Geoff Wilson’s Fishing Knots And Rigs

Shane Murphy with a couple of nice bream from the Hopkins River at Warrnambool (Picture: Richardson Marine).

My apologies to all who tried to ring me via landline over the weekend, my changeover to NBN on Friday having been a complete disaster. Since then I’ve been unable to receive landline calls, my caller ID no longer works and my internet service is now running like a lame dog. Hopefully, these issues will soon be resolved.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Seizing the opportunity to be out on the water when the winds settled on Friday afternoon, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien headed out to one of their usually productive whiting spots offshore from the Leopold Caravan Parks, but were disappointed with a catch of only three whiting. Mind you they were good size fish, the biggest around the 40 cm mark.

Undaunted as usual, they worked their way back to Clifton Springs, trying quite a few spots along the way, but – save for catching a toadfish – they added nothing to their lean bag, They didn’t even catch any of the undersize pinkie snapper that have been a given in recent times.

An improvement in the weather on Friday proved a blessing for Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head with clients taking reasonable catches of flathead and squid, but there was no sign of a whiting.

A daybreak start from Indented Head proved productive for Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck who covered a good deal of ground in their quest for squid. Beginning in just over two metres of water, they eventually found some good patches in clear water as they moved out deeper, finally finishing up with a respectable catch, their biggest specimen approaching 2 kg.

Bob McPherson took this photo of a breaching whale from the Lee Breakwater at Portland on Friday.

Freshwater

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete reports that fishing has been generally quiet even though some good size brown trout were allegedly taken by anglers that included several fly-fishermen who neglected to leave any details at the office.

However, Tom Ireland, who’d journeyed all the way from Adelaide to fish the lake, caught several chinook salmon using the time-honoured approach of suspending pilchard fillets just above the bottom.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that it’s hard to go past Tullaroop Reservoir at present with redfin the main catch. Among the successful anglers here last week were Kevin’s father John, and John Gray, who – after having little success trolling – began using their good old bobbers, which did the trick.

An early morning trip to Tullaroop proved a winner for club member Trevor Perry who caught a 53 cm rainbow trout while fishing from the bank with Berkley Powerbait.

Nearby Cairn Curran Reservoir has also been productive with Sean Crombie taking both redfin and golden perch (yellowbelly) while fishing from his boat using worms for bait.

Kevin says that club members are itching to make another visit to Lake Mulwala following reports of Murray cod to a metre or so being taken; Jackall Gantarel Swimbaits – soft bodied lures measuring up to 160 mm – bringing home the goods. Needless to say they’ve become a scarce commodity up that way.

Roland asks:

Geoff, the recent focus on the moon landing in July 1969 has prompted my question:

The second tidal bulge, which is manifest on the opposite side of the Earth, is caused by the centrifugal force generated as the Earth and moon revolve around their common centre of mass.

Elbow-slapper: Ivan Bereza with a good sample of the whiting to be currently caught from Corio Bay.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Prior to the weather turning sour last week, Ivan Bereza and a companion were out after whiting, their first couple of drops producing no bites. However, it was third time lucky with a good session east of Point Henry that saw them through until after dark.

They were good size fish to begin with, with some approaching the 40 cm mark. After that though a number of smaller, though legal size fish moved in on their baits, along with the undersize pinkies that usually turn up, but sunset saw the arrival of some genuine elbow-slappers that topped up their final tally of 30 keepers.

Warehou (snotty trevalla) have been caught from Cunningham Pier and that’s where Andrew Phillips fished on Tuesday, his rich berley of poultry pellets and fish scraps soaked in tuna oil, soon had a good bite going. Andrew’s final tally was 25 snotties to 30 cm and 25 mullet to 34 cm, all being caught on pipis and chicken.

With winds in the westerly quarter early last week, Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head had several boats out, and while fishing relatively close to, and in the shelter of the shore, they caught a number of squid from surprisingly clear water.

Prospects

With fewer reports than usual due to rough weather over the past week or so, it’s worth looking at prospects for the coming week and weekend.

Tomorrow night is the July full moon, which – historically speaking – has been something of a standout for those seeking winter snapper on Corio Bay.

One memorable example occurred on the1981 July full moon when a companion and I caught any amount between the North Shore Rocks and the Corio Channel. Mind you the bay was flat calm both on that night and the nights following, giving us plenty of scope with a rowing boat, portable sounder, a bag of pilchards and at that time, no bag limit.

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports freshwater locations did not receive much attention during last week’s rough conditions either. However, a drive-by at the Cairn Curran Reservoir boat ramp revealed a couple of hardy souls had taken several small redfin and golden perch (yellowbelly).

Although I have no recent reports from Lake Purrumbete, there is no doubt that trophy size brown trout remain on offer along with a good many smaller specimens of both browns and rainbows along with chinook salmon and redfin, the latter arguably being the main catch from this water.

Speaking of redfin, Lake Tullaroop near Maryborough continues as one of our most productive waters. It also has a good population of trophy size brown trout, very few of which seem to be actively targeted by anglers, the majority of whom fish for redfin.

Ollie asks:

Geoff, I’ve been fishing in the Barwon estuary of mulloway this year with some success, but following the recent fresh and discoloured water there hasn’t been much doing at all. So, judging from your report last week, they may be caught off the beach at Ocean Grove: My questions are, which beach, and what is the approach?

From evening through until after dark is probably the best time to fish though, with suitable low tides for the evening exercise extending through October, November and December.

Peter Galvin with his 3.56kg brown trout from Lake Purrumbete.

Fishing Lake Purrumbete just on dark last week was Peter Galvin when the 75mm Daiwa, Double Clutch he was casting toward the edge of a weed bank, was taken.

The protagonist, a 69cm brown trout that later weighed 3.56kg, repeatedly leapt from the surface before heading for deeper water on the other side of the boat where it performed further acrobatics before finishing up in the landing net.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that others to take trophy size brown trout included Chris Farrugia of Oaklands Junction whose catch included one of 4.1kg; the biggest of three he caught while trolling bibbed minnows, while Declan Betts of Colac caught two browns of 1.8kg apiece on Z-man soft plastics.

Redfin continue to be the main catch from the lake though, and among those to do well on these was Tom Hogan of Drysdale who caught several on live minnow, along with two chinook salmon.

Wednesday saw the liberation of 1600 cheetah trout (brook and rainbow trout hybrids) and 400 brown trout, into Lake Purrumbete as part of our State Government’s commitment to having one million anglers participating by 2020.

Also of interest is that Bannockburn Lagoon, Saint Augustine’s Water Hole in Highton/Waurn Ponds, and Lethbridge Lake have been stocked with rainbow trout for the school holidays and are providing good fishing.

Peter Galvin’s catch of whiting taken offshore from Curlewis.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Peter Galvin, on the day following his trout capture at Lake Purrumbete, fished offshore from Curlewis on Corio Bay, where – in 7 metres of water, and using pipis and squid for bait – he took a bag limit catch of whiting that ranged in size from 30 to 43 cm; the action being so hot at times he ended up using just one rod, rather than the two he began with.

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that Lachlan Hill also caught his legal bag of whiting off Curlewis, the best being 39cm.

As usual, Andrew Johnson, his son Tim, and Dennis O’Brien took respectable catches of whiting on Friday afternoon, and again on Saturday when they were a little harder to find.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that flathead were the main catch last week, and like several others who were fishing down that way, reported that the usually abundant squid were absent.

With catching squid their intention on Saturday, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar, arrived at the Indented Head boat ramp to be confronted an easterly blowing right in their faces. As it turned out, that may have been a blessing in disguise for the squid had shut down around much of the peninsula last week.

Anyway, re-locating to Point Richards was a good move, said Andrew, for they found a good patch, their biggest squid weighing 1.2kg.

Ivan Bereza also shows the quality of whiting currently present in Corio Bay.

On the Beach

Fishing Friday’s daybreak low tide at Ocean Grove, Tony Ingram was relieved not to be troubled by the bait-thieving crabs so often present here, but his baits were mauled by what were obviously small fish of some sort.

However, when the tide began coming in, pushing him further up the beach, the small bites ended, but a couple of heavier pulls followed by slack line had him wondering.

He was right onto the third such bite, hooking what was obviously a good size fish that turned out to be a mulloway measuring 94cm, and which created some interest from folk walking their dogs along the beach.

Cheetah trout, a sample of 1600 that were released into Lake Purrumbete last week.

Evelyn Asks:

Geoff, we are big on eels. Having just moved to Belmont in Geelong we are looking for a place to catch them. Can you help please?

Jack Jarvis with the 116 kg tuna he caught offshore from Port MacDonnell last week (Picture: Steve Arthey).

Portland

Early last week, Jack Jarvis, Nathan Forester and Steve Arthey headed offshore from Portland, and on reaching a depth of 50 metres, put out a spread of lures that soon resulted in a strike.

To their surprise, the protagonist turned out to be a mako shark of about 70kg that took a green skirt. But, with the constant presence of killer whales, and perhaps for that reason no sign of tuna, they re-located to Port MacDonnell just over the South Australian border where they fished the following day.

After an early start they headed toward bird activity in the east where Jack hooked a tuna that later weighed 116kg. It kept him busy for two hours, during which time they’d travelled another 5 kilometres out to sea before subduing the prize catch, which – they discovered back at the cleaning tables – had been gorging on squid.

Southern right whales provided a spectacle for bystanders as they swam alongside the Lee Breakwater at Portland at the weekend (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

With squid on the go around the Bellarine Peninsula, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed down to Indented Head on Wednesday. While there was little wind, the ebbing tide provided sufficient coverage over productive ground for each to take their respective bag limit catches of squid, and there were some good ones among them.

Undeterred by the fog early last week, Harley Griffiths and Stanley Owen were out off Clifton Springs, but – although they managed to catch several squid – the whiting did not become compliant until the early afternoon ebb tide. From then on though, they picked up a respectable catch, including a couple approaching 40 cm, using pipis for bait.

Winter snapper aficionados have also been out during the cold nights we’ve had of late, and – although they’ve been regularly sounding up what are almost certainly good size pods of fish from the Geelong Waterfront to Corio – very few have been caught, which is usually the case with the falling water temperatures we’ve experienced of late.

Amber Wild with her prize-winning redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Freshwater

Lake Tullaroop near Maryborough continues to be a productive location, particularly for redfin, and on Friday, Kevin Wild and his father John picked up 29, the biggest just on a kilogram.

Kevin reports that on Sunday, The Maryborough Angling Club had a competition on the lake which was won by Amber Wild with a 43 cm redfin. Her father Don Rayner came second while Leone James came third.

They were all fishing from the same boat and trolling Feralcatt lures, which certainly produced a great result on the redfin, but seeing several large brown trout following their lures back to the boat without striking was frustrating.

After making a cold start on Lake Purrumbete, Rod Shepherd began his usual assault on the redfin with an assortment of lures including a Pontoon 21 Flash, J Huddles and Magbites, initially with only moderate success, but by 3.00 pm he had what many would have described as a respectable catch.

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that few anglers have been out of late with elements ranging from dense fog to heavy rain, but – as an item of interest – on Wednesday (tomorrow) afternoon, a trial release of 1400 cheetah trout, a hybrid species; brook trout (male) and rainbow trout (female), will be released into the lake.

Hybrid cheetah trout, 1400 of which are being released into Lake Purrumbete tomorrow afternoon (Picture: Victorian Fisheries Authority).

Tony asks:

Geoff, I watched a Foxtel program recently that featured an item on swell sharks, and if they are not our common draughtboard shark, I’ll eat my metaphorical hat. What was of most interest is that they are said – and were visually demonstrated to be – bioluminescent, meaning they glow in the dark. I’ve caught heaps of them, mainly at night and never seen one glow in the dark: Can you shed some light on this?

Callum Ritchie with a 103kg bluefin tuna that he caught offshore from Portland aboard Magnet Fishing Charter.

This 64.5kg tuna caught by Isaac Zannit was carrying a long-liner’s hook (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Portland

Bob McPherson reports that barrel size tuna are still turning up offshore from Portland and among those to catch one last week was Callum Ritchie who was fishing with skipper Jason Farrugia aboard Magnet Charters.

Callum’s fish weighed 103kg and took a lure in 60 metres of water off Cape Bridgewater. Also successful was noted Western Port angler Sean Furtiere, and skipper of “Think Big” charters, who picked up another of 114.6kg from much the same area.

Of some interest was the capture of a tuna weighing 64.5kg by Isaac Zannit that was carrying a long-liner’s hook, which – judging by the associated scaring – had been there for some time.

Jony Ai Ung and David Dean with the gummy shark they caught on Saturday.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

After a very cold daybreak start on Saturday, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar were again on the whiting trail off Point Henry, but initially those they caught were small; barely legal size fish that they returned.

As usual they persisted, and out in 7 metres of water toward Leopold, they struck a much better class of fish, finishing up with their respective bag limit catches, their biggest fish nudging 42cm while using pipis and squid for bait.

Also on Saturday, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien were astonished to see a virtual armada of craft in their favourite whiting possie the Leopold’s caravan parks, persuading a re-think of what to do. After some discussion, they anchored up inshore from the fleet, and put their lines out while planning a strategy.

That was from about 9.30 am onwards during the last of the outgoing tide. They probably wouldn’t have stayed there had they not picked up a couple of good size fish. It was slow going though, but that all changed when the tide began coming in during the afternoon, precipitating a frantic bite from which they each took bag limit catches.

They tried for a repeat performance on Sunday to find another boat right in the spot where they’d fished the previous day. Never the less, they fished nearby and again picked up their respective bag limit catch of whiting to 40cm.

Also on the whiting, but off St Leonards on this occasion, were Jeff Richards of Indented Head and Chris Hateley of the Keysborough Angling Club. They found the fishing slow, but picked up eight really nice fish while their colleague, ABC radio fishing correspondent and president of the Keysborough Angling Club, Colin Wilkinson, and his companion who were fishing nearby, took a total of 24 whiting to 42cm.

Amber Wild with a sample of the redfin currently on offer at Tullaroop Reservoir, near Maryborough.

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that things have been pretty quiet of late, but Scott Gray, along with Mark and Luke Gerkovich caught several brown trout between two and 3kg.

Also successful was Michael McKay of the Ballarat Fly Fishers Club whose catch included several brown trout in the same size range, naturally enough, on the fly.

Keryn Millard with one of the blue eye trevalla she caught over the weekend (Picture Bob McPherson).

Western Port

On Saturday morning Jony Ai Ung and David Dean launched from Hastings on Western Port and headed over to Corinella in search of a gummy shark. Unfortunately, those they caught were small; just pups really, so they headed south to Western Port’s eastern entrance and out from San Remo, they marked up some fish in 30 metres of water. Unfortunately, they dropped their first fish, a good size gummy. The second, a gummy of possibly 12kg, wasn’t so lucky and finished up as flake.

Ollie asks:I was fishing offshore from Point Wilson recently and was surrounded by a flock of penguins. I’ve fished the bay, and offshore from Point Wilson where this sighting occurred, for many years and have only seen the occasional penguin, but not as many as on this occasion.

Have you heard of penguins like this in the Point Wilson area, and what species would they be?

Ollie, I too have seen only the very occasional penguin on the bay, but like you, others have asked me about penguins on the bay. My information is that there is a penguin rookery on the north side of Corio Bay but I don’t know of its exact location, my source not being specific on that aspect.

While know very little about penguins, a web search suggests they are little penguins (Eudyptula minor), which are sometimes referred to as fairy penguins.

Dan Hoey and Julian Thomson with a 149 kg tuna taken aboard Salty Dog Charters (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Portland

Bob McPherson reports that while most of the tuna currently being taken off Portland are juveniles to 18 kg or so, big fish are still on offer. Among the successful anglers last week were Sean Carter and Simon Minto whose catch on Friday included one of 110kg while fishing with skipper Jayson Turner aboard Pro Red Fishing charters. Prior to that Salty Dog Charter’s clients Dan Hoey and Julian Thomson took fish of 124 and 149kg.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

On Saturday afternoon, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar were out off Point Henry to catch the high tide change, and hopefully a good whiting bite during the ensuing ebb, and as it turned out they weren’t disappointed.

They found their quarry in around 7 metres of water north east of the Winchester site, and within three hours, each had taken their respective bag limit catches of whiting with their bigger fish over the 40cm mark.

On Sunday, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien found a good patch of fish off Hermsley Road, Curlewis from which they caught possibly fifty fish, returning all but fifteen really good ones measuring 34cm or better.

Squid also made their presence felt by grabbing a whiting or two, something which saw a shift in focus to catching squid of which they caught eight, including two weighing 1.5kg apiece.

Speaking of squid, Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that when last week’s weather allowed access, these tasty cephalopods were far and away the main catch and there were some good ones among them. Whiting were scarce though said Rod, but flathead saved the day for some.

Simon Minto, Sean Carter and Pro Red Fishing Charters skipper, Jayson Turner with Friday’s 110 kg tuna (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Off the Beach

Early last week, Tony Ingram fished the evening high tide from the beach at Jan Juc where, as is usually the case, there was no shortage of Australian salmon. Unfortunately, most were on the small side, so hoping for something decent, he fished into the night for a gummy shark or perhaps even a mulloway, sacrificing part of his salmon catch for bait.

Tony did eventually hook an obviously good size fish: It felt like a gummy shark he said, but after a minute or so it escaped, along with his hook and trace: Almost certainly a shark, but not a gummy.

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the weekend was fairly quiet with few fish taken, but among the successful anglers was Colby Lesko whose catch included a brown trout of 2kg and several chinook salmon.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that nearby Lake Tullaroop has become a popular destination with many, including he and wife Amber, taking respectable catches of redfin.

Brown trout have also been caught by anglers specifically targeting them, said Kevin, with morning and evening possibly the most productive times to seek them.

Mark Sesar and Andrew Phillips with a sample of Saturday’s whiting catch.

Hugo asks:

Geoff, I’ve heard reports of salmon being caught at Cinema Point, which is on the way to Lorne, but it’s a cliff and any access seems to be through private property. Are you able to provide any information about accessing this spot and the tackle required?

Hugo, while there may be other points of access to the rocks under Cinema Point since I fished there during the early 80s, the approach shown to me by the late Ron Kitchen was to park in the cleared area on the left hand side of the Great Ocean Road as it climbs from the beach and turns right after crossing Spout Creek, which is just past Eastern View.

From here, there’s a track down the slope to Grassy Creek, through which you can wade before proceeding along the rocky shoreline to the south west where you will eventually come across a large cave at the base of the cliff. The obvious rock platform from which you can fish is just past that. From memory, it’s about a 20 minute walk from where you park your car.

As for tackle, you can fish on the bottom with baited hooks, but it is a bit snaggy so you might first try casting with lures, and if salmon are about you should soon get a strike.

Charter boat skipper Matt Cini and his deckhand Rambo Lawson with their 169 kg tuna (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Portland

By mid-day on Thursday, clients aboard Matt Cini’s “Reel Time Charters” had all taken their respective bag limits of southern bluefin tuna, when – while passing Cape Sir William Grant on their return to Portland – a lure deckhand Rambo Lawson had out was taken.

The tuna he hooked was not only the catch of the day, but at 169 kg, and stretching the tape out to 2.5 metres from its nose to the tail fork, it was the biggest tuna taken from Portland’s waters since Ken Hines and Cameron Ordner of Port Fairy caught the first of these big fish back in June 2006. And, as far as we know, it’s the second biggest fish of this species taken on rod and reel in Australia.

Scott Gray of Warrnambool with a sample of the trophy size brown trout to be caught from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Scott Gray).

Scott Gray and Colby Lesko with another sample of their catches of brown trout and redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: Scott Gray).

Offshore

Chris Stamalos made a daybreak start in perfect weather off Barwon Heads on Saturday, but – as is sometimes the case in such conditions – there was nothing doing.

But he stuck it out, and his luck changed around mid-day when one of his rods buckled over; line howling from his reel to the tune of a 28 kg school shark that Chris – in the closing stages of the engagement – had to disentangle from his anchor rope, an exercise costing him his sinker and a hook but thankfully, not his prize catch.

Chris Stamalos with the 28kg school shark he caught off Barwon Heads on Saturday.

Andrew Phillips with Mark and Tina Sesar, and Saturday’s whiting catch.

Corio Bay

Also making a daybreak start on Saturday, Andrew Phillips, along with Mark and Tina Sesar fished their favourite whiting patch east of Point Henry, but – as has been the case lately – most of the fish they caught, although better than legal size, were somewhat smaller than we have come to expect.

Eventually though, after a series of moves, they located a patch of larger fish in 6.5 metres of water offshore from the Winchester factory, and from which they each took their respective bag limit catches.

Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien, along with Chris Mortimer, also found the larger whiting somewhat hard to come by, but eventually they found a productive patch of better fish between Hermsley Road Curlewis and the Leopold caravan parks. They kept 15 of these, returning many more legal size but smaller fish.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that his clients caught plenty of squid over the weekend, and there were some good size specimens among them. Whiting were scarce though said Rod, with flathead saving the day for most. However, one group returned somewhat shaken following a close encounter with what they described as a large shark.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club with a 49 cm redfin (Picture: Amber Wild).

Lake Tullaroop boat ramp offers a relatively smooth ride down but is somewhat bumpy at the bottom, which will be undoubtedly be the case until we get more rain. (Picture: Amber Wild).

Freshwater

Kevin and Amber Wild of the Maryborough and Club, and Amber’s dad Don Rayner, fished Lake Tullaroop near Maryborough over the weekend for a good catch of redfin to 49 cm. And, they weren’t the only ones to do so with possibly 50 craft on the water over the weekend.

Some of their fish were taken while jigging with bobbers in 13 metres of water, while others were taken downrigging.

John Clements of Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that brown trout are still on offer with Chris Farrugia, and his son Charlie of Oaklands Junction, picking up eight to 3kg, of which they returned seven. These were taken both by surface trolling and downrigging.

Chinook salmon are still being taken as well, said John, with Tim Beusmans of Geelong catching several to 1.5kg or so on a Daiwa Double Clutch, while Yuri Corbett of St Albans took a similar catch on cut pilchard fished just above the bottom.

Don Rayner with one of his redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Amber Wild).

Kevin and Amber Wild with a sample of their catch of redfin (Picture: Amber Wild).

Steve asks:

Geoff, I was fishing with live bait in the Barwon estuary recently when my rod began shaking violently. On retrieving my line, I found the live fish I’d been using for bait had been bitten in half: What would that have been?

Kevin Wild and John Gray with their catch of redfin from Lake Tullaroop at the weekend (Picture: Amber Wild).

Freshwater

With the recent opening of Lake Tullaroop, near Maryborough, to Kayaks and boats powered with electric motors, has been a boon to anglers with some really class redfin being taken, including one measuring 50.5 cm caught by Brad Sturgess of Castlemaine.

Maryborough Angling Club members have been to the fore with Kevin and Amber Wild, John Gray, Jon Dukker and his daughter Imogen, all taking good size redfin while others were fortunate enough to pick up several respectable brown trout.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the large brown trout this water is famous for were well represented in last week’s catches with Scott Gray and Colby Lesko taking several while trolling OSP bent minnows and a number of redfin in cast and retrieve mode.

Scott also hooked a large fish that emptied his reel of line, the speculation being that this may well have been an XOS chinook salmon.

Others to catch brown trout from this water included Luke Gercovich who picked up three beauties trolling a Daiwa Double Clutch.

Kevin Wild with another good size redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Amber Wild).

Corio Bay

Australian salmon have been a saviour for a good many fishing trips on Corio Bay, and that was the case for Harley Griffiths and Stanley Owen who headed out off Avalon last week despite less than pleasant conditions.

An early start in the hope of catching snapper as has been their good fortune of late while at anchor in front of the aquaculture sites, proved fruitless for – apart from a banjo shark or two – there wasn’t much doing, but on heading back to the ramp, the sight of birds wheeling overhead prompted a lure fishing exercise.

While there was no surface activity to speak of, the salmon were there alright, taking their lures with alacrity, the largest among their catch being close to a kilogram.

Brad Sturgess with a 50.5cm redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Amber Wild).

Whiting aficionados, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien had no trouble finding their target species on Saturday, but were frustrated by the downward shift in size, and this was the case in all areas they fished between Hermsley Road Curlewis and The Dell at Clifton Springs.

While most of their fish were above legal size, the larger fish, those in the high 30s and low 40s, and which usually make up the greater portion of their catch, were missing.

Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck who fished the early afternoon high tide change on the Leopold side of Point Henry, found a better class of fish and took their respective bag limit catches on the ebb tide using pipis for bait. Also included in their catch were several good size leatherjackets and flathead.

Hugh Bloink with one of the tailor he caught from Mill Point at Lake Tyers.

On the Beach

Octogenarian angler Hugh Bloink of Mount Duneed, has a house at Lake Tyers Beach in East Gippsland from which he has just returned having spent ten days or so.

His passion is fishing the surf from which he caught innumerable Australian salmon with 40 gram metal lures on which he replaced the trebles with single hooks, which he advises, provides a more secure hold on these leaping speedsters.

Come the rough weather though, the surf became virtually unfishable, but with more than one string to his bow, Hugh fished at Mill Point inside the lake, where he broke out the light tackle, and fishing with a single size 1 hook, a light running sinker and wire trace he caught several tailor, the biggest around the 1.5 kg mark, using chicken for bait.

Imogen Dukker with her redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Amber Wild).

Ollie asks:

I fish mainly in summer, but have been tempted to try for the Corio Bay winter snapper. Can you give me any tips?

Jason Andriske with one of three large brown trout he caught from Lake Tullaroop last Tuesday (Picture: Amber Wild).

Ernie Ollington with a nice redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Amber Wild).

Freshwater

Maryborough Angling Club has actively lobbied to have boat access to nearby Lake Tullaroop, and on Tuesday last – along with a ministerial visit – this water was indeed opened to kayaks and boats powered with electric motors, and which included boats that were also equipped with fuel powered motors.

Some excellent fish were taken during this event that included a brown trout of 4.5 kg, one of three caught by Maryborough angler Jason Andriske, while redfin, some over the 45 cm mark, were taken by (among others) Ernie Ollington and Brad Sturgess.

At Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park, John Clements reports that although the fishing has been slow, Les Boughton of Geelong caught several chinook salmon to 1.5 kg while Mitch Lee of Greendale had no trouble catching redfin to 800 grams or so on soft plastics.

Keith Fry with a snapper he caught recently off Barwon Heads.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

With a break in the weather last Wednesday, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed off to their usually productive whiting spot to the east of Point Henry, and – while they did catch a few whiting – their baits attracted a good many leatherjackets.

A series of moves located a better class of whiting, some well above the 40 cm mark, and fewer leatherjackets, and by 9.00 am or so they were well on their way to their respective bag limit catches. Also included in their catch were several good size flathead, the biggest measuring 55 cm, and on this occasion, very few undersize pinkie snapper.

On Friday afternoon Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien, headed down to Curlewis in benign conditions in spite of an unfavourable forecast, and caught six good size whiting before the predicted north-westerly came up, persuading their return to the boat ramp.

However, they decided to have one last try at The Dell before retrieving the boat, and as it happened they caught another 24, bringing their tally to 30 before calling it a day. But even with the rough weather they may have tried for their respective bag limits except it was Dennis’ birthday and celebrations had been pre-arranged so their choice was made.

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that with good weather early last week, the boat harbour was busy with a variety of fish, including whiting, being taken.

Among the successful anglers were Dominic Nappi and Graham Brown who returned with respectable bags of whiting taken offshore from Hermsley Road Curlewis, using mussel and pipi for bait.

Tom and Ray Doolan with their 106 kg tuna from Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Portland

Down Portland way, tuna continue to be caught, but Bob McPherson reports that most are juveniles to 18 kg or so. However, Tom and Ben Doolan, who were clients of Reelmen Charters, picked up a good one on Thursday that weighed 106 kg.

Chris Stamalos aboard “True Blue” offshore from Surfers Paradise with a 15 kg cobia.

Upstate

Chris Stamalos, whom we often feature in the column, was in Brisbane last week, and along with friend Ian Todd, took a run up to Surfers Paradise where a fishing trip was on the agenda, and aboard the charter boat “True Blue” – along with several other clients – they headed offshore.

The fishing tended to be a little slow, but they’d already caught some live slimy mackerel for bait; so when another charter boat called them over to a hot cobia bite, they were ready to go. But as sometimes happens, the bite had all but finished by their arrival, never the less, Chris caught what turned out to be the catch of the day, a cobia weighing 15 kg.

Brad Sturgess with a pair of redfin from Lake Tullaroop (Picture: Amber Wild).

Joshua asks:

Geoff, I spooled my Abu surf–casting reel with an expensive braided line, but I keep getting backlashes that snap the line when I cast out. Is there a solution?

The solution is to tighten the casting control on your reel to the point that a sharp pull on the line, with the reel in casting mode, is sufficient to restrict the rotation of your spool to no more than a couple of revolutions. This may impede your casting distance to some extent, but that is the solution to your problem.

Ben King and Darcy Scott with a sample of their offshore catch from Barwon Heads on Saturday (Picture: Murray Scott).

Ben King and Darcy Scott with the snapper they caught offshore from Barwon Heads on Saturday (Picture Murray Scott).

Offshore

With the promise of good weather, Chris Stamalos was out off Barwon Heads by 6.00 am, but having anchored up in 30 metres of water, the fishing was as quiet as the weather.

However, at around 9.00 pm, one of his rods buried over, his reel singing to the tune of a snapper that weighed 4.6 kg. Three more followed before the bite was over as suddenly as it had started.

On Saturday morning Keith Fry and Gary Maya made an early start off Barwon Heads in 37 metres of water for a final tally of 12 snapper from around a kilogram to 4.6kg, while Murray and Darcy Scott and Ben King – who were fishing out in 50 metres – not only caught a couple of good size snapper but several large gummy shark as well.

Chris Stamalos with a sample of the snapper he caught last week off Barwon Heads.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Salmon have been plentiful in Corio Bay, and among those to find them on Saturday morning were Justin and Katryna Burns. They found a good patch to 800 grams or so near Cunningham Pier that responded to the cast and retrieve of soft plastics.

Andrew Phillips and Mark Sesar were out on one of their favourite whiting spots to the east of Point Henry on Thursday morning in perfect weather conditions. The fishing was pretty good as well with both anglers taking bag limit catches of whiting by 10.00 am while using pipis for bait in 5.5 metres of water.

Squid were also numerous, engulfing some of the whiting they’d hooked, which prompted the breaking out of squid jigs to good effect. Their biggest squid weighed 1.6 kg, while the biggest whiting they caught measured an impressive 45 cm.

Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien were also harassed by large squid while whiting fishing off Curlewis on Thursday afternoon, and cast out a squid jig or two.

Russell Knott with yet another great gummy shark from the South Channel. The bait used was yellowtail scad (yakka). (Picture: Courtesy of Steve Chamberlain).

While they caught a few small ones, they couldn’t interest the bigger specimens, but that all changed with a dedicated squid trip on Saturday morning that yielded their respective bag limits within an hour, most coming from 7 metres of water.

Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire also reports that squid were the main catch last week with Paul Holwell of Eden catching them with mantle lengths to 40 cm over the grass beds off The Dell, while Chris Metcalfe and Nick Veldhuis caught both flathead and squid offshore from the boat harbour.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head also reports that flathead and squid have been the main catch from Portarlington down to St Leonards, along with several good size whiting, mainly as accidental captures from the deeper water while fishing on the drift for flathead.

Aire River

Grant Pendlebury took a run down to Hordern Vale last week where he put in an extended stay on the Aire for six bream. The biggest weighed 1.5 kg, the sound of his Shimano Baitrunner awakening him during the night; something of a change to an earlier disturbance caused by hoons who seem to turn up anywhere these days to inflict their mischief on law-abiding citizens.

Mark Sesar and Andrew Phillips with their mixed bag of fish, mainly whiting and squid, that they caught from Corio Bay east of Point Henry.

Mark Sesar with a couple of the squid taken by he and Andrew Phillips.

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that the 31 members attended their monthly fishing competition at Lake Mulwala. Only 7 Murray cod were caught, the biggest measured 70 cm and was taken by Jason Lorenz. Kevin was second with a fish of 56 cm. The poor result was put down to heavily discoloured water coming down the Murray from recent rain.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the boat ramp at Lake Purrumbete is now open. Trophy size brown trout are still on offers said John, as evidenced by large fish lost rather than caught. However, Uri Corbett did catch several Chinook salmon to a kilogram or so.

The late David Cervinski with a snapper he caught from Corio Bay on October 13, 2016.

Vale David Cervinski

Former soccer star, David Cervinski, who passed away last week, is not only mourned by followers of the beautiful game but by folk from several different walks of life, for Dave knew many people. His many and various skills extended to fishing, although he was somewhat shy of the limelight as a diary notation of October 13, 2016 illustrates:

On that occasion, friend Ivan and I had arranged to meet Dave at Limeburner’s boat ramp, but he was a no-show at the appointed time. A quick exchange on the mobile phone revealed he’d had taken a run over to Curlewis to catch some squid for bait, and did so before eventually picking us up to try for a snapper or two.

We caught three as it happened, the biggest around 6 kg, and left them biting at 7.30 pm, all being caught on Dave’s freshly caught squid within short run from the boat ramp, but he asked me not to identify him in my report the following Tuesday, or use my photo of him in the paper … but maybe that’s OK now.