoir where lure-casting enthusiasts like Andy Ketelaar, catching several during his recent visits.

Mind you, as we said last week, that Andy’s freshwater success has been punctuated by several equally successful saltwater forays, one at Kilcunda in South Gippsland yielding some good size salmon from the surf.

But again, as I’ve already mentioned, our local beaches have also been producing good catches of salmon.

Bob McPherson photographed several southern right whales within close proximity to the Lee Breakwater at Portland over the weekend.

Colin asks:

I’ve heard that when using threadline or eggbeater reels, that the handle should be on the left side of the reel if the angler is right-handed; is that correct?

Colin, threadline or eggbeater reels were initially developed for casting small metal lures, like Devons, on shallow chalk streams for trout in the UK. They were configured to be wound without changing hands after making the cast (right-hand casting, left-hand winding and vice versa).

This was because changing hands after making a cast would often allow the lure to sink to the bottom and become snagged.

So, to avoid this, right-handed anglers – those at the top of their game anyway – cast with their right hand and wound with their left to retrieve the lure and left-handed anglers, vice versa.

However, with the current availability of large, ambidextrous threadline (eggbeater reels) for beach and boat fishing, it shouldn’t matter on which side of the reel you attach the handle.

Joe Rossi with a nice silver trevally from the Queenscliff harbour.

Queenscliff

Silver trevally have been entertaining anglers within the Queenscliff boat harbour for a while now, both those making the trip by boat from St Leonards and those fishing land-based from the various structures within.

Among these was Joe Rossi who produced a timely catch for the camera.

Andrew Ketelaar with a sample of his Australian salmon catch from Kilcunda.

Off the Beach

Early last week, Andy Ketelaar made the journey to Kilcunda, just off the Bass Hwy past the Phillip Island turn-off in South Gippsland, hoping to catch a few salmon on the afternoon rising tide.

Well, he did that in spades with his bigger fish nudging 2 kg; a great bit of sport on various lures cast into the inshore gutters, some as close as 15 metres.

Closer to home, Tony Ingram and Col Simmons fished Thursday’s late afternoon high tide at Bancoora Beach where they too took Australian Salmon, the biggest also nudging the 2 kg mark, both on bait and lures with most of the action on the start of the ebb tide.

Fishing on into the evening, hopeful of catching a gummy shark or two as they’ve done previously, produced a tailer of just on a kilogram before increased side-drift and an accumulation of weed persuaded their retreat.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Braving less than ideal conditions last week, Gordon and Carol Williams launched off Clifton Springs, hoping to catch a few whiting.

After the usual few moves it usually takes to find a good patch, they picked up a couple of fish out in around 6 metres of water off Curlewis, and as the low tide change was about to kick in around midday, they waited patiently for what they hoped would follow.

The fishing was a bit slower than they would have liked, but they finished with a dozen nice fish before the breeze freshened to the point they called it a day.

Jenni Behrens with her 11 kg mulloway from the Maroochy River (Picture: Jamie Behrens).

Upstate

Last week, we reported that ex-Barwon Heads mulloway fisherman, Jamie Behrens, who now lives in Bli Bli Queensland, and who – the week previous – took fifteen-year-old Bryce Bartleson out on the Maroochy River where he caught a mulloway of 19 kg.

Jamie’s wife Jenni wanted some of that action. So, after arriving at the same spot in front of a small creek at the last of the ebb where mullet were jumping, a throw of the cast net produced enough for bait. And, on one of which, Jenni caught a mulloway of 11 kg.

Brisbane’s Scott Goleby fishes within its port, either with son John or with his friend George, where their catch is usually flathead or bream.

Of late though, their approach has included live-baiting close to the wharf structures, maintaining position with the electric motor because, like other ports, anchoring is prohibited within a prescribed distance.

The lives of their baits – usually small pike – are short; shorter still are their tussles with powerful fish that take them and bolt for the piles, cutting them off.

That was all except for one that Scott identified as a gold spot cod. It was about a metre in length, and which – inexplicably – bolted for open water, was caught and released.

Fishing Lockdown

I was criticized during the previous closure for publishing fishing reports that occurred during the lockdown.

Fishing was in fact allowed during that period under somewhat restrictive guidelines. The same now follows, the July 15 VFA update reading as follows:

“Recreational fishing and boating are permitted within 5km of your home as long as it doesn’t require use of a facility (the opening of a closed jetty or pier) and for up to 2 hours once per day, and with members of your household or 1 other person”.

Barry asks:

Geoff, I’ve noticed there are Angler’s Clubs and Angling Clubs: What’s the difference?

Barry, It’s a matter of perception. Mine would be that if you belonged to an Angling Club, there would be no doubt that you and other members had joined to participate in the serious pursuit of angling as a club member.

On the other hand, Angler’s Clubs, like Soldier’s and Sailor’s Clubs – of which there are several – suggests, to me anyway, a more social structure where the cut and thrust of the activity described is less pivotal to its members.

A great catch of redfin from Lake Purrumbete by John Clements, Rex Hunt and Jeremy Richardson (Picture: John Clements).

Rex Hunt congratulates 11-year-old Jack Driscoll of Moonambel, Victoria who caught this good size rainbow trout from the new VFA fishing jetty at Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that Tullaroop Reservoir continues to produce good catches of redfin, some in the 40-45 cm range.

Kevin fished here on Friday evening with Greg Hicks from Bendigo taking fish of that size on soft plastics and bobbers. And then, heading out with wife Amber over the weekend, demonstrated similar cause and effect to what was experienced on Friday.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that once again that there is no shortage of redfin in the lake, with he, Rex Hunt and Jeremy Richardson managing to cover the cleaning table with them.

Chinook salmon are also on the go as demonstrated by Jeremy Richards of Colac who took a bag limit catch of fish to 2 kg from the lake fishing cut pilchards just above the bottom.

Brown and rainbow trout are still on offer as well said John, with 11-year-old Jack Driscoll of Moonambel turning a few heads when he caught a buck rainbow trout of possibly 2 kg from the new VFA fishing jetty.

Rhiannon Atkinson of VFA announced that their remaining tiger trout are to be released into Lakes Bullen Merri and Purrumbete this week.

Today, 2000 will be released into Lake Bullen Merri at 1.00 pm, and on Thursday, another 1200 will be released into Lake Purrumbete, also at 1.00 pm. The remainder are then to be released into Lake Bullen Merri at approximately 2.00 pm.

Should you wish to attend any of these stockings, please let Rhiannon know so she can coordinate with their drivers and communicate any changes on the day: 0407 987 016, rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au

Amber Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club with a quality redfin from Tullaroop Reservoir (Picture Kevin Wild).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

It was lean pickings on the whiting for our regular correspondents, with very few good size fish among the usual throwbacks. That is not to say that others may have taken good catches.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire again reports that flathead saved the day for his clients with squid and whiting absent. However, Rod mentions that good catches of squid have reportedly been made at Queenscliff, along with silver trevally in harbour.

There were albacore aplenty taken on the Portland wide grounds as this photo shows (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Lachie Wombell with a sample of the blue eye trevally he and Bob McPherson caught over the wide grounds off Portland on Sunday (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Portland

With fair weather on Sunday, Bob McPherson and Lachie Wombell headed out to the wide grounds off Portland where, bottom bouncing, they had no trouble catching blue eye trevalla, interspersed with pink ling some other varieties.

Mind you, there were plenty of others out as well with numerous bottom fish – including Tasmanian trumpeter, being taken in around 130 metres of water – along with albacore, which were taken a little further out.

This mixed bag of fish, that included a Tasmanian trumpeter, was reportedly taken in 130 metres of water off Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Upstate

Jamie Behrens, who was known for his ability to catch estuary perch, mulloway and a good many other species from the Barwon estuary, has lived in Bli Bli Queensland on the Maroochy River for some time now, and looks forward to the winter mulloway run.

Last week he took fifteen-year-old Bryce Bartleson for a nocturnal introduction to the gentle art of live baiting with mullet. Turns out Bryce was a quick learner and opened his account with a 19 kg mulloway.

Jamie says that, fishing in a snaggy part of the river, he suspends his live baits under a balloon, some distance above the bottom. However, pickings had been lean until he took Bryce out to find mullet jumping, mulloway on the attack, and pelicans well and truly in the mix; the rest now history.

Bryce Bartleson with a 19 kg mulloway from the Maroochy River in Queensland (Picture: Jamie Behrens).

Colin asks:

I was fascinated to hear of luderick being caught from the Barwon River estuary in your column of July 6. Having been a luderick fisherman in NSW I felt that love affair was over. Can you direct me on the local approach?

Colin, fishing from a dinghy, my companions and I have caught a good many luderick from the Barwon estuary, mainly during winter, usually on sandworm but sometimes on freshly shucked (not frozen), abalone gut.

Others have caught them on the traditional green weed that you can collect from the Geelong waterfront, with the recognised fishing technique employing the traditional weighted blackfish float and attendant paraphernalia you’d be familiar with.

We fished on the bottom with a single No 4 hook, on a paternoster rig in about 3 metres of water, usually between the end of Sheepwash Road and the Sheepwash boat ramp.

A high tide beginning to run off toward evening seemed to be best, but they can be caught at other times as well; either on the last of the incoming tide, or the first of the outgoing, a sequence beginning from the time of high water at Port Phillip Heads.

People fishing from the Ocean Grove Pontoon on the Barwon River estuary.

Barwon Heads

It was amazing to see how many folk were out fishing before inclement weather arrived at the weekend, particularly at Barwon Heads with people fishing from the boat ramp pontoons and other structures at Ocean Grove and the Sheepwash.

Despite a noticeable discoloration of the water, a variety of fish were being caught during the daytime high tides, particularly mullet, King George whiting and several good size silver trevally.

What was particularly interesting was Robbie Wright’s capture of a really good size luderick, who – unlike those of us who caught luderick on traditional green weed, sandworms, and fresh abalone gut from the late 70’s though to the nineties (usually in July) – he caught his on a Berkley soft plastic.

Darcy Scott with a sample of his and Murray’s catch of squid from the Swan Island grass-beds off Queenscliff over the weekend.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Braving less than ideal conditions last week, Gordon and Carol Williams launched off Clifton Springs, hoping to catch a few whiting.

After the usual few moves it usually takes to find a good patch, they picked up a couple of fish out in 6 metres of water off Curlewis, and as the early afternoon low tide change was about to kick in, they waited patiently for what they hoped would follow.

The fishing was a bit slower than they would have liked as it turned out, but they caught 21 nice fish before the wind freshened to the point they decided to call it a day.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports having boats out before the cold and windy weather rolled in at the weekend, but once again, flathead were the savior, squid and whiting being virtually absent.

Queenscliff

Early Tuesday afternoon, Andrew and Tony Greck fished for squid at the entrance of Swan Bay on the incoming tide. Although a little slow to begin with, they eventually took their respective bag limits, their biggest approaching 1.5 kg.

By then it was late afternoon, and – with a good deal of kick still in the tide – they headed out toward Coles Beacon, hoping for some whiting before the tide shut down toward dusk. Not in vain as it turned out, for they finished with 30, the biggest measuring 43 cm.

Come the weekend, and with Antarctic-like weather, you wouldn’t expect anybody to be out, but Murray and Darcy Scott were out off Queenscliff, and in their own words, it was in freezing cyclonic conditions with nary another boat to be seen, but they got what they came for, a good catch of very large squid.

Robbie Wright with the good size luderick he caught from the Sheepwash.

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete caravan park reports that trophy size brown trout are still on offer with Ken Carmen of Camperdown picking up a 4 kg specimen while casting a Bassday Sugapen lure from the bank at the quarry.

Chinook salmon are definitely on the go with members of the Craigieburn Angling Club catching fish to 1.5 kg, mainly on trolled lures, while John caught any amount of redfin on soft plastics and live minnow.

Paul Rahman visited Dartmouth Reservoir where he had no trouble catching both brown trout and rainbows on Tassie Devils. He also fished with mudeyes under a float, which is usually a lay-down misère, but the fish weren’t having any; not on this occasion anyway.

A nice redfin that Andrew Ketelaar caught from Wurdiboluc Reservoir on Saturday.

Viva responds

Michael Cave, on behalf of Viva’s Geelong refinery, responds to last our week’s Q&A on the proposed gas terminals: Hopefully, the cautious pathway indicated will prevail.

Geoff,

I am keen to correct errors in your column regarding the proposal to build a Gas Terminal at Viva Energy’s Refinery on Corio Bay.

Our proposed Gas Terminal will be unlike others because synergies between the Refinery and the Gas Terminal will help minimize impacts on the Bay.

We currently chlorinate seawater for use in the Refinery under our Environmental Protection Licence (EPL) approved by the EPA. The level of chlorine in seawater discharged to the bay is extremely low – less than half the chlorine in household tap water.

We intend to reuse the seawater that warms the liquefied gas in the proposed Gas Terminal by recycling it in our Refinery to cool processes. This will result in seawater returning to the Bay slightly warmer than when it was taken in.

Viva Energy wants to minimize the impact of this project on the environment and is undertaking a range of studies as part of the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) approvals process.

For more information, visit our website www.vivaenergy.com.au/gas-terminal, or follow us on facebook.com/geelongenergyhub.