CHRIST PITMAN
ELIJAH Walsh and brother Joseph fished the Swan Bay channel again last week, using fresh Australian salmon fillets to catch a 6kg gummy that fought hard in shallow water.
The bay’s entrance hosted many anglers over the past week, with large numbers of King George whiting present. Tenderised squid caught the biggest fish, with the start of the run-out tide best.
Anglers fishing Corio Bay encountered pinkie snapper to 50cm around structure such as boats moored off Western Beach. Soft plastics were effective, particularly three and four-inch Gulp minnows.
The Barwon River estuary’s Sheepwash section produced mulloway to 80cm. Fishing the run-in tide was key, with baits such as live mullet or squid getting bites.
Paul Blackborrow travelled down to Port Fairy in search of southern bluefin tuna. After setting out a spread of lures, a Rapala Xrap was quickly devoured by a tuna of 15kg.
Paul continued fishing for the rest of the day, boating another tuna of similar size.
Port Fairy has been popular for tuna this season, with the fish in relatively close to shore. The most popular method has been trolling hard-body or skirted lures but many anglers have been casting stick baits at surface-feeding fish or micro jigging to tuna holding down deep.
Anglers have noted that changing tactics has really saved the day in some cases.
Oliver Andrews spent time last Sunday chasing bream in the mouth of the Merri River. Casting Z-Man 2.5-inch grubs and Atomic hard-body lures, Oliver banked numerous bream, his best 33cm and 39cm.
The dropping temperatures signalled the start of freshwater fishing for some anglers.
Wurdee Boluc Reservoir received a lot of attention from anglers seeking big redfin. Darryl Luttrell spent a few hours walking the edges casting lures and banking a 40cm redfin for his efforts.
Most anglers have noticed that sunset has yielded the most fish around the lake margins.
Over at Lake Bullen Merri, William Patrick fished for trout during gentleman’s hours of 11am to 2pm. Setting up from the bank next to the boat ramp, he caught a pair of Chinook salmon and a football-shaped rainbow trout just over 1kg with Powerbait on a running-sinker rig.
Reece Pitt and I visited Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree on Saturday afternoon, catching good numbers of brown trout to 1kg on hard-body lures such as Laydown Minnows and Smith Panish. Casting to the edges of the rowing lanes did the trick, with the last hour of light producing the most action.
Eric Box travelled up to Lake Toolondo where he fished on one of Trevor Holmes’ Victorian Inland Charters boats. Fishing mudeyes around the submerged trees, Eric caught three brown trout averaging 2kg each.
Joel Shipard went north-east to walk the Ovens River around Freeburgh. Joel found small stream trout willing to take both lure and fly, although taking his first trout on fly was a highlight.
Over the next week anglers should try for whiting around the grass beds off Queenscliff, while the Western District holds fantastic numbers of tuna if the weather allows. Freshwater enthusiasts should try Lake Bullen Merri for Chinook salmon and trout.
