Geoff Wilson’s Fishing Knots And Rigs

Alexia Kurten with a rainbow trout of almost 11 kg taken from New Zealand’s Twizel canal.

New Zealand

Colossal trout are to be caught from the Twizel and Tekapo canals on New Zealand’s South Island – no secret there – their size being attributed to easy pickings from the feed overflow from salmon farms within these same waters.

Naturally, these locations have attracted anglers from far and wide, including Geelong, and from where Gustavo and Alexia Kurten have just returned.

Their mission was twofold: One to pick up a mounted brown trout of 18 kg that Gustavo caught just prior to the Covid restrictions, and two, to spend a week with wife Alexia fishing Twizel where they caught and released possibly 100 fish.

Their biggest fish was a rainbow trout just shy of 11 kg, taken during the day using the rolling fish egg method, as were the other rainbows, while the browns were taken at night, casting and retrieving lures.

Luke Driscol and Jamo Goldby with the 123 kg tuna they caught offshore from the Cape Nelson Lighthouse on Sunday.

Portland

Bob McPherson reports that barrel sized tuna are on the boil down at Portland with remarkably few anglers out chasing them; even charter boat operators are finding it difficult to get clients, which I guess is down to the economic situation many folk have found themselves facing in recent times.

However, local anglers Luke Driscol and Jamo Goldby picked up a nice one just off the Cape Nelson lighthouse that eventually weighed 123 kg on Sunday. That one took a lure being trolled on 24 kg tackle behind a Bonze spreader bar and took two hours and 20 minutes to subdue.

Mind you, these fellas are by no means new to catching big tuna. Why, the day before they were out with Darryl Bennert and caught two barrels, both of which they released.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

On Wednesday, Andrew Johnson and Peter Dawson were out in 4.8 metres of water off Curlewis by 9.20 am, an hour or so before a virtual storm front came through, but despite the rugged conditions, the whiting were well and truly on the bite.

So, they weathered the storm so to speak, covering the bottom of their fish box before being becalmed once more, and – although the bite slowed somewhat in the milder conditions – they still finished with their respective bag limit catches of fish to 41cm.

With a few squid about, Simon Werner tried his luck off Grassy Point at Portarlington on Wednesday afternoon but finding them was something of a challenge.

Eventually though, his persistence paid off, and – after finding a good patch – he finished with a bag limit catch of medium size specimens.

Freshwater

The release of a nominal 140,000 fingerling chinook salmon – 80,000 into Lake Bullen Merri and 60,000 into Lake Purrumbete – early last week was reportedly a great success with Snobs Creek Hatchery personnel, other VFA staff, and a dedicated band of volunteers working cohesively together.

Among the attendees was dedicated angler Garry Ridgeway, who has had a great deal of experience these waters, reminds anglers that we will – almost certainly – need to wait until autumn of next year before the feeding regimes of these newly released fish evolve to the stage that they become vulnerable, at possibly 800 grams, to bait and lure fishing.

Following the release, Garry, and Lindsay Robinson, fished both Lakes Purrumbete, and Bullen Merri, and while they broke no records, they did catch any amount of chinook salmon, the biggest 800 grams or so, and from Bullen Merri, tiger trout, the biggest of which would have been nudging a kilogram.

Andrew Ketelaar’s information night at SEATAC, Warneet

Murray cod fishing

A VFA press release advises that Lake Eildon and Rocklands Reservoir will continue to provide Murray cod fishing as the annual closed season began elsewhere on Friday September 1, and will continue for three months in most other rivers and lakes.

Lake Eildon is open to cod fishing all year round and is regarded as the state’s cod fishing mecca, being stocked with more than 2.4 million fingerlings over the past five years. However, the Goulburn River Arm, is subject to the cod season closure which is diagrammatically displayed at the Jamieson boat ramp.

Rocklands Reservoir is fast emerging as Lake Eildon’s western counterpart with 2.75 million cod released since stockings began in 2017, some of which are now of legal size between 55 and 75 centimetres.

Max asks:

Geoff, my father used to fish the local beaches, down as far as Moggs Creek, for years, and he never caught salmon in the numbers nor of the size people seem to be catching them now. Is surf fishing getting better down our way or what?

Max, Heinz Wattie closed the Eden fish cannery in July 1999 so the immense tonnage of Australian salmon that once finished up in cans has been putting smiles on the faces of anglers right around the coast for some time now.

Despite this, fewer people fish the surf nowadays than during the days of my youth when vehicles visibly carrying surf fishing rods – usually of Rangoon cane – were a common sight travelling along Melbourne Road North Geelong where I grew up, not so now.

Fishing information night

On September 16, next, the SEATAC (Toorak Angling Club & South Anglers) Club, 21 Balaka Street, Warneet, 3980 (Melway ref: 142 E12), will feature a special presentation from renowned angler Andrew Ketelaar on fishing for gummy shark, mulloway, trout, and Australian Bass.

There will be a BBQ laid on and a raffle with lots of great prizes.

Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.

Nick Tamburro with one of the brown trout he caught from the bank of Moorabool Reservoir on Wednesday afternoon.

Moorabool Reservoir

Fishing from the bank of Moorabool Reservoir on Wednesday afternoon were Nick Tamburro and his friend Adrian, and they didn’t have long to wait before one of Nick’s scrubworms was taken.

Nick released the brown trout after Adrian took some photos so we don’t have a weight for either that fish, or for his second brown trout that was also released, but as you can see, these are quality fish.

Off the Beach

Visiting the beach at Moggs Creek on Tuesday morning, Ray Millman was confronted with a heavy shore break and a higher-than-expected tide. Nevertheless, he persisted and caught six salmon to 1.5 kg on his 42-gram Savage Sea Missile.

Returning on Wednesday morning, he found the swell had ameliorated, and the tide had fallen further than the day before exposing more of the beach, which provided easier access to a previously productive gutter.

Well, productive was the word, with salmon, a couple nudging 2 kg, taking his lure on consecutive casts at one stage, providing more than enough to carry back to his vehicle, both for his own use, and for family and friends.

Tina Sesar with a sample of the whiting that she and husband Mark caught offshore from Clifton Springs.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Early last week, Mark and Tina Sesar headed out off Clifton Springs after the whiting, and as the flood tide kicked in, they came on the bite with the majority of their 20 fish in the 35-40 cm bracket.

They undoubtedly would have caught more had they not been otherwise engaged with returning the undersize snapper moving in on their baits of squid, that proved a nuisance throughout the afternoon.

Andrew Johnson did a solo run down off Curlewis on Thursday, and – anchored up in six metres of water – picked up 18 good size whiting from 34-40 cm.

There is no doubt Andrew would have caught a lot more had he not been blown of the water once the north westerly gathered strength.

On Friday, Mark Richards and Darren Pidgeon tried their old faithful whiting mark off the Leopold Caravan Park. Here, they managed to put in two hours of fishing during the afternoon before the strengthening south westerly sent them on back to the ramp with 24 whiting of mixed sizes, the biggest measuring 42 cm, all being caught on pipis and squid.

Simon Werner and Michael Dean headed out off Point Richards on Sunday evening hopeful of getting a few squid before nightfall. And as it turned out, they got 7 keepers before the fading light had them heading back to the ramp.

Martinus de Lange with a silver trevally that he caught from the Barwon Estuary last week.

Barwon estuary

Taking a run down to the Sheepwash at around 7.00 pm on Friday evening, Martinus de Lange tried his luck with a soft plastic lure from the Sheepwash boat ramp pontoon where the first cab off the rank was a nice silver trevally.

But as the ebb tide picked up speed, he caught several estuary perch. Most were a bit on the small side and released, but two were definite keepers. All of Martin’s fish were caught on a Zman grub in the motor oil colouration with a 1.3-gram head.

George Vlahogiannis caught this 38 cm bream from the Patterson River at Carrum last week.

Patterson River bream

George Vlahogiannis fished for Bream in the Patterson River last week today and caught one of 38cm using blowfly maggots for bait.

He said they’ve been a bit scarce lately but is hoping for some rain to discolour the water because that usually gets them biting.

Desmond asks:

Geoff, when attaching a nylon monofilament or fluorocarbon leader to braid, what knot would you use?

Desmond, when attaching a single strand of nylon or fluorocarbon leader to a single strand of braided gelspun line, the so-called FG Knot, which is really a progressive splice rather than a knot, or a plaited splice, are both strong connections.

However, should you want to retain the full, or very nearly the full breaking strain of your gelspun line, you will need to first double the end of your line, which is to be tied to your leader, to form a loop (usually referred to as a double), which is then secured with either a Bimini twist or plait.

Having totally secured the loop with either method, you can now tie off with a leader knot of your choice using the resultant double strand.

Jackson Brady, Kalon Stavris and Caillan Keddy with the tuna they caught offshore from Portland last week.

Offshore

Early last week, Jackson Brady, Kalon Stavris and Caillan Keddy were booked in well ahead of time for a three-day fishing trip off Portland in Jackson’s 5 metre Quintrex Fishmaster, for some bottom bouncing at least, and weather permitting, an offshore run, hopeful of catching a large tuna.

Their first day presented them with a four-metre swell and 15 knot winds that kept them in 30-60 metres of water down toward Cape Nelson where they caught pan size pinkie snapper and assorted reef fish, but despite bird activity and the presence of bait fish, tuna seemed to be absent.

The following morning dawned on a glassy sea, so – with an extra jerry can of fuel – they headed out toward the Continental shelf, a journey only interrupted as Jackson spotted distant bird activity, something that had them rigged and ready with a couple of trolling skirts as they changed course.

With the sounder ticking over at 130 metres as they approached the melee of diving birds and dolphins, the lures were deployed. And, within a few minutes the 37 kg gear screamed off, heralding an hour-long battle that terminated with the tricky manoeuvre of sliding their catch over their low-sided gunwale without flooding the boat.

No doubt they could have caught another tuna given the continued surface activity, but well satisfied with their catch, and the big tuna dispatched, they phoned Portland Bait and Tackle and had the tuna, which they’d already gilled, gutted, and bled, weighed at 107 kg; a probable indication that the fish’s whole weight would have been around 125 kg.

It was then taken to the filleting tables at the ramp, processed and packaged that night and ultimately divided among family and friends.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Early last week, Andrew Johnson and Denis O’Brien were out off Curlewis and – anchored up in six metres of water – the spot where they also caught two snapper the week previous, they were soon onto the whiting.

They caught no snapper on this trip, but they did take bag limit catches of whiting from 33 to 41 cm, all caught on mussels and strips of squid.

Mark Richards and Darren Pidgeon fished their usually productive whiting spot offshore from the Leopold Caravan Park, but a late start had them running out of time. Nevertheless, they finished up with 22 fish to 40 cm before the bite shut down on dark.

From the Beach

Ray Millman has done very well on salmon casting lures from the beach at Moggs Creek, as I’ve reported, and wondering what else may be on offer through dusk and into the night, he tried his luck.

Catching salmon for bait using his faithful Savage Sea Missile, was a feat he easily accomplished by nightfall, but baiting up with fillets from same only attracted skates and a couple of toothy critters that bit him off.

Ray also lost a few bottoms on the snaggy ground out there, so there may not be a repeat performance for a while.

Sam Muscat with the 6 kg brown trout he caught from Lake Eildon early last week.

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that local waters have been quiet, with several members making the trip to Lake Lonsdale near Stawell.

Among them were John Gray and his son Jason who caught redfin to 40 cm on various lures, including soft plastics, beetlespins and Profishent rubber vibes.

Fishing Lake Eildon last week was Sam Muscat, who sighted a very large brown trout in feeding mode and presented it with a soft plastic.

With no hesitation the large brown, that was later measured at 78 cm and weighed at just over 6 kg, slammed the lure, and the rest is history.

On Sunday night, Andrew Ketelaar paid another visit to Devilbend Reservoir where – under the cover of darkness – he caught another, chunky estuary perch that fell to his old faithful Rebel Pop “R” retrieved in the “walk the dog” type method with plenty of pauses in-between.

Andrew Ketelaar with the estuary perch he caught from Devilbend Reservoir on Sunday night.

Roger asks:

Geoff, is there any way I can protect my bait from sea lice when fishing at night.

Roger, with two metres of trace, and your bait buoyed up off the bottom with a slightly inflated Big Splash Water Bomb balloon, you will avoid most of the lice.

Make sure you have a small sinker firmly attached to your trace at around the two-metre mark, a No 1 ball say, to prevent your bait from floating to the surface.

Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.

Andrew Johnson with the two snapper he caught while fishing for whiting off Curlewis last week (picture: Denis O’Brien).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Andrew Johnson and Denis O’Brien were fishing the outgoing tide in 6 metres of water off Curlewis early last week and, and – with a good few whiting covering the bottom of the fish box – things were looking good.

Then, at around 9.00 am Andrew hooked something obviously much bigger than a whiting.

It turned out to be a 3.5 kg snapper, the first of two he snared on small squid strips and relatively small hooks. The other was a little larger at 4 kg and the last interruption to their whiting fishing, their final tally of 40 ending a very satisfactory day on the water.

Faye Doherty with the 38 cm bream she caught from Painkalac Creek at Aries Inlet (picture: Bruce Doherty).

Jamie Wells’ 48 cm bream from Cania Dam in Queensland.

Freshwater

Taking a run down to Aireys Inlet last Tuesday, Bruce Doherty and wife Faye fished Painkalac Creek from the southern end of River Reserve Road.

With no luck there, they moved a to a nearby verge from where they could cast out past the reeds, and using prawns for bait they had better luck here, each catching a bream, Faye with the biggest that measured 38 cm.

Bellarine Light Game and Sportfishing Club fielded the winning team in the ANSA Competition held on Lakes Purrumbete and Bullen Merri over the weekend.

Their catches, measured in centimeters were brown trout, Daniel Sparks 55 cm, rainbow trout, Don Matthews 49 cm, chinook salmon Jim O’Dowd 63 cm, redfin, Andy Fromholtz 41.5 cm, and tiger trout Keith Chapman 62 cm.

The highest scoring competitor was Andy Fromholtz from Bellarine with 211 points.

Fish stocking co-ordinator, Rhiannon Atkinson, advises that the long-awaited stocking of chinook salmon fry in Camperdown’s crater lakes will commence at the Lake Purrumbete boat ramp on Monday August 28 next.

At around 1.30 pm, 30,000 chinook fry will be liberated into Lake Purrumbete, and on Tuesday, August 29, 50,000 chinook fry also will be liberated into Lake Bullen Merri within the same time frame.

In addition to these allocations, it is likely that there will be more than the allocated 80,000 fry. So, for additional updates, please contact Rhiannon at either rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au or by phone on 0407 987 016.

On a recent visit to Wurdiboluc Reservoir, Simon Werner put in a lengthy lure casting session with a Daiwa Double Clutch from the rock wall for two brown trout, the first a nice fish of 1.5 kg that was followed with a beauty of 3.3 kg.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports fishing Lake Lonsdale near Stawell last week for 19 good size redfin, while club members John and Brian Rivett – who were also at Lonsdale – caught 22 redfin, two of which measured 43 and 47 cm.

Kevin also mentions that club member Stephen Eales, along with daughter Lily 7, and son Mason 5, fished from the bank of the Loddon where their catch included two Murray cod of 49 and 55 cm and a 34 cm yellowbelly.

These were all caught baitfishing with cheese and worms.

Devilbend Reservoir

Since being decommissioned as a water supply facility, Devilbend Reservoir off Graydens Road, Tuerong (on the Mornington Peninsula), has been upgraded as a prime fishing destination for Kayakers along with several platforms for land-based anglers.

Over the last six years, this water has been stocked with both brown and rainbow trout, and obviously estuary perch, as Andrew Ketelaar states in his recent fishing report.

The photo he sent of one that he caught on a 95 mm Bassday Sugapen is a good illustration of that, and he mentions that the larger estuary perch in this water are now closing in in the 50 cm mark.

Lily Eales 7, with here 49 cm Murray cod (picture: Stephen Eales).

Mason Eales 5, with his 34 cm yellowbelly (picture: Stephen Eales).

Queensland

Geelong angler Jamie Wells heads up to south-east Queensland each year to fish its freshwater impoundments, including Cania Dam between Biloela and Monto, just north from the Burnett Highway, and stocked with bass.

Jamie’s best fish so far measured 48 cm and was taken on a 20-gram Hot Bite, Gangbanger, a bibless minnow-type lure that he hopes will also get the job done at his next stop, which is Burumba Dam, west of Noosa.

Peter asks:

Geoff, I belong to a virtual dynasty of beach anglers, one of whose golden rules is to always fish at high tide, quite the opposite of a situation you described in two of your recent reports: Any more info would be welcome.

Peter, speaking of Australian salmon, high tide is frequently the best time to catch them from most local beaches, but other situations occur, such as when a promising gutter is beyond casting range at high tide.

In such cases, the opportunity to fish such gutters may only occur when the tide falls low enough to provide access from the exposed beach, as was the case at Moggs Creek on the occasions described.

Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.

Kalon Stavris with the 3.2 kg salmon he caught from the beach at Moggs Creek on Friday morning’s low tide.

Kalon and Ray with a matching pair at Moggs on Friday morning.

From the Beach

After last week’s success on the low and falling tide from the beach at Moggs Creek for salmon, Ray Millman returned at first light on Thursday, but with one small alteration to his tackle.

While he’d caught any number of salmon on his 42-gram, Savage Sea Missile’s treble hooks, he’d lost several bigger fish as they leaped from the water, throwing the lure.

So, he’d added a free-swinging assist-hook to the lure on a short lanyard, a preferred set-up for deep-sea jigging, an idea with some merit certainly.

But in this case, it proved to be a double-edged sword, for grabbing a lively fish that was hooked on the treble, allowed the free-swinging assist-hook to spear right through the third finger of Ray’s right hand.

So, with a pair of pliers, and some difficulty with the attached fish still thrashing about, Ray closed the hook’s barb, allowing him to reverse its passage back through his finger from which blood was now pouring.

So, proceedings took a break while Ray phoned friend Tony at Lorne, who arrived shortly, expertly dressing Ray’s perforated finger before the fishing resumed, each of the pair now catching salmon turnabout, with Ray’s gear until the rising tide denied them access to the gutter.

Mind you, the party was not over, for Ray was up for yet another trip the following morning. And, accompanied by good friend Kolan Stavris, both had another hot session on the salmon at Moggs with Kalon taking the biggest; it measured 68 cm and weighed 3.2 kg on Ray’s digital scales.

Murray Scott and his 6-year-old grandson Byron with an impressive squid (Picture: Darcy Scott).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Andrew Johnson, just back from Queensland, did a solo run down off Curlewis at first light on Sunday morning, and anchored up in 6 metres of water off Hermsley Road, had to wait an hour or so for any action.

But the whiting bite started on the outgoing tide, and once they got going, said Andrew, it was figuratively all hands-on deck with an insane bite yielding a bag limit catch of keepers from 34 to 41 cm, all taken on strips of squid.

A recent trip on the whiting off Indented Head with the incoming tide provided lean pickings for Simon and Jayden Werner in the heavily discoloured water. So, although they were in only 4 metres of depth, they decided to put a snapper rod out.

Sound judgement as it turned out for Jayden’s rod buried over, reel singing to the tune of a 3 kg snapper that brightened up their day.

After Darcy Scott finished with a bag limit catch of squid to 2 kg and a dozen good size whiting, all from the Lonsdale Bight on Friday afternoon and evening, and with good weather in the offing, Darcy and his dad Murray took Murray’s 6-year-old grandson Byron out for a run the following day.

They caught 10 squid between them, the biggest 1.2 kg. And, judging by the size of the squid the young lad had hold of in the picture that Murray sent me, he looks like a quick learner.

On Saturday afternoon Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck found a good patch of squid off the entrance of Swan Bay, eventually picking up bag limit catches with their biggest nudging 2 kg.

And, with the last kick of the incoming tide to run for an hour or so before dark, they anchored up just inshore from Coles Beacon, picking up 25 whiting before the tide eventually shut down at around 6.00 pm, their biggest fish stretching the tape out to 46 cm.

John Gray with a pair of nice redfin from Lake Lonsdale (Picture: Kevin Wild).

Mason Eales 3, and Kevin Wild with a redfin catch from Lake Lonsdale.

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that he and club members, John Gray and Stephen Eales, and Mason Eales 3, and in another boat, John and Brian Rivett, fished Lake Lonsdale near Stawell, all taking great catches of redfin, mostly good size fish in the 36 to 42 cm range.

Kevin Wild with a pair of nice redfin from Lake Lonsdale.

Kevin reports that Kevin Streets and Leonie Jones spent three days at Lake Mulwala, and – while they were grounded with atrocious weather for two days – they were out fishing on Saturday and Sunday catching and releasing 9 Murray cod from 50 to 67 cm.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that redfin are still well and truly on the bite with regular anglers Moses Cocubia and John Hewitt of Port Fairy, each catching more than 50 fish apiece.

These were caught on scrubworms and soft plastics, and ranged in size from 30 to 45 cm.

Jamie Wells’ 40 cm bass that he caught from Queensland’s Cania Dam last week.

Local angler Jamie Wells heads up to south-east Queensland each year to fish its freshwater impoundments, including Cania Dam between Biloela and Monto, just north from the Burnett Highway, and stocked with bass.

That’s where he is now, reporting that while the dam is still quite low, the fish are biting and his biggest so far this trip, and of which he sent me a photo, was a bass measuring 40 cm.

Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.

Tony Ingram with a school shark he caught offshore from Barwon Heads last week (Picture: Col Simmons).

Offshore

With a break in the weather last week, Tony Ingram and Col Simmons headed out of Barwon Heads in the afternoon, hopeful of catching a gummy shark or two.

But those they caught, although of legal size, were a bit on the small side. However, they were bitten off a couple of times, which had them searching their tackle boxes for wire traces.

A good move as it turned out for Tony caught a school shark of about 10 kg that revealed no sign of their missing hooks; so, the culprits were still out there.

From the Beach

With numerous heavy ground swells, beach fishing opportunities have been limited of late, but with a favourable forecast for Friday, Ray Millman tried several spots between Eastern View and nearby Spout Creek.

Not even getting even a single strike there, and with the tide falling, Ray decided to try the beach at Moggs Creek.

Here, walking out on the exposed sand shelf, put him within casting range of a promising gutter that yielded a salmon of around 600 grams on his first cast, the start of a promising session with his 42-gram Savage Sea Missile.

Barwon estuary

Following a recent trip to the Sheepwash that yielded an assorted catch including several decent size silver trevally, Jason Treloar and Harley Griffiths tried their luck here once more.

But this time, acting on the advice of a pair of anglers who’d caught some decent size bream not far where they’d been fishing that evening, they’d gathered a quantity of sandworms – again as advised – used them only throughout the high tide change and start of the ebb.

An effective strategy, as it turned out, that produced not only a couple of nice bream, but – surprise of surprises – a couple of luderick around the kilogram mark that also took a fancy to their sandworms.

Bellarine Peninsula

Confronted with a pod of dolphins at the mouth of Swan Bay, mortal enemies of the squid they were seeking, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck headed north to St Leonards where they began picking up a few on the drift.

But being in for the long haul, they persisted – and toward nightfall – they hit the motherload with a couple nudging the 2 kg mark.

Victorian Inland Charters clients Jason – now on his annual birthday charter – along with Shane, Sophie, and their Granny, and their impressive catch of redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture Victorian Inland Chaters).

Victorian Inland Charters clients Jason – now on his annual birthday charter – along with Shane, Sophie, and their Granny, and their impressive catch of redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture Victorian Inland Chaters).

Kevin Wild with a brown trout from Goldfields Reservoir.

Freshwater

Preston/Northcote and Camperdown Angling Clubs fished Lake Bullen Merri in competition on Saturday, and despite the strong northly winds, making the boat ramp all but inoperable, a good many fish were caught, mainly from the bank.

The biggest of possibly 30 fish taken, was a 2.6 kg tiger trout caught by Daniel Trafford’s companion, George of the Preston/Northcote Angling Club.

On Friday afternoon, Victorian Inland Charters skipper Ken Carmen’s clients included Jason – now on his annual birthday charter – along with Shane, Sophie, and their Granny, out on Lake Purrumbete after the redfin.

And Ken was up to the task with his clients catching enough reddies to almost cover the entire fish cleaning table.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park and Darryl Hansford, who was down from Romsey, were also onto the redfin, taking another good catch from 9 metres of water using scrubworms and soft plastics.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that the club had an outing on their local Goldfields Reservoir before the club’s AGM on Friday. The fishing was slow, but Kevin caught a brown trout of about 1 kg on his old faithful Wonder Wobbler.

Special presentation at Warneet on September 16 next.

September presentation at Warneet

On September 16, next, the SEATAC (Toorak Angling Club & South Anglers) Club, 21 Balaka Street, Warneet, 3980 (Melway ref: 142 E12), will feature a special presentation from renowned angler Andrew Ketelaar on fishing for gummy shark, mulloway, trout and Australian Bass.

From 5.00 pm. there will be a BBQ laid on along with a raffle with lots of great prizes.

Pedro asks:

Geoff, I am confused over the terms trawling and trolling. Could you explain the difference please?

Pedro, trawling specifically refers to the commercial harvesting of fish by towing of a large sock-like net behind a vessel. The net is fitted with spreading devices on each side to keep its mouth open so that any fish in its path are engulfed: No co-operation from the fish is necessary.

On the other hand, trolling refers to fishing, either commercial or recreational, because it requires a response from the fish to be successful. It refers specifically to the towing of lures, or specially rigged baits, behind a boat with the intention of eliciting strikes from fish.

Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.

Victorian Inland Charters’ client Mohammed with his 63 cm brown trout from Lake Purrumbete.

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that while redfin have been the main catch from the lake, trophy size brown trout have also been on offer with Xavier Ellul picking up a nice one of 4 kg last week.

On Friday afternoon, Victorian Inland Charters’ new skipper, Ken Carman, was joined by client Mohammed and two of his mates, eager to catch a good size trout or chinook salmon, also from Lake Purrumbete, but – after a couple of hours on the troll – they became tired of catching nothing but floating weed in the choppy conditions.

So, moving on to calmer water at the sheltered side of the lake, they began a lure-casting session along the margins taking 20 nice redfin, but Mohammed took the catch of the day, a 62 cm brown trout that fell to a 3” paddle-tail soft plastic in midnight oil.

John Rivett’s catch of redfin from Green Hill Lake near Ararat.

Xavier Ellul with the brown trout he caught from Lake Purrumbete last week (Picture: John Clements).

On the weekend, clients Nathan and Dave joined Ken in a lure-casting session around the lake’s margins, hopeful of catching a good size trout, but redfin, and small chinook salmon were the only takers, so a change of tactics was in order.

Moving to an historically productive redfin spot, using scrubworms and soft plastics, they found plenty of action on redfin, taking 36 keepers, the two biggest of which measured 40 and 44 cm. They also released a dozen or so small chinook salmon in the process.

Making the trip to Lake Mulwala at the weekend were Maryborough Angling Club members Kevin and Amber Wild, more to attend to the maintenance of their cabin rather than to go fishing, considering the vast quantity of water being presently drained from the lake.

This is something that usually puts the Murray cod and other fish off the bite. Nevertheless, they journeyed around speaking to anglers trying their luck from the bank, one of whom, hooked what turned out to be a 62 cm cod, mid conversation: Good enough reason they thought, to return to the cabin to collect some fishing gear.

Well, despite the somewhat difficult conditions, Amber caught what turned out to be a 58 cm cod, but – between them – they missed quite a few timid nibblers.

While the weather has put a good many anglers off, Kevin reports that some members, like John Rivett fished Green Hill Lake near Ararat where he took a respectable catch of good size redfin, and Mark Wilde who caught several rainbow trout from Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree using Berkley Powerbait.

Barwon estuary

On Sunday, Simon Werner and Michael Dean fished Sunday afternoon’s incoming tide in The Sheepwash and were rewarded for their efforts with a number of silver trevally to a kilogram or so, along with some large yellow-eye mullet.

Earlier in the week, before the storm front came through, Jason Treloar and Harley Griffiths also tried their luck in The Sheepwash and were rewarded with an assorted catch that included some really good size silver trevally before the bite shut down. However, they stayed on until the incoming tide slackened off on evening for no additional benefit.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Among those fishing for whiting from Corio Bay’s outer harbour early last week were Gordon and Carol Williams who were out to catch the low tide change predicted to occur between 8.30 and 9.00 but initially, pickings were pretty lean.

However, once the tide picked up they caught a few nice fish off their mark at Curlewis before they were obliged to move to avoid the number of small fish moving in on their baits. And that was the pattern for the rest of the morning, having well and truly earned the dozen or so really good size fish they caught.

Ernie asks:

Geoff, I notice you sometimes refer to aero squid. Is that the same species as arrow squid?

Ernie, Gould’s squid (Nototodarus gouldi) is also known as the flying or aero squid. It is also called “arra squid” by many of those who harvest them commercially, which is probably why it is referred to as arrow squid in some literature; arrow being the nearest word to fit that pronunciation.

Kevin Wild with the brown trout he caught from Goldfields Reservoir at Maryborough (Picture: Amber Wild).

Elijah McLoughlin 3, with a sample of the rainbow trout he and his father Kevin caught from St Augustine’s Water Hole (Picture: Kevin McLoughlin).

Freshwater

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club tried his luck at nearby Goldfields Reservoir, where – flicking out a silver Wonder Wobbler – he caught a nice brown trout of possibly 2 kg that he released after wife Amber took a photo.

Kevin also mentions that local reservoirs are full to overflowing, and with Tullaroop closed to boating once more, Kevin, along with his father John, took a good catch of redfin from the bank using worms for bait.

Kevin also mentions that – well attended by representative from VFA, local dignitaries and others, and of course the media – the announcement was made of a new toilet block to be built at Cairn Curran Reservoir’s Picnic Point, along with a proposed upgrade to the local boat ramp, which – for all intents and purposes – has fallen into disrepair.

Tom Hogan with the brown trout he caught from Lake Purrumbete.

Matty Tamburro with a rainbow trout, one of several fish he caught from Lake Purrumbete.

There are still rainbow trout to be caught from St Augustine’s Waterhole at Highton where Kevin McLoughlin and his three-year-old son Elijah visited last week, finishing up with 7 altogether, the biggest measuring 40 cm.

They also visited a nondescript water at Grovedale from where the lad caught several eels.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that this water is still fishing well with redfin the main attraction, and of which he and Daniel Kelly took a good sample with their ten largest fish weighing 15 kg.

Both brown and rainbow trout are on offer as well with Drysdale angler Tom Hogan picking up a brown of close to 3 kg, and a slightly smaller rainbow.

Matty Tamburro also had a good day on the lake taking several brown, rainbow and tiger trout to 2 kg fishing mudeyes on a long drop beneath a float, alongside the weed beds.

The biggest ten from a catch of redfin taken by John Clements and Daniel Kelly from Lake Purrumbete; they weighed 15 kg (Picture: John Clements).

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Heading out on the whiting on Wednesday, Andrew Johnson and Denis O’Brien found a good bite early on, just off Curlewis, but that petered out after an hour or so.

They made a series of moves, hoping to find another good bite with the tide still running in, but – for the main part – it was lean pickings, the only bright spot was being area in around 5 metres of water off Hermsley Road where they topped off their catch of 27 fish to 41 cm.

Gordon and Carol Williams were also in the mix with some nice whiting, also off Curlewis; a worthwhile dividend on their investment in a quantity of pipis, their price now elevated by the demand of same for human consumption.

Simon Werner found the whiting scarce off Indented Head last week, but with a by-catch of several good-size flathead, they became the target species. So, fishing on the drift in 5 metres of water within the Indented Head/St Leonards area, he finished with 18 altogether, the biggest measuring 42 cm.

Simon also headed out to Wurdiboluc Reservoir on Wednesday, and fishing from the rock wall with mudeyes suspended beneath a float, he caught two brown trout, the largest around the 1.5 kg mark.

Freddy asks:

Geoff, I’ve been told that right-handed anglers using spinning reels, should have the handle on the left-hand side of the reel. Is there any truth to that?

Freddy, harking back to the 1980s, when asked by an editor of this worthy publication to comment on an article in Choice magazine, its overriding question, or criticism being, as to why most of the imported spinning reels have their handles on the left-hand side when most Aussie anglers are right-handed?

The truth is that spinning reels were initially developed for casting small metal lures on shallow streams for trout in the UK and Europe, and – the time it took to change hands after a cast was made – would often allow the lure to sink to the bottom and become snagged.

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

Mind you, virtually all spinning reels – which are now available in a vast range of sizes – feature the option of positioning the handle on the left-or-right-hand side as preferred.

Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.

Billy Zang with the100 kg tuna he caught off Port Phillip Heads last week.

Offshore

Fishing in around 30 metres of water off Anglesea early last week were Paul Carlson and his son, Ace. And it was young Ace who took the catch of the day, a school shark of at least 20 kg that took a fillet of slimy mackerel.

Tuna have been present out from Port Phillip Heads; some big ones too, including a 100 kg specimen taken from 75 metres of water by fishing excursion organizer Billy Zang, early last week.

One of Adamas’ Fishing Charters clients with his catch (Picture: Rodney Lawn).

Another of Adamas’ Fishing Charters clients with her catch (Picture: Rodney Lawn).

Simon Werner, deckhand aboard Adamas Charters, reports looking after some of Billy’s clients early last week. And, while their catch was mainly reef fish, they also picked up several nice snapper, including one of 5 kg, and some snotty trevalla (warehou), up to 2.5 kg.

Ash Rawlings with the 2.82 kg tiger trout that he caught from Lake Bullen Merri.

Victorian Inland Charters’ clients Rod and his son Jackson with a sample of their catch of redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Michael Evans).

Freshwater

As mentioned last week, Camperdown’s Lake Bullen Merri has kicked into gear, and – judging by the number of anglers now fishing here – the word is out.

Among the successful anglers last week was Ash Rawlings whose catch included a 2.82 kg tiger trout that fell to a 95 mm Daiwa Double-clutch bibbed minnow that was caught – in Ash’s words – “in an area holding bait away from the crowds.”

Redfin remain on offer at Lake Purrumbete, and Victorian Inland Charters’ clients Rod, Jackson and Kallum made the trip on Wednesday afternoon for a session, and – managing to find some shelter from the stiffening breeze – found a good patch of reddies, mainly small fish, but they caught quite a few keepers to grace their table as well.

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that among visitors to the lake last week were Dennis Bourke from Sandringham and his two sons Lachlan and Andrew, who also took good catches of redfin from the lake.

Dennis Bourke from Sandringham with his two sons Lachlan and Andrew with their catch of redfin from Lake Purrumbete (Picture: John Clements).

Fish stocking

Fish stocking coordinator Rhiannon Atkinson advises that Lake Purrumbete will be stocked with yearling chinook salmon, hopefully between 1.15 and 1.30 on the following dates at the boat ramp: Thursday July 13, Wednesday July 19, and Thursday July 25.

Should you wish to attend any of the listed stocking events, please contact Rhiannon on either rhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au or 0407 987 016, for any change of plans.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Early last week Andrew Johnson and wife Jenny hit the water at first light, but as is often the case, the whiting were initially slow. However, after making a half dozen or so moves, their luck eventually changed as the incoming tide picked up speed.

And, in around five metres of water off Hermsley Road, Curlewis, they hit the jackpot with bag limit catches of fish ranging from 33 to 41 cm.

Paul Carson and his son Ace, with the school shark the lad caught off Anglesea early last week.

Barwon Heads

Fishing at anchor in the Sheepwash section of the Barwon Estuary with a variety of baits early last week, Jason Treloar and Harley Griffiths, kicked off with small but legal-size salmon, mullet, and several reasonable King George whiting as the tide began trickling in, mid-morning.

Several good size silver trevally followed with the biggest easily nudging the kilogram mark. That was until the volume of kelp and other weed coming in with the rising tide made fishing difficult.

Trevor asks:

Geoff, on June 27 you said that a good time to fish from the fishermen’s wharf at Barwon Heads would be during the low tide change and early flood tide, and suggested a weekend when I was unable to go.

Does the low tide change at Barwon Heads occur at the same time as low water at Port Phillip Heads?

Trevor, what you really need to know is the time of low slack water, the time at which the current stops running out and slackening off before coming back in. This does not occur at the lowest point of the tide, but sometime later.

With the present volume of fresh water coming down the Barwon River, low slack water at the old Fisherman’s wharf occurs about two hours later than the time given for low water at Port Phillip Heads and an hour or so later in The Sheepwash.

However, should the volume of fresh water coming down the river increase, which usually happens after heavy rain, then low slack water in all sections of the estuary will occur later still.

Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.

Shane Stevens with the 3.63 kg brown trout he caught from Lake Purrumbete last week.

Freshwater

John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that trophy size brown trout are on offer and among those to catch them last week was Shane Stevens of Ballarat who picked up a beauty of 3.63 kg casting an OSP Bent Minnow.

However, John insists that those looking for fishing action have concentrated on the redfin, and early last week, Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters – who had already explained to prospective clients Ronnie, Mack, and Brad that conditions were marginal – said they still wanted to go.

Well, the wind was blowing at around 20 knots, accompanied by quite heavy showers of rain, but – with redfin on the bite – nobody suggested a retreat. And, despite the challenging conditions, their impressive final tally of fish for the morning was 90 redfin and one chinook salmon.

Ken Hinks and Don Rayner with a sample of their redclaw catch from the Thomson River at Longreach in Central Queensland (Picture: Amber Wild).

Don Rayner with a catch of redclaw from the Thomson River at Longreach in Central Queensland (Picture: Amber Wild).

Nearby Lake Bullen Merri, which has been quiet over the late autumn and early winter, now appears to be kicking into gear, producing a trifecta of chinook salmon, rainbow, and tiger trout.

While anglers fishing from boats have been picking up all three, those fishing land-based in the vicinity of the boat ramp have also been doing well; their preferred approach being the presentation of live minnow beneath a float.

Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club, who – again reminds us of club member’s willingness to cover quite a bit of ground to get their feet wet – reports that his wife Amber, Amber’s dad Don Rayner, and Ken Hinks, made the trip to Longreach in Central Queensland to get onto the redclaw that this area is famous for.

This species, which resembles a yabby on steroids, is primarily vegetarian, hence the yabby traps, that they positioned in the nearby Thomson River, were baited with potato and pumpkin. And they’re not scarce either, for on one day alone they caught 112.

Kevin reports that closer to home, club member Darren Watts continues to take good catches of redfin from Lake Lonsdale near Stawell, while yet another member, Trevor Perry, has caught Murray cod measuring from 56–60 cm from the Loddon River below Laanecoorie Weir.

Three-year-old Elijah McLoughlin with one of the rainbow trout he caught from St Augustine’s Water Hole in Highton (Picture: Kevin McLoughlin).

Some local anglers, and their kids, have taken advantage of the recent stocking of rainbow trout into St Augustine’s Water Hole off South Valley Road, Highton. Among them, 3-year-old Elijah McLoughlin, who – accompanied by his dad, Kevin – caught a couple of these pan-size rainbows from here using worms for bait.

Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula

Making a daybreak start off Curlewis on Sunday morning Andrew Phillips and Tony Mollenhauer were after whiting, but those they caught initially – although of legal size –didn’t quite make the grade as keepers.

A series of moves produced much the same result. However, a trial run out into 6 metres of water produced a better class of fish, and – with the tide still running in – they persisted until finishing up with their respective bag limit catches by late morning.

Taking a run down to Queenscliff on Sunday afternoon, Mark Sesar and Andrew Phillips were after squid, and fishing on the drift with the outgoing tide and following breeze, each took a bag limit catch off the mouth of Swan Bay, their biggest around the 2 kg mark.

Tom asks:

Geoff, fishing off Point Wilson recently, I heard the unmistakable calling of penguins. The sea was a bit choppy wo I couldn’t see them clearly, but they were penguins alright; I’d swear to it.

Do you know anything about penguins in the bay, and if so, what variety would they be?

Tom, I did have another report of penguins being sighted in the bay some years ago, and in the very area you specify, and which I reported in my column. An upshot from this was being informed that there was indeed a penguin rookery on the northern shores of Corio Bay, but with no exact location being specified.

While I don’t know much about penguins, a web search suggests they are almost certainly “little penguins” (Eudyptula minor), sometimes referred to as fairy penguins