By CHRIS PITMAN
CORIO Bay provided refuge from strong winds last weekend, with anglers fishing close to structures catching trevally, pinkies and Australian salmon in great numbers.
The trevally took baits such as chicken, while the salmon to 1kg were taken on soft plastic lures cast into the schools breaking the surface.
Grass patches out from Clifton Springs’ boat ramp remained productive for squid and flathead. Drifting slowly and casting jigs accounted for bag-limit captures of squid, some nudging 1kg, while soft plastics caught some impressive flathead in shallower, clearer water.
St Leonards remained the go-to location for whiting, with the area just out from the yacht club hard to go past. Fishing the start of the ebb tide with pippies or tenderised squid helped anglers take fish to 40cm.
Surf Coast rock platforms produced salmon just over 2kg. Brain Long and John Mole cast metal lures from the rocks to land numerous salmon in wet, windy weather.
Portland produced tuna averaging 20kg, with the fish out wider less fickle. Some anglers also caught some exceptional table fish when deep-dropping with the aid of electric reels in the same area.
Freshwater reports were encouraging, with Michael Evans landing a brown trout of 50cm and a 47cm redfin on Fish Arrow soft plastics at Wurdee Boluc Reservoir. Fishing the evenings or early morning paid off for Michael, with the fish moving into shallower water.
Fishing World Geelong’s Reece Pitt fished the reservoir late Saturday afternoon, catching a redfin just over 40cm.
Lake Bullen Merri hosted some large Chinook salmon on the chew. I trolled around Potters Point, boating a pair of salmon reaching 2kg on flat-lined Daiwa Double Clutches.
Other anglers took salmon of the same size while trolling down deep with downriggers. Most anglers noted the salmon were willing to bite throughout the day when the weather was overcast and windy.
Lake Toolondo continued producing trophy brown trout. Leigh Furness and Charlie Zammit caught a nicely coloured brown of 2.8kg on a Tassie devil and another of 1.8kg on a mudeye suspended under a float.
Over the next week St Leonards should be a reasonably safe bet for whiting and squid, with gummies likely out wider. The western district tuna will also be tempting, while freshwater anglers should try Lake Bullen Merri from either the bank or a boat.
