Geoff Wilson’s Fishing Knots And Rigs

Daniel and Matthew Kirby with their snapper catch Clifton Springs over the weekend.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Snapper are still about along with tales of mixed fortune:

Keith Fry and Gary Mayer were at their preferred location near the channel junction off Curlewis by daybreak on Sunday, along with about thirty boats, and more on the way as the morning wore on, but there wasn’t much doing except small pinkies and flathead.

But they sat it out, and as the tide finished running off around mid-day, Keith’s light tackle, with which he was fishing straight down for pinkies and flathead, screamed off.

His line had almost gone before he tightened the drag, straightening out the hook, while the second hook remained intact with an undersize pinkie still attached.

At that point each of their two snapper rods screamed off, eventually becoming entangled, and – to add insult to injury – they pulled the hooks free on both of those fish.

Ron Shepherd with his rainbow trout from Lake Elingamite near Cobden (Picture: Ron Shepherd).

At this point, another boat anchored close by, and to Keith’s and Gary’s consternation, one of the occupants, caught a good size snapper almost immediately, his whooping and hollering at this event being of sufficient volume to turn all heads within earshot.

Chris Stamalos fished for trevally under the lights of the Yacht Club Jetty last week, but – apart from the large number of small squid he could see in the lights – there was nothing doing, and the relatively large squid jigs he had, failed to arouse any interest.

Returning with some 1.8” jigs the following night, he caught his bag of these pocket size cephalopods, and – with this supply of fresh bait – he too fished off Clifton Springs on Saturday night, hoping to catch a snapper.

However, although his freshly caught squid aroused no interest, he did catch a reasonable school and gummy shark on silver whiting, along with a 58 cm flathead: Great table fare certainly, but no snapper.

Among those who did catch snapper at the weekend were Daniel and Matthew Kirby who fished off Clifton springs on the weekend, catching two snapper weighing 6.6 and 7.5 kg.

After sharing in the glory of several snapper sessions recently, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien went on the hunt for whiting on Sunday,.

And, not in vain either, for although their first couple of moves produced only small fish, a move into around 4.5 metres of water off Curlewis, soon produced a respectable bag of fish to 40 cm.

Clint Hotchin with his 46 cm redfin from Lake Toolondo (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Freshwater

Trevor Holmes of Victorian Inland Charters had the task of entertaining several Geelong Anglers on Lake Toolondo over the weekend. They included Clint Hotchin whose catch included a 46 cm redfin, that took a Diawa Double Clutch minnow cast to the weed-beds, while his son Cooper caught a rainbow trout just shy of 3 kg on a 4” J Huddle fish arrow.

Fishing Taylors Lake near Horsham over the weekend were Kevin Wild and Amber Stone. While their catch was a modest of redfin, another angler who’d been trolling lures on the lake, was pleased to show off the three respectable yellowbelly he caught. He also mentioned catching three Murray cod, which were returned.

Rod Shepherd put in a session on Lake Elingamite up Cobden way on Sunday where he hooked a big one, that – in his own words – led him a merry dance before it spat the hook. Never-the-less, his consolation prize was a rainbow trout of about a kilogram. Both being hooked on a Pontoon 21 Tantalisa 70, broken-back minnow.

Cooper Hotchin with his rainbow trout from Lake Toolondo (Picture: Victorian Inland Charters).

Peter asks:

Geoff; I notice in an article you once wrote on snapper fishing, you recommended using a heavier trace than the main line. None of my mates use any trace at all and they catch heaps of snapper using a tiny ball sinker on the line and a hook tied to the end of the line. So, what’s the go there?

Peter, That approach works fine on monofilament line of say, 9 kg breaking strain or heavier, but the use of much finer lines is very much in vogue these days.

Bigger fish hooked on lighter lines with no trace, may be lost because of the extended period required to play them out, with the line eventually parting just above the hook from wear and tear over the fish’s teeth. For this reason, the use of a heavier hook length or trace is a good idea; that’s should you be hopeful of catching a really big snapper. 896

Triple treat: Callum Olsen, Joel Trezise and Tim Johnson with Wednesday’s snapper catch.

On Wednesday afternoon, Callum Olsen, Joel Trezise and Tim Johnson headed out off Clifton Springs hoping to pick up a snapper or two.

They caught four as it turned out, of which they kept three from 7 to 9 kg, releasing the last fish they caught. They also caught a gummy shark of around 3 kg with squid and silver whiting the successful baits.

Naturally, others caught them as well including Alex Andjelkovic and Greg Chapman whose catch included a 7 kg snapper taken offshore from the Mountain View Quarries using pilchards for bait.

Mark Sesar and wife Tina tried off Point Richards for a snapper without success, but fishing on the drift closer in, they caught a dozen flathead and ten squid before the wind came up, persuading their return to the boat ramp.

Mark makes the point that most of us already realize, and that the Point Richards Ramp is perpetually covered in kelp and weed, which must be moved to enable boats to launch. And, in addition to that, there is a slippery algal growth on the ramp that makes for poor vehicle traction and is dangerous underfoot.

Lakers Cutting, which is accessible from Fellows and McDonald Roads, Queenscliff, has long been one of our favoured, if not challenging, bream waters. Joel Kettner of the Leopold Angling Club was rewarded there over the weekend with two bream of 39 and 43 cm, both caught on crab suspended beneath a float.

Leopold Angling Club Commodore Ivan Bereza with a snapper he caught off Leopold over the weekend.

Weed fouling at Point Richards boat ramp on low tide.

Freshwater

Fishing St Augustine’s Water Hole in Highton – one of the waters stocked with rainbow trout for the school holidays – were Marcus Pearson and daughter Maria 8, who caught 10 rainbow trout, releasing all but two.

Fishing Lake Wallace at Edenhope over the weekend were Trevor Holmes of Victorian Inland Charters with Peter, Bill and Bob from University of the Third Age (U3A) where their biggest problem was small redfin attacking their lures.

Eventually though, they caught a brown trout of 1.8 kg, then – moving from 4.5 metres of water to about one and a half metres – they followed that with another four brown trout of similar size.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park was rewarded for an evening on Purrumbete last week with two brown trout of 3.3 kg and 3.85 kg – both taken while down-rigging a Rapala bibbed minnow at 9 metres – while his 8 year old companion from Leopold, Rylan Hogan, caught a 1.5 kg chinook salmon.

Mark and Tina Sesar with their catch of flathead and squid taken off Point Richards.

Others successful on Lake Purrumbete included Chris Farrugia from Oakland’s Junction whose catch included a 2 kg chinook salmon, also caught down-rigging, while Terry Lindsay of Mario’s caught redfin to 600 grams using soft plastics.

Others to catch fish on the lake included Chris Farrugia of Oaklands Junction whose catch included a chinook salmon of 2 kg using the same approach, and Terry Lindsay who caught redfin to 600 grams on soft plastics.

Kevin Wild reports that the Maryborough Angling Club, fished Cairn Curran Reservoir on Sunday for several golden perch to 37 cm and several redfin around the 30 cm mark. Prior to that though, club member Trevor Perry caught five golden perch to 37 cm from the bank in one outing.

Maria Pearson 8, with one of the rainbow trout she caught from St Augustine’s water hole (Picture: Kevin McLoughlin).

Rylan Hogan 8, with his chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Amos asks:

Geoff, now that snapper now being caught in Port Phillip Bay, long queues are beginning to form at most of Melbourne’s boat ramps, especially on weekends. I see from your report there are snapper being caught in Corio Bay. Are there big queues at the boat ramps around Geelong, And, could you give me some GPS marks for Corio Bay?

Should you really want to fish in Corio Bay, then the Avalon Boat ramp would be closer. It’s rarely crowded and close to productive water between Point Lillias and Point Wilson, but be aware of Bird Rock offshore from Point Lillias, and the aquaculture sites marked with yellow buoys after that; keep clear of those as well.

Marine Park Lament by Geoff Wilson

Verse 1
The undersea environment
Is threatened, so they say
We’ll introduce marine parks
To keep those threats at bay
Of course there’ll be a limit
On how far they are extended
The rights of foreign fishing fleets
Must always be defended.

Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine

Verse 2
Why should we have to worry?
About pollution and the rest
We’ll just kick out the fishermen
And say it’s for the best
Well someone has to take the blame
When all is said and done
Who cares about the fishermen?
And if we spoil their fun

Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine

Verse 3
In the guise of consultation
Our intentions will be masked
We already have the answers
To the questions we’ll be asked
Why? Problems insurmountable
Like exotics and pollution
Are far too tough to tackle
There is no other solution

Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine

Verse 4
No, marine parks are the answer
And someone must be blamed
We’ll just kick out the fishermen
From those places we have named
We’ve contrived some dodgy estimates
Inflating what they’ve caught
There will be a public outcry
They will say, “This can’t be sport!”

Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine

Verse 5
We’ll sell them to the public
In glowing terms of praise
For kelp forests and sponge gardens
Whose awareness we will raise
We’ll claim the discipline of science
Is central to our mission
If men of science challenge that
We’ll send them to perdition

Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine

Verse 6
There’s no end to the deception
We can go to on this farce
Pity that the fishos
Get it up the Khyber Pass
In time the dust will settle
Over our inventions
When finally the truth is out
We’ll be on our nice fat pensions

Final Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are sublime
So I’ve penned this little rhyme
The Government has shafted us
They do it every time

Kirt Behan, Andrew Johnson and Noel Behan with Sunday’s snapper catch.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Snapper are about, and – with the bay discoloured from last week’s heavy weather – they were on the tooth.

Among the successful anglers were, Andrew Johnson, who – along with Kirt and Noel Behan – headed out from Clifton Springs on Sunday afternoon to one of their favourite marks off Curlewis.

Anchored up in11 metres of water just north of the Point Richards and Wilson Spit channel junction, Kirt caught their first fish of 3 kg at 3.00 pm, then Noel caught another of about 6 kg half an hour later.

These were followed a number of smaller fish in the pinkie size range, along with a couple of decent gummy shark. But then, at about 5.30, Andrew hooked a bigger fish that headed around the front of the boat, his line fouling the anchor rope.

Another powerful run from the fish, saw Andrew’s fine, braided gelspun line, slice completely through the anchor rope, setting them adrift. So, with no anchor, their trip was virtually over. Fortunately though, they boated Andrew’s 8 kg snapper, which – as were the others – taken on silver whiting.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that the few boats he had out last week returned with reasonable catches of flathead and squid; both of which have been present in reasonable numbers lately.

And as is usual for this time of year, there’s been an influx of large squid at Queenscliff. Although they may be taken on the prawn jigs most popularly used for the general run of these cephalopods, experienced big squid seekers like Steve O’Keefe – who’s taken a bag limit catch of two from the Lonsdale Bight lately – use stem jigs, baited with silver whiting on the most recent occasion.

Fishing the Queenscliff harbour for silver trevally over the weekend, as they’ve done previously, Keith Berry and Tom Robinson were well prepared with a good supply of bait and berley.

All they caught until late afternoon were modest size Australian salmon. However, when the tide began running off into the evening, they were in business with several trevally, with some better than a kilogram, coming aboard.

Seeking trevally on the Barwon estuary during Sunday afternoon’s rising tide, Mark Sesar caught one on his preferred bait of chicken dipped in tuna oil: He probably would have caught more, but for an influx of mullet that were onto his baits in a flash.

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that while fishing has been a bit on the slow side, some reasonable fish have been caught.

Terry Lindsay of Mario’s, and wife Annette, managed to take a respectable bag of redfin on soft plastics, Annette adding a chinook salmon of a kilogram or so to their bag.

Among those trolling lures on Lake Purrumbete over the weekend was Phillip Pirotta of Warrnambool whose catch included a brown trout of 1.4 kg that took a bibbed minnow.

Nearby Lake Bullen Merri has been producing chinook salmon for both bait and lure fishermen with the biggest reported fish weighing 2 kg.

Kevin Wild, Amber Stone and Johnny Gray; members of the Maryborough Angling Club, fished Cairn Curran Reservoir last week where they caught 13 redfin. Amber also caught, and released, a 40 cm Murray Cod.

Kevin also mentions fishing the Loddon River below Laanecoorie Reservoir where he caught a 40 cm golden perch.

Brian asks:

Geoff, you mentioned that seven-gilled sharks were kept, obviously for consumption, in last week’s report.

Should you want more detailed information, try Googling “Reviewing mercury levels in seafood” where you will find abundant information on this topic.

Renato Spadoni with a sample of his and Michael Reichler’s catch of whiting off Queenscliff last week.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Casting various lures from the North Shore rocks near Moorpanyal Park on Saturday morning’s daybreak low tide proved fruitful for Jason Treloar.

Hopeful of catching a snook, a species we once referred to as pike during the early days of sport-fishing in Geelong, he hooked a beauty of just on 80 cm after a couple of half-hearted strikes.

Encouraged by that, he persisted for another hour or so, but his only additional catch was a couple of small, but legal size, Australian salmon.

Catching snook, or pike as we knew them then, played a large part in my early fishing education as a youngster when introduced to the approach by a Mr Page on the now demolished Parkside pool below the eastern gardens from Hearne Parade.

On Friday morning, Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien went prospecting for whiting, initially without much success. However, after making several moves, they found a good patch in 7 metres of water between Hermsley Road Curlewis and the Sands Caravan Park Leopold where they came on the bite in the early afternoon as the high tide began running off.

Finishing up with their respective bag limits, mainly of fish from 34 to 38 cm, along with several bigger fish that included one of 42 cm, they planned another trip for the following day. But, as sometimes happens, Saturday’s catch resulted in a meagre six fish; three whiting and three flathead.

Lachie Wombell with a couple of the gemfish he caught offshore from Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Offshore

Recent good weather has seen a good many anglers fishing offshore and usually well rewarded for their efforts. Among them, Naji Assafiri who launched at Queenscliff on Friday afternoon.

Fishing on the drift in 25 to 50 metres of water, Naji’s catch included several pinkies and a snapper of 4.5 kg that took a pilchard, and just on sunset, a gummy shark of 7 kg that took a trevally fillet.

Also taking advantage of last week’s good weather, Chris Stamalos and his companion Brendan, fished in 30 metres of water off Barwon Heads where their catch included a snapper of 3 kg. And, because Chris always has a berley trail going, they attracted a number of seven-gilled sharks of which they caught 5, two of which they kept, releasing the other three.

Lachie Wombell with a sweep from Cape Nelson (Picture: Bob McPherson)

Freshwater

Trevor Holmes of Victorian Inland Charters reports that redfin remain a good chance on Lake Toolondo at the moment, and over the weekend, he and Aaron Habgood caught several to 1.13 kg on trolled lures.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that brown trout are still on offer, and the best taken over the weekend was a 3.5 kg specimen taken by Brian Nygaard of Bacchus Marsh. Brian also caught several smaller fish, all being taken on mudeye.

The Knox Fishing Club also fished Purrumbete over the weekend where chinook salmon around the kilogram mark were the main catch. However, their biggest fish weighed 2 kg.

Speaking of chinook salmon, Terry Shepherd – who spends a good deal of time on the Camperdown lakes – reported that that one of his customers at Regal Marine had recently taken a number of chinook to 1.5 kg from Lake Bullen Merri.

Paul asks:

Geoff, looking up low water for Port Phillip Heads on Saturday I’ve went down to Point Lonsdale Pier to fish the incoming tide at 3.00, but I found the tide still running out as strongly as ever, and it kept doing so for some time: How come?

Paul, given the tidal range inside Port Phillip Bay is less than half that of Bass Strait, neither low nor high slack water at Port Phillip Heads can occur at the bottom or top of the Bass Strait tide cycle. Slack water at Port Phillip Heads occurs about mid tide when the levels outside Port Phillip Heads and inside Port Phillip Bay in equilibrium.

This is because the narrow passage of Port Phillip Heads does not allow the water to empty, or fill, at anything like the rate that would be required to have parity with Bass Strait: Just as well, otherwise all of the low-lying land inside Port Phillip Bay would be flooded at high tide; especially so during periods of sustained westerly winds or storm surge.

Michael Reichler with his bag limit catch of whiting.

Geelong angler, Frank Bluch, who’s just returned from Canada, where – fishing the fly on the Tree River, which runs into the Coronation Gulf on the Arctic Ocean – hooked what was literally the fish of a lifetime, using a 3 kg tippet.

The protagonist eventually turned out to be a lake trout weighing 16.82 kg, almost 6 kg above the fly-casting record for the species, but – because the fish was foul-hooked in the dorsal fin – it was ineligible for such a claim.

Also fishing in Canada, Mike Vanderkelen – also of Geelong and a keen fly fisher – enjoyed a guided trip on British Columbia’s St Mary River, a milestone birthday gift courtesy of son Jordan: An enjoyable trip as it turned out, for his catch on the dry fly included a plump cutbow (hybrid rainbow) trout displayed in the photo by his guide, Gaby.

Mike Vanderkelen’s plump cutbow trout from the Mary River in British Columbia displayed in the photo by his guide, Gaby.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Warehou, locally known as snotty trevalla, have been about, and among those to catch them over the weekend were Mark Sesar and partner Tina.

They caught 28 from the Geelong Yacht Club Jetty between the moored boats, using bubble float rigs baited with chicken.

Fishing for whiting in 7 metres of water off Clifton Springs on Friday afternoon Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien were plagued with small fish, but they persisted, eventually finishing up with 20 whiting to 38 cm between them.

Andrew’s sons Daniel and Tim were out before daybreak hoping for a snapper, and – while fishing near the Wilson’s Spit – one of their reels screamed off. Sad to say the fish, obviously a good one, escaped.

Fishing the grass beds off Swan Island on Saturday morning, Derrick Hargreaves and a companion took a respectable catch of whiting on the ebb tide. They stayed on for the afternoon flood, but caught no more.

Whiting have been scarce for some, but among those to take bag limit catches early last week were Michael Reichler and Renato Spadoni who were fishing in much the same area.

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports lean pickings with few boats out. However, some did return with good bags of flathead taken on the drift.

Squid are usually reliable said Rod, but last week they were harder than usual to find with some anglers missing out.

Tobias Hurst with a nice snapper that he caught from the Tamar River Estuary in Tasmania.

Surf

Australian salmon are still a proposition on local surf beaches, and with big afternoon tides last week, rewarding catches were made, both by angers fishing with baits like cut pilchards and whitebait, and with lures.

Among the successful anglers was Tony Ingram who had quite a tussle with one of the salmon he hooked at Jan Juc, not because of the fish’s size as it turned out, but by the missing scales and rake marks along its body from … well, who knows.

Freshwater

On Saturday, nine members of the Lake Purrumbete Angling Club fished in competition on the lake from which eight fish were taken for a total weight of 7.86 kg.

The heaviest chinook salmon weighed 886 grams and was caught by Hans Bongart. The heaviest rainbow trout weighed 808 grams and was caught by Brian Nygaard. The heaviest brown trout weighed 1.586 kg and was caught by Andrew Robinson.

The overall winner of the competition was Brian Nygaard with two rainbow trout and two browns while Don Swayn picked up $400.00 with a chinook salmon that made the secret weight of 757 kg.

Farther afield, I have a couple of reports from Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club that Lake Tullaroop has been producing brown trout, some around the 2 kg mark, with most of the action within an hour of sunrise.

Lake Wendouree at Ballarat is also worth fishing said Kevin, with Club members taking brown trout to 2.3 kg with mudeyes fished beneath a float the most productive approach.

Robert asks:

Geoff, I followed with interest your discussion on Lake Elingamite of July 24 & 31, Do you know if anything is being done to provide safe access to this excellent fishing water?

Robert, I rang Victoria’s Fishing Authority who told me that Parks Victoria was responsible for that water. However, my call to Parks Victoria on the number provided received no response.

On July 26, I wrote to Jaala Pulford Minister for Agriculture over this important matter and was referred to Victorian Fisheries Authorities project manager whose contact details I forwarded to you.

However, since recent rain has raised the level of this water, with due care, small boats may be launched as you would have seen in my column of last week:

George Gereige and Lachie Wombell with one of the blue-eye trevalla they extracted from the depths off Portland (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Offshore

Improved weather and calm seas over the weekend saw many anglers fishing offshore:

Among them were Bob McPherson, George Gereige and Lachie Wombell who headed out from Portland into almost 500 metres of water where they caught blue-eye trevalla, and on this occasion, gemfish; both of which make fine table fare.

Heading out through Port Phillip Heads after launching at Queenscliff over the weekend were Naji and Rami Assafiri.

Fishing for two hours in 25 metres of water, they caught a gummy shark and a pinky snapper of 2 kg. However, with encouraging reports coming in over the airwaves, they headed further out still: A good move as it turned out for they added four more snapper from 3 to 4 kg, and another good size pinkie to their tally, all being caught on pilchards and squid.

Sean Crombie of the Maryborough Angling Club with his prize-winning catch from Lake Tullaroop.

Bellarine Peninsula

Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports that with good weather over the weekend his clients did well, their main catch being flathead. These were mostly taken on the drift in the deeper water. Squid were also taken offshore from Grassy Point, south to St Leonards, said Rod.

Neil Slater and Hugh Hanson fished in 18 metres of water off Indented Head on Saturday, and using soft plastics in glassy calm conditions they found flathead on the go. Unfortunately, most were small, but those they kept were around the 40 cm mark

They also tried for squid in the shallower water, but although they caught several, the squid were fussy, possibly – Neil suggests – due to the neap tide, or perhaps the clear water.

Leonie Jones with the 80 cm Murray Cod she caught from Lake Mulwala at the weekend (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Queenscliff

Fishing the Queenscliff harbour for silver trevally over the weekend were Keith Berry and Tom Robinson who were well prepared with a good supply of bait and berley.

While trevally were scarce, they did catch a couple around the 800 gram mark, along with quite a few salmon to 500 grams or so, both on the lead up to, and following, the afternoon’s high tide.

Amber Stone with a 59 cm Murray Cod she caught from Lake Mulwala (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that a club outing to Lake Tullaroop at the weekend was won by Sean Crombie with a rainbow trout measuring 49 cm.

However, Kevin – along with Amber Stone, Leonie Jones, and Corey Street – made another journey to Lake Mulwala, where – fishing with chicken for bait at the Yarrawonga end of the lake – they caught and released 34 Murray Cod, the biggest of which measured 80 cm and was taken by Leone, Amber caught the second biggest at 59 cm.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that brown trout have made a welcome re-appearance with the weekend’s great weather: The “Yakkas,” a group of anglers fishing from Kayaks, took several brown trout, the biggest two measuring 70 and 79 cm.

Bryan Nygaard of Bacchus Marsh took a brown trout of 4.1 kg on a scrubworm while Tim Beusmans picked up another of 3.2 kg while trolling a bibbed lure. Redfin were also active with Les Broughton of Geelong picking up around 40 on soft plastics.

The Greenvale Angling Club fished nearby Lake Bullen Merri where they caught both rainbow and brown trout, along with chinook salmon, both with lures and on baits fished just above the bottom; their biggest fish weighed a kilogram.

Recent rains have benefitted Lake Elingamite near Cobden, something that Steve O’Keefe confirmed on Friday, when he was able to launch his small boat without difficulty. The fishing was good too for he caught four respectable redfin on mudeye, and a 2 kg rainbow trout on Berkley Powerbait.

Lachie Wombell with a school shark that he caught offshore from Portland at the weekend (Picture: Bob McPherson).

Ollie asks:

Geoff, when the term “memory” is applied to fishing line, what does it mean?

Ollie; the term memory applies to nylon and fluorocarbon monofilament lines because their molecular structure will retain some memory of the spool’s shape, onto which the line had been wound. So, if you took a spool of monofilament line, and pulled some off onto the floor, it would display a series of similar sized loops.

However, this does not apply to all fishing lines: Those that have been braided or fused from a polyethylene gelspun base, and which have become popular in recent years, do not exhibit any appreciable memory.

Ash Rawlings and Graham Edridge with Ash’s 11.8 kg rainbow trout from New Zealand (Picture: Trevor Holmes).

For the first time in the 38 year history of this weekly column, I have neither a local saltwater or freshwater report for the whole week.

However, colossal trout in the Twizel and Tekapo canals on New Zealand’s South Island remain an attraction for local anglers including Trevor Holmes, Michael Evans, Ash Rawlings, Kent Deer, Graeme Findlay, Ben Young and Andrew Bell who travelled over the ditch on Tuesday of last week for yet another sample.

Their tally of 60 fish, caught and released under the guidance of fishing guide Graham Edridge, included a rainbow trout of 11.8 kg, which was taken by Ash Rawlings, along with a good many others in the 4.5 to 10.5 kg range: All were taken while fishing trout egg imitations on controlled drifts along the flowing canals.

Kent Deer with yet another rainbow trout over 10 kg.

Outboard motors

Given our unseasonal run of terrible weather, Rod Ludlow of Beachlea Boat Hire picked the right time to go for his annual holiday to Arugam Bay, which is situated on Sri Lanka’s southeast coast facing the Indian Ocean, and from where he has just returned.

While Rod says that recreational fishing is virtually non-existent there – and this is borne out by the brochures I’ve read depicting all manner of things to do, except fishing – there are commercial fisheries for billfish and tuna, with the folk involved operating a fleet of fairly basic boats powered with kerosene fuelled outboard motors.

Speaking of outboard motors, Rod also reminded me of the banned sale of new, two-stroke, outboard motors that was originally intended to come into effect on June 30 this year. However, a web search revealed that the retail sale of new, carburettor, two stroke motors will actually end on June 30, next year.

Although fuel injected two-stroke motors may still be sold, their additional cost being offset by increased fuel efficiency, but to date, manufacturers have also struggled to keep emissions from these motors within the required parameters; something that may delay their availability, and which raises another issue:

Considering that four stroke outboard motors are some 40% heavier than comparable two stroke models, the use of same of comparable horsepower on small boats and dinghies, creates a function and safety issue for boat, trailer, and operator, that cannot be ignored.

And Ben Young with yet another.

Eildon fishing promotion

On Saturday September 1, 2018, Victoria’s Fisheries Authority will host a fishing festival at the local community centre at 2 Centre Avenue, Eildon in celebration of the 2018 trout opening, and to promote Eildon and the Goulburn River as fishing destinations.

This event will take place from 10.00 am at the Eildon Community Centre, 2 Centre Avenue Eildon from 10.00 am, which will feature fishing industry traders and exhibitors while local angling clubs will set up stalls and exhibits for attendees.

Prominent recreational fishing personalities will be present to discuss various fishing tactics, hopefully to show attendees how to catch more fish, while families and young fishers will be given the opportunity to participate in supervised, free fishing events along with free tours of nearby Snobs creek fish hatchery.

As an added incentive, Victoria’s Fisheries Authority will be stocking the Eildon Pondage – and the associated Goulburn River as far west as Molesworth – with 2000 mature rainbow trout, collectively weighing more than 7 tonnes, including individual fish weighing as much as 4 kg.

James asks:

Geoff, while fishing land based from the Geelong Waterfront some time ago, I caught a fish of about 1.5 kg resembling an eel, particularly down toward the tail. It was mottled brown with fleshy appendages protruding from its bottom jaw. I have it in the freezer, so do you know what it is, and would it be edible?

James, the fish was a spotted ling, and like the pink ling taken offshore in deep water, they are fine table fare. In fact there used to be a thriving commercial longline fishery for them but the introduction of industrialized scallop dredging in the 1970s put an end to that fishery. However, since Victoria Premier Jeff Kennett banned the Port Phillip dredge fisheries in the mid 1990s, they have shown signs of recovery.

Martinus de Lange with his flathead from Swan Bay.

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that anglers prepared to face last week’s inclement weather caught a few fish: Among them were Chris and Charlie Farrugia from Oaklands Junction who finished up with 12 trout (both browns and rainbows) trolling lures along the surface and behind their downrigger.

Lilydale’s Brandon Hamilton was also successful on the same water, his cast and retrieve approach producing chinook salmon, rainbow trout and a brown trout of 2 kg.

At nearby Lake Bullen Merri, William Schwarzenberg of Sunbury was also successful with the same approach taking chinook salmon and rainbow trout to a kilogram or so, while Don Swaine of Camperdown won a local competition with a similar approach.

Prospects

With fewer reports than usual, as has been the case lately, 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 weekend.

The chance of catching a snapper or two from Corio Bay is also a possibility, particularly with one being caught in rough conditions offshore from the refinery last week when in all probability, nobody else was out. And, as I’ve mentioned previously, the breakwaters at Portarlington offer opportunities for land-based anglers to catch a snapper as they have throughout the year.

For those prepared to make the journey to Portland, the Lee Breakwater has produced a couple of good size snapper lately, a regular occurrence at this time of year, particularly with the prevailing rough weather we’ve experienced lately. Premier bait for these includes the fillets from small barracouta that are easily caught from this structure.

Freshwater prospects include redfin from Wurdiboluc Reservoir where lure-casting enthusiasts like Martinus de Lange has caught several during his recent visits. Mind you, Martinus’ ongoing freshwater success has been punctuated by several equally successful saltwater forays, one in particular yielding a good size flathead from Swan Bay.

Neville asks:

Geoff, I don’t have a boat but would like to catch a feed of fish on the weekend. Where should I go?

Amber Stone with one of the Murray cod she caught from Lake Mulwala at the weekend (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Corio Bay

Anchored up in around 7 metres off water off the refinery by 6.00 pm on Sunday night, Tom Vanderloo was probably one of the very few out on Corio Bay.

At around 7.30 pm, and using calamari rings for bait, he caught a 5 kg snapper. However, by this time the north west wind, which was already blowing at around 20 knots, picked up to the point that Tom was soon back at the ramp.

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of Maryborough, and his partner Amber Stone, made yet another trip to Lake Mulwala last week – as they did the week previous – again, fishing in the vicinity of Yarrawonga.

Trolling Oar Gee lures on this occasion they caught thirteen cod – of which Amber caught eleven – the biggest of which measured just on 62 cm, and – as with the other fish they caught – was released.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that among the very few anglers braving the wintry weather were Craig and Matt Mitchell of the Ballarat Fly Fishing Club who fished the shallows from their boat.

Not in vain as it turned out for they caught two brown trout to 1.5 kg, two rainbows to a kilogram and two chinook salmon of about 700 grams apiece, all on the fly,

Will McLauchlan of Warrnambool with the 6.25 kg snapper he caught from the Lee Breakwater at Portland last week (Picture: Compleat Angler Portland).

Surf

Surf fishing enthusiast Tony Ingram was among those fishing Jan Juc on Friday evening’s high tide. Australian salmon to a kilogram or so were on offer, both for anglers fishing with bait, and for those casting lures.

As usual, Tony stayed on until just after dark hoping for a good size gummy shark, or perhaps even a mulloway, but it was lean pickings with a draughtboard shark and a skate his only reward.

Portland

Although explanations are varied, heavy onshore weather, even at this time of year, increases the chance of dedicated land-based anglers of catching a big snapper.

Well aware of this was Will McLauchlan of Warrnambool, who on Thursday, braved wintry conditions on the Lee Breakwater at Portland where his catch of small barracouta and flathead also included a 6.25 kg snapper that was weighed at Portland’s Compleat Angler.

Prospects

Once again, with inclement weather keeping all but the most dedicate anglers from the water, we’ll look at prospects for the following week and weekend, during which, hopefully, the weather may be more conducive to fishing.

Neither of the two breakwaters at Portarlington can be overlooked, particularly with the same conditions prevailing here as they did last week at Portland, and – with the added benefit of this week being the lead up to the new moon – which occurs on Saturday, this lunar sequence has historically been a good omen when fishing for any large fish.

As well as the chance of catching a snapper, other species like Australian salmon, whiting and sliver trevally continue to remain possible catches here as they have throughout the year.

The days leading up to the new moon, and the new moon itself, also offer prospects to anglers seeking mulloway on the Barwon estuary, preferably while fishing either side of the low tide change.

On Saturday this should occur around 7.00 pm at the Barwon Heads bridge and an hour or so later in The Sheepwash. Naturally, the morning low tide – which occurs half an hour earlier than in the evening – is also worth consideration, particularly with a good supply of fresh bait on hand.

Michael asks:

Geoff, within a month or so, my partner and I are moving to the Western District. Being a keen, fly-fisherman, I will naturally be fishing various waters with a special interest in the Aire River estuary: I’ve heard a whisper that mulloway may be present here. Do you have any information on that?