Geoff Wilson’s Fishing Knots And Rigs

Sophia Jankowski 7, with her squid (Picture: Warren Jankowski).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

With the installation of a new sounder on his boat, Warren Jankowski – along with his 7 year old daughter Sophia – took it for a test run off St Leonards on Saturday.

With everything ticking over smoothly in calm conditions, they headed down south to the Coles Beacon off the entrance of Swan Bay, a good spot to break out the squid jigs, and within 30 seconds of them hitting the water it was clear Sophia had hooked a pearler.

It was by far the biggest of the five squid they caught in a fairly quick session, and – in addition to that – it was caught on a brand new rod and reel that hadn’t been used before; then – after checking out the colony of seals that call the Coles Beacon home – they headed back in.

Also making an early start off St Leonards was Rob Rizzo and son Ricky who tried for whiting, but they were a bit scarce, so they too brought out the squid jigs.

A good move as it turned out for they caught fifteen, including some really good size specimens, before heading back home around mid-day.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head also affirms that that squid catches have dominated over the past week or so and, both in size and quantity.

Jeff Richards and Brian Cumming found a good patch on Thursday in the vicinity of Dead Man’s Stick on the Prince George Bank, from where they caught several, including a two that would have weighed a kilogram apiece, but no whiting.

On Saturday, Jeff and Chris Hateley went out in search of whiting once more, but fishing over the popular St Leonards mark known as Bourke Street was something of a disappointment because the fish there, though numerous, were small.

Moving further south, they anchored up in 4.5 metres of water in front of St Leonards Yacht Club where they picked up several bigger fish, all either just on or slightly over the 40 cm mark.

In fact they caught nine of these beauties before the wind came up from the south creating an impossible wind-against-tide situation from which they really had no option but to retreat.

Ricky Rizzo with one of the squid he and father Robert caught off St Leonards last week (Picture: Robert Rizzo).

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that he and wife Amber have had no trouble picking up golden perch (yellowbelly) from Cairn Curran reservoir using worms for bait, but they’ve been a bit on the small side with a good many under the legal size of 30 cm.

Kevin also mentions that club members Greg Streets and Leone Jones made the journey to Green Lake near Horsham where they had no trouble taking respectable catches of redfin, both on bait and on lures.

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that fishing has been slow, never the less, several brown trout to just on 3 kg were taken by Chris Farrugia of Oaklands Junction and Mike Georgiou of Melbourne, both of whom were fishing with mudeyes under floats.

Others to be successful include Matt and David Ford from South Australia who caught several chinook salmon around the 1.5 kg mark on fillets of pilchards suspended just above the bottom.

Patricia asks:

Geoff, I’ve fished for luderick in NSW, I would continue doing so, but nobody I’ve spoken to fishes for luderick around Geelong. Can you catch them here?

The best times to catch luderick were either side of a tide change, the high tide change in particular, especially as the current begins running off in the late afternoon some two hours after high water at Port Phillip Heads.

Hold that tiger: Kevin W… in catch and release mode with a larger than intended catch at Fraser Island.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

My suggestion last week that squid numbers were improving, could have been a trifle optimistic, given that these tasty cephalopods were a bit harder to find than usual; the whiting were even scarcer. But as usual, flathead saved the day for most.

Harley Griffiths and Stan Owen found a good patch of whiting off St Leonards, but those they caught – although of legal size – were a bit on the small side given the number of bigger fish recently on offer.

Breaking out the squid jigs proved more productive, and – although they picked up none of those outsize breeders we begin to see at this time of year – they finished with enough for the table and to replenish their bait supply.

Amber Wild with another respectable brown trout from Talbot Reservoir (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports the club had an open-water fishing competition over the weekend; a relatively successful event even if the average size of the fish taken was a little disappointing.

Kevin reports that Talbot Reservoir continues to produce good size fish though, with club member Trevor Perry picking up an impressive brown trout of 55cm here over the weekend while fishing a mudeye beneath a float.

Most of the fish taken though were small golden perch (yellowbelly), nine of which Kevin caught from Cairn Curran Reservoir using worms, some were less than the legal size of 30 cm and returned, but others were pushing the 40cm.

Shaun Ogbourne with a black tip whaler shark he caught using a “slider” to deploy his live bait.

Slide-baiting, which was first made popular in South Africa, involves casting a Sputnik style sinker as far out as possible from the beach. Then, a small wire slider – substantially in the shape of a spring, and to which a short leader and hook is attached – is threaded onto the line and baited with a live fish. The bait-fish is prevented from swimming back up the line because the ingenious dog-leg extending forward from the spring, ensures the live-bait can only go in one direction; out to sea.

Portland

Although large tuna are still present offshore from Portland, Bob McPherson reports they’ve been recently targeted by a pod of killer whales while feeding on schooled up red-bait.

Just across the SA border at Port MacDonnell, the tuna have been as close in as 50 metres of water, and there has reportedly been some friction between spearfishermen on jet-skis – who have been much quicker to access surface bust-ups on bait balls – and anglers; those trolling lures in particular.

Among those to be successful off Port Mac was Jo Jo Rebonds who was fishing with local cray fisherman Carn Taylor last week. Jo landed her first barrel at a good starting weight of 88.6kg, after pulling the hooks following an earlier strike.

Others to catch barrel-size tuna off Port Mac included James Stark and James Feast who caught one of just on 100 kg while live-baiting with a brand new outfit purchased at Spot-on Fishing, Mount Gambier.

The bottom fishing off Port Mac was also productive last week with Tim Carrison among the successful anglers, picking up a 25 kg school shark and eight snapper to 70cm or so that he released, and not too far offshore either.

George Pogany with a nice Swallowtail Dart from Waddy Point, Fraser Island.

Lining up at Fraser Island for the tailor-run in what is known as the “Picket Line.”

Heather asks:

My boyfriend and I have started fishing land-based at St Helens for snapper, and we’re wondering if suitable bait can be caught from the rocks?

Heather, I suggest that you bring your bait with you, either pilchards or perhaps squid that you can buy from a fishing tackle outlet; you cannot rely on catching bait-fish on site.

Small, but legal size Australian salmon may sometimes be caught on lures or bait, but currently, they don’t appear to be present. Garfish too may sometimes be caught, but again you can’t depend on those either. The fillets from flathead, which may be accidental captures, also make excellent baits for snapper.

By all means, bring some light tackle with you, with which you may catch a fish or two for bait, but it’s not something you can depend on.

Roger Beahan on the Fraser Island “Picket Line” with a sample of the tailor on offer.

Fraser Island

Scott Goleby and George Pogany visited Fraser Island, Qld, last week to find tailor well and truly on the bite following 3 days of strong westerly winds, the so-called “Pickett Line” of anglers co-operating, virtually shoulder to shoulder, to their mutual benefit.

Furiously casting out pilchards on identical flights of ganged hooks, seemed to be part of an unwritten etiquette followed by all when the fish are on. So, even to the casual observer, it would soon become obvious that creating a concentration of bait is the key to success, for it’s this that holds the tailor within casting range long enough to benefit all; an interesting example of one of the rare times in fishing that you do need a crowd.

In the interests of diversity, George gathered some beach worms and pipis for bait, and – presenting those on Mustad long-shanked hooks – picked up a nice swallowtail dart on light tackle.

Shaun Ogbourne demonstrated his slide-baiting skill when a black-tipped whaler shark grabbed a live fish he’d presented on his slider rig. It put on quite a show for passing beach goers and allowed for a photo opportunity before being released.

And, as Kevin W… found out, larger predators cruise these surf gutters when the annual tailor run is on. The tiger shark he’s pictured wrangling took a baited hook on a wire trace, possibly intended for a Spanish mackerel. So, it’s a good idea not to wade out too far during the tailor run with the rhetorical “men in grey suits” sometimes close to shore.

Class capture: Frank Bluch with a pending world record rainbow trout capture on a 1kg class tippet.

Another record

Geelong fly fisherman Frank Bluch has just returned from New Zealand where he fished the opening of the Ohau River and associated waters with yet another world record capture pending. On acceptance, his tally of world records will have reached 24.

Frank caught an 8.25 kg rainbow trout on a 1 kg class tippet; definitely a milestone capture, the previous record for same having stood for well over three decades.

It was one of twelve rainbow trout he caught, (the biggest weighing 8.5 kg) along with one brown trout and five small, land-locked sockeye salmon known as Kokanee.

Helen Missen with her brown trout from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Freshwater

Closer to home, John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that, although the fishing has been fairly quiet, redfin are back on the bite, with George Gillies of Winchelsea picking up several from 400 to 600 grams on soft plastics.

Several brown trout were taken as well: Helen Missen of Airport West picked one up of 2.8 kg and Bryan Nygaard of Bacchus Marsh, another of the same size; both were caught on mudeyes fished beneath floats.

Mark Sholte with yet another barrel size, 146 kg, tuna taken offshore from Portland.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

With patchy weather early last week, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck had some doubt about getting out but they headed down to St Leonards anyway and by 4.30 pm it was clear the weather was moderating.

Taking a run down south, off the entrance of Swan Bay, they were soon onto a good patch of squid. Calling it a day around 6.00, they’d finished with a respectable catch and there were some good size specimens among them.

Andrew Johnson, his son Tim and Tim’s friend Callum Olsen, tried hard for a snapper last week, and – despite finding some promising signals on their sounder along the west side of the Wilson Spit – they didn’t turn a scale.

In frustration, they tried a few other formerly productive areas before calling it quits. Well, before giving up on the snapper anyway. Their next alternative was to break out the squid jigs off Point Wilson; a much more productive exercise as it turned out for they certainly caught enough of those to redeem their trip.

At Indented Head, Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire reports that squid are certainly on the rebound after a very lean period at the beginning of the month and that his clients have had no trouble taking multiple catches.

Whiting fishing seems to have slumped over the past week or so though, with even specialists producing very few fish.

Peter Goode with the 131kg tuna he caught offshore from Portland last week (Picture: Richardson Marine).

Portland

Mark Sholte, along with Clinton and Colby Lesko were trolling a pattern of lures in 70 metres of water off Cape Nelson near Portland on Wednesday morning, when – right on the high tide change at 9.45 am – a New Zealand made, Bonze lure was taken.

The fight lasted 120 minutes on 37 kg tackle before the fish was subdued, eventually greeting the scales for a verdict of 146 kg.

Collin asks:

Geoff I’m fairly new to boat-fishing and want to know if there is any way you can stop the boat swinging in an arc at anchor and tangling all of the lines?

On a cautionary note; bridling your boat exerts additional pressure on the anchor which may cause it to slip, so you may need a larger anchor than that recommended for the size of your boat.

Anthony Saric with the 7.1 kg snapper he caught from the Swan Island grassbeds off Queenscliff on Saturday.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Fishing the ebb tide for whiting, in around 5 metres of water off the Swan Island grass beds at Queenscliff on Friday morning, was Anthony Saric.

Not only did he finish with a bag limit catch, but was interrupted by hooking a fish on a small strip of squid that was clearly not a whiting. It was in fact a 7.1 kg snapper that took him 25 minutes to subdue on the light tackle he was using.

Andrew Phillips and Mark Sesar took advantage of good weather early last week but their previously productive locations for whiting off Indented Head produced nothing; neither did they find them off nearby St Leonards.

It was a nearly two hours before their luck changed for the better while at anchor off the entrance of Swan Bay, just east of Coles Beacon, with a new run of – judging by their light and silvery colour – fish from outside The Heads.

And, after reaching their respective bag limits of fish to 43 cm by 5 pm or so, they broke out the squid jigs, and – during the latter stages of the incoming tide – added six of these tasty cephalopods to their tally before heading back to St Leonards.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that squid have made a comeback after their near absence during the previous week, and that flathead – which were taken on the drift – saved the day for a good many of his clients.

Whiting were patchy however, and those taken – mainly from St Leonards – ranged in size from barely legal size to 39 cm.

Jaxon, Shakira Robinson-Redpath, 3 and 5, with coach grandpa Mick Redpath, on the job at Bannockburn Lagoon (Picture: Liffy Jennings).

Jaxon and Shakira Robinson-Redpath, 3 and 5, with their respective bags of rainbow trout from Bannockburn Lagoon (Picture: Liffy Jennings).

Freshwater

With the weather too rough to put the boat on Corio Bay at the weekend, Michael Redpath and partner Liffy Jennings, had a quick dig in the vegi-patch for worms before rugging up against the inclement weather and heading out to Bannockburn Lagoon with grandchildren Shakira 5, and Jaxon 3 around mid day.

Using the worms they’d dug and some corn kernels for bait – and with a little coaching – the grandkids had no problem catching their five rainbow trout each, which made it a great day for all.

Liffy also reports that 14 year old Jake Redpath, and his uncle Paul Kovzan, dropped in on their way back from Eildon Pondage on Sunday with some really hefty rainbow trout.

They’d headed up there an Friday evening, and were casting lures at the crack of dawn the following day when Jake hooked their first fish on a purple Tassie Devil, a rainbow trout of possibly 4 kg, the first of several they caught on Saturday.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that brown trout are still on offer, and that Nathan Wright, one of a group of Kayak fishing enthusiasts, picked up one of 2.7 kg on an OSP bent minnow.

Chinook salmon are also on offer with Les Broughton of Geelong among those to pick up fish to 1.5 kg or so using the time-honoured technique of suspending pilchard fillets just above the bottom.

Jake Redpath 14, with a sample of the rainbow trout he and his uncle, Paul Kovzan, caught from the Eildon Pondage on Saturday (Picture: Liffy Jennings).

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that Talbot Reservoir continues to attract anglers and among them was Alan Pool who picked up a rainbow trout of 51 cm on Thursday.

Fishing Lake Tullaroop near Maryborough was Steven Eales, along with his six year old daughter Lily who caught a 1 kg rainbow trout on Berkley Powerbait.

Steven, who works at the Maryborough Lyal Eales store, reports that an angler – for whom we have no name – dropped in to display a 4 kg brown trout he caught from Tullaroop on a Daiwa Double Clutch minnow.

With school holidays to begin next week, fishing is a paramount activity and Fisheries Victoria advises that rainbow trout have been stocked in the following locations:

· Bannockburn Lagoon 300

· St Augustine’s waterhole 700

· Lethbridge Lake 300

The VFA website also says that “Anglers are reminded that a daily bag limit of five trout applies, of which only two may exceed 35 centimetres.” https://vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-fishing/fish-stocking/school-holiday-trout-stocking

One of several whales Bob McPherson of Portland photographed over the weekend.

Portland

Bob McPherson reports that good size school shark have made a welcome return along Portland’s north shore after a long absence. Fishing here on evening last week, Bryce Goldby caught two, each around the 16 kg mark, and returned others.

A Spotted Sand Diver Trichonotus setiger, caught – and released – from Brad Smith Fishing Charters at South Currigee Island, Queensland. It was identified by Roger Swainston of Anima.

Corey asks:

Geoff, while trolling lures off Port MacDonnell, for barrel tuna, we were amazed to find spearfishermen on jet-skis beating us to the bust-ups. Is this seemingly hazardous activity regulated?

Kevin Wild with the 51.5cm rainbow trout he caught on Sunday evening from Talbot Reservoir (Picture: Amber Wild).

Freshwater

Last week I mentioned that Kevin and Amber Wild visited Talbot Reservoir, which is about halfway between Ballarat and Avoca. That was after fellow Maryborough Angling Club member Neil Perry caught both a brown and rainbow trout from here the previous week.

On that occasion they missed out, but returning on Saturday, Amber was rewarded with a 51cm brown trout that took a mudeye fished from the bank; one of three bites they had.

Returning on Sunday afternoon in the rain, Kevin evened the score with a 51.5cm rainbow trout that took a gudgeon.

Michael Redpath and his grandson Jaxon, who will be 4 next month, with a good size snapper from Corio Bay (Picture: Liffy Jennings).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Making an early start on Corio Bay in literally freezing conditions on Saturday morning were Jason Treloar and Harley Griffiths.

Soaking their baits offshore from the Mountain View Quarries at Avalon – and hopeful of catching a snapper as they’ve been in recent months, but without success – their patience finally paid off.

The sun had barely peeped over the horizon when one of their rods doubled over, the reel singing to the tune of a 7.5kg snapper that fancied the strip of squid that Jason had on for bait. They also took several small gummy shark that they returned to grow larger.

We’ve featured Michael Redpath now and then over the years, and he’s guided quite a few hopefuls toward making good catches. His Partner Libby just sent me a picture of Mick and his latest pupil, grandson Jaxon, who will be 4 next month, with a good size snapper from the bay. No weight was mentioned but it looks to be at least 7kg.­

Ahmed and his brother Mac caught these whiting off St Leonards on Friday (Picture: Rod Ludlow).

Portland

Down Portland way, Bob McPherson reports that large tuna are still about offshore but despite having good weather last week, there were very few boats out, a vastly different situation to what we have seen in previous years.

Across the South Australian border at Port MacDonnell, it has been a different story, and among those to take them here over the past week included Daniel Ortisi and Noel Galea who fished on Tuesday and Wednesday. They hooked three barrels, two of which they landed, the smaller weighing 84kg and the larger 104kg.

Prospects

With the flowering of spring, and hopefully better weather than we’ve experienced of late, the fishing should also improve, so with reports fewer than usual this week, I’ve included a couple of prospects:

With winds from the northerly quarter in the offing, either of the two Portarlington Breakwaters should be worth a look for anyone hoping for a snapper, particularly if the water remains discoloured. Of course the St Leonards Pier still has a loyal band of followers; those athletic enough to climb down and subdue fish from the rocks below.

A fish that some of we more senior anglers used to catch in spring – but which receive little attention nowadays – is snook, which we used to call pike back then. We caught them up to 3 kg on bibbed minnow-type lures from the North Shore rocks, particularly when low tides provided access at either dawn or dusk, which were certainly the most productive times to fish for them.

In more recent years, the fishing platforms installed below the Esplanade, and just south of Lascelles wharf – which was done with the goodwill and cooperation of the North Shore residents group, Incitec Pivot and the Geelong City Council – now provide all-tide access to this area.

Col asks:

Geoff; are the snapper presently in Corio Bay – and caught by some lucky anglers – newly arrived fish, or are they resident?

A long-standing belief, and one that is probably correct, is that snapper enter Port Phillip Bay when the Bay’s internal temperature is equal to that outside The Heads. At present, the temperature in southern Port Phillip is around 10.5 degrees Celsius, which is two and a half degrees cooler that the water outside, but it is presently around 12 degrees within Corio Bay’s inner harbour. You can check the bay’s water temperature readings at http://www.baywx.com.au/temps.html

Andrew Phillips with a sample of Sunday’s whiting catch (Picture: Mark Sesar).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Launching at St Leonards on Saturday morning, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed up past the Indented Head abalone farm in search of squid, which as it turned out, were well and truly on the bite.

The only obstacle they faced was the strengthening north westerly wind, which by 10.00 am persuaded their return to the boat ramp, both taking respectable catches of squid, the largest of which weighed 1.7 kg.

On Sunday afternoon, Andrew was out again off Indented Head with Mark and Tina Sesar.

They found a good patch of whiting at around 3.30 pm, and – with an incoming tide and south-westerly breeze – they had comfortable fishing for two hours, finishing with respectable catches, their biggest fish nudging 42 cm.

Seeking whiting off Curlewis on Friday afternoon, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien found fish aplenty off Curlewis, but for the main part, they were a bit on the small side. All were certainly legal size, but with most in the lower 30 cm range, they were hoping bigger game.

But, that was their lot up until almost sunset when they decide to try a little closer in toward the shore before heading in.

A good move as it turned out, for they finished with a total of 30 keepers, with eight of those measuring from 35 to 39 cm.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head, who had just returned from sunny Sri Lanka, found the local winter chill a bit tough going. At least he missed the worst of it and his clients caught plenty of flathead.

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports lean pickings during the club’s weekend competition with barely a murmur from Tullaroop and Cairn Curran Reservoirs. However, club member Trevor Perry had been taking some nice trout from Talbot Reservoir (between Ballarat and Avoca) lately, so Kevin and wife Amber headed up there.

They did no good, but neither did Trevor who was also fishing there: At least he missed a couple of good bites that were obviously trout.

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the fishing has been slow, possibly because of the weather, but chinook salmon up to 2 kg were there for the taking with Les Broughton from Geelong, and members of the Bannockburn and Greensborough Angling Clubs picking up their share.

Trout were scarce though, but Chris Farrugia picked up a 1.8 kg brown on a bibbed minnow trolled at a depth of 9 metres using a down-rigger.

Werribee
John Bish caught a good size gummy shark off Werribee South last week, but also reports being bitten off a number of times. While it’s hard to say what the culprits were, we have seen an increase in the presence of school sharks over recent years, with reportedly similar experiences on Corio Bay, so they would have to be among the prime suspects.

Tony says:

Geoff, judging by the photo you had in the paper of those whiting last week – allegedly caught off Indented Head – they were being cleaned at the St Leonards cleaning table: Sounds a bit fishy!

Not at all Tony: I asked the anglers involved – whom I assumed had launched at Indented Head – to find that they had actually launched and retrieved at St Leonards, that being a more accommodating facility, especially in windy conditions. However, the area they fished was up past the Indented Head abalone farm close by.

I assumed their arrival at Indented Head was by road, hence the misunderstanding.

Andy asks:

Geoff, what’s happened to the silver trevally? I’ve fished the Queenscliff Marina lately and all I can catch is undersize and barely size Australian salmon and a few mullet.

Andy, you certainly aren’t Robinson Crusoe: While we can blame low water temperatures for the recent drought of snapper catches from the bay, I’m not sure why silver trevally have been absent.

Historically speaking, a good many trevally have been caught in the Queenscliff Harbour and from Bell Reef under the white lighthouse, in September. So, with rising water temperatures from now on we’ll undoubtedly see a big improvement, not only in the numbers of trevally, but in the whole fishing scene.

Billy Houli with the 100 kg tuna he caught casting a lure to tuna feeding at the surface from “Reel Weapon” (Picture: Richard Abela).

West of the border

Another run of barrel size tuna along the west coast, and just over the South Australian border in particular, have attracted anglers, despite recent unsettled weather.

With big fish busting up on the surface among bait shoals in around 50 metres of water off Port MacDonnell on Saturday, Richard Abela, first mate Jason Tedesco and good friend Billy Houli – fishing aboard Nick Lazarevski’s Edencraft 223 formula “Reel Weapon,” were quick to take advantage.

Billy Houli caught his 110 kg tuna casting this Fish in N hooker to barrels bursting at the surface off Port MacDonnell in South Australia (Picture: Richard Abela).

Rather than trolling, they took the opportunity to cast lures among these surface feeders, and – using spin tackle and a Fish inc N hooker (a bibless minnow customarily referred to as a “stickbait” – Billy found himself in the battle of his life for just over six hours with a tuna that greeted the scales for a verdict of 110 kg.

Mark Sesar with a sample of his, and Andrew Phillip’s, last Monday’s catch of whiting (Picture: Andrew Phillips).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Last Monday, Andrew Phillips and Mark Sesar arrived at Indented Head around mid-day to be confronted with a cold south-westerly breeze, but with whiting on their mind, they didn’t hesitate in launching.

Despite making several moves, they caught nothing until the ebb tide picked up, when – although battling wind against tide, something Andrew attempted to remedy by fishing one rod over the bow from the forward hatch, which unfortunately slammed shut in the breeze, snapping the rod in two – they began to catch a few fish.

Despite the adverse conditions, and noticing they were appeared to be the only boat out, they eventually took bag limit catches of whiting with the biggest nudging 43 cm.

Jony Ai Ung (left) sent me this picture of the snapper taken on UNG Reel Adventures last week. Wouldn’t tell me where they were caught, but it’s nice to know that big red is on the move.

The road closure at Jun Juc.

They’d taken a GPS mark at their successful location to enable their return in calmer weather. So, following a promising forecast for Saturday, they were anchored up on the very same mark by 5.00 am, and by sunrise they’d already caught a number of fish.

Understandably though, given Saturday’s fair weather forecast, more boats began to arrive, and – with Andrew and Mark clearly in the midst of a hot bite – it wasn’t long before they were surrounded by other craft, their occupants eager to share the pair’s good fortune. So with 25 good size whiting and several squid in the bag, they called it a day.

Amber Wild with the 63 cm Murray cod she caught from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Ash Rawlings with the 6.8 kg brown trout he caught from one of the Twizel Canals on New Zealand’s South Island.

Freshwater

Maryborough Angling Club members, Kevin and Amber Wild, fished Lake Mulwala last week, first unsuccessfully with lures. Changing to using chicken and cheese for bait made all the difference though with capture and release of six Murray cod to 68 cm.

Geelong Angler Ash Rawlings fished the Twizel Canals on New Zealand’s South Island last week, and – with the guidance of Openseasonz guide, Graham Edridge – caught some remarkable trout, both browns and rainbows, and sent in a picture of a 6.8 kg brown that he caught casting a size 8 Rapala, and which he admits, was the highlight of his trip.

Jeremy McLoughlin with the gummy shark he caught offshore from Torquay on Saturday (Picture: Kevin McLoughlin).

Offshore

Taking advantage of a break in the weather on Saturday, Kevin McLoughlin and his brother Jeremy, fished in 30 metres offshore from Torquay. Things were pretty quiet, but Jeremy caught a good size gummy shark on an Australian salmon fillet.

Bob McPherson took this picture of a whale from the Lee Breakwater at Portland.

Ron asks:

Geoff, I was somewhat disappointed to find that access to one of my favourite fishing spots, below the Surf Lifesaving Club at Jun Juc has been closed. Do you know when it will be reopened?

Naturally, you can park in the larger car park, and from there you can walk down to the beach on the right hand side of the creek, which slopes more gently and is more popular with surfers – but the creek is currently flowing strongly and inadvisable to cross.

Brian Nolan with the hefty school shark he caught offshore from Torquay early last week (Picture: Kevin McLoughlin).

Offshore

Making an early start last week, before the foul weather rolled in, Kevin McLoughlin, Andrew Moffat and Brian Nolan headed out off Torquay where, in around 30 metres of water, they caught several gummies and a school shark that was clearly over 20kg.

They used the fillets of freshly caught barracouta and slimy mackerel for bait in an obviously successful trial of 7/0 Charlie Brown circle hooks.

Fishing a little further out, also off Torquay in just over 40 metres of water, Rick Thomas and Ryan Dickson were also fortunate enough to catch a barracouta or two, and fishing with fillets of those for bait, they too were soon well occupied.

They caught three gummies, the biggest a beauty of 18kg, but – as is often the case – what may have been the catch of the day, a large school shark, gained its freedom after diving beneath the boat.

Also on the job early last week was Chris Stamalos who anchored in 30 metres of water off Barwon Heads, but it was lean pickings at first and a large squid was stealing his baits. He almost managed to net it after bringing it to the surface on one occasion, but it let go at the last minute.

Things settled down after that, but there was no sign of any potential bait fish. However, around 11 o’clock, he caught what turned out to be a seven-gilled shark that Chris estimated to be at least 20 kg: Good eating certainly, but they put up only token resistance when hooked.

Rick Thomas with the 18 kg gummy shark he caught offshore from Torquay early last week (Picture: Ryan Dickson).

Corio Bay

Snapper aficionados Harley Griffiths and Stanley Owen made a pre-dawn start off Avalon early last week hoping to pick up a snapper of two, but again they found the fish they located on their sounder, just off the aquaculture sites, uncooperative.

However, on this occasion they had included their whiting tackle, and a bag of pipis that were eventually brought into play, but their success was moderate, taking just a modest catch of good size whiting among a plethora of tiddlers and toadies.

Off the beach

Fishing last Monday’s big high tide off 50W along Thirteenth Beach initially proved disappointing for Tony Ingram with too much side drift and floating weed. However, things settled down a bit as the tide began falling, and it wasn’t long before he caught a couple of good size Australian salmon, but nothing after that.

Mark asks:

Geoff, as keen snapper fisherman with 15 year experience on the Port Phillip Bay, I do very well on snapper, but I have yet to catch a really big one. My dad tells me you are the man to ask. Can you give me any tips?

While using a fish head for bait will still take medium size snapper, it not only selectively excludes the smaller fish; it provides an opportunity to fish into the night when sea lice usually destroy softer baits like pilchards

Catch and release: Steve Arthey holding the big tuna alongside before its release (Picture: Nathan Forrester).

Portland

Southern bluefin tuna remain present off Portland, but those being caught are invariably juveniles of 12 kg or so, responding to lures of the appropriate size.

However last week, Geelong anglers Steve Arthey, Nathan Forrester and Jack Jarvis – doyens of several great fish captures – were having none of that, and selectively trolled 12” skirts in the hope of hooking, and then releasing, a large tuna. The day was quiet though, the only sign of activity being the sight of birds circling on the horizon.

Bringing in their tackle and heading over that way, their confidence grew at the surface chaos they beheld; confidence reassured by an explosive strike heralding a tough battle for Nathan that lasted barely 20 minutes in a do-or-die struggle that bought the fish – clearly over 100kg – alongside before its release.

Mark Sesar with a sample of his and Andrew Phillips catch off Indented Head.

Andrew Phillip’s and Mark Sesar’s catch of whiting and squid from Indented Head on Sunday afternoon and evening.

Corio Bay

Taking advantage of good weather on Sunday, Mark Stewart and his five year old son Rylan, headed out off Clifton Springs where they fished on the drift for squid. However, it was anything but an instructional class with the lad hooking up time after time.

If the truth be known, Mark was in fact a deckhand for young Rylan who finished with 7 squid while Mark managed the grand tally of two.

Speaking of squid, they must be about because Andrew Phillips and Mark Sesar took a bag limit catch off indented Head by around 4.00 pm on Sunday despite the challenge of fishing wind against tide. After that, they tried one of their favoured spots for whiting.

They caught enough to keep them interested until slack water shut that bite down, but they stayed until the ebb tide picked up on dusk. Then they were in business once more, and on a better class of fish. They finished with thirty, the biggest measuring 43 cm.

Don Ung with his prize catch from Lauriston Reservoir up past Woodend.

Freshwater

With Lauriston Reservoir – along the Calder Highway north of Woodend – just opened to Kayaks, and with good weather on Sunday, Don Ung was topside soaking a lure.

He was surprised to find he was the only Kayaker out there, and was rewarded for his effort with a trophy size brown trout that looked about 3 kg in the photo.

As part of the State Government’s commitment to have one million participating anglers by 2022, there are plans provide eventual access for craft using electric motors on this water as is now the case at Tullaroop Reservoir.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that the water level in Cairn Curran Reservoir has risen following a recent flush down the Loddon, and hopeful of picking up a yellowbelly or redfin, tried his luck on Sunday using worms for bait.

Although there was plenty of action from carp in the discoloured water, the more desired species failed to show.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that chinook salmon to 2 kg are the main chance at present with pilchard fillets suspended just above the bottom a preferred approach.

Among those to catch these were Mick Giles of Bannockburn, Les Broughton from Geelong, Mick Cummings from Altona and too many others to list.

Rylan Stewart 5, with a sample of the squid he caught off Clifton Springs on Sunday (Picture Mark Stewart).

Steven asks:

On July 23 you explained how the moon affects tides, but I come from South Australia where we experience “dodge tides,” so how do they occur?

These aberrational variants include dodge tides; diminished tidal sequences usually producing only one low and one high tide over a 24 hour period. Dodge tides may occur over several days and are associated with the first and last quarters of the moon.

Leonie Jones of the Maryborough Angling Club with the 66cm Murray cod she caught from Lake Mulwala at the weekend (Picture: Amber Wild).

Freshwater

Soaking a pilchard fillet from the northern bank of Lake Bolac, along the Glenelg Highway during office hours on Friday, Murray Scott was intrigued by a large splash just out from the bank before noticing one of his lines had gone slack.

You guessed it; he’d hooked one of those great rainbow trout this lake is famous for, and which leapt from the water several more times before being coaxed to the bank. It was the only fish he caught though, which – after being gilled and gutted – weighed 2.2kg.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that six members visited Lake Mulwala at Yarrawonga for their monthly competition over the weekend for a total catch of nine Murray cod. Chicken was the best bait, out-fishing everything else.

Their largest cod measured 70cm and was taken by Greg Street while Leonie Jones was runner up with one of 66cm.

Kevin also reports that club member Danny Miller fished Lake Tullaroop at the weekend taking a good catch of redfin to 35cm while trolling lures at some depth using a downrigger.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that good size brown trout are still on offer: Warren Hails of Sunshine caught one of just on 2kg, while Melbourne angler Leigh Ryan caught one that weighed 3.4kg. Both were caught trolling.

Greg Street of the Maryborough Angling Club with his 70cm Murray cod from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Amber Wild).

Corio Bay Bellarine Peninsula

It’s been lean pickings for whiting on Corio Bay following our recent bad weather, but Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien, who – after making several moves – hit a good patch off the Leopold Caravan parks on Friday afternoon that yielded 20 fish 40 cm.

But that was before the undersize pinkies moved in at around 4.00 pm and there were hoards of those. Moving elsewhere proved no salvation either for the little blighters seemed to everywhere.

Harley Griffiths and Stanley Owen were out on Corio Bay before daybreak in their search for snapper late last week, finding a sure indication of same on their sounder off Point Lillias, but despite their best efforts they proved unco-operative.

Returning to the ramp, a flock of circling birds caught their attention and salvaged their trip with any amount of Australian salmon to 800 grams or so taking their lures.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head was on the verge of repetitive strain injury after cleaning bucket loads of flathead taken by clients who picked them up on the drift toward the end of last week. Squid were present too said Rod but somewhat patchy.

Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck found them scarce as well, coming up dry on their first few drifts out that way on Saturday morning, but moving into deeper water proved fruitful though with the first of these tasty cephalopods coming aboard.

As is usually the case with this persistent pair, they fished well into the afternoon and finished up with a bag limit catch that included a couple around the 1.5 kg mark.

Murray Scott snapped this shot of the rainbow trout he caught from Lake Bolac on Friday.

Conrad asks

I’ve been persuaded to use lead-cored line for added depth when trolling for trout in the Camperdown Lakes. The problem is that I am having difficulties attaching it to the backing on my reel. Can you offer any suggestions please?