On the Bite, by Chris Pitman
Pinkie snapper hit baits and lures in Corio Bay’s inner-harbour over the past week.
The spoil grounds out from Limeburner’s Point produced plenty of pinkies along with some 50cm-plus flathead. Garfish responded well to a beryl trail from the rocks, with similar tactics also working well at St Helens too.
Clifton Springs was a whiting Mecca, with the Curlewis Bank in 6m off Hermsley Rd very popular.
Squid continued biting in fantastic numbers nearby, while calm nights allowed for floundering in the shallows with a light and spear. Wading anglers also caught impressive flathead, squid and garfish.
Squid and flathead dominated reports form Indented Head. Barry Wood fished slowly on the drift with bluebait for a nice feed of flatties.
St Leonards’ whiting action continued improving, with bag limit captures taken. Out deeper in 20m, anglers caught gummy sharks to just over 1m, along with the odd snapper, on pilchards or fresh squid strips.
Queenscliff Harbour’s fished well for silver trevally on soft plastics. Around the corner, Bell Reef produced well-conditioned squid on size 3.5 artificial jigs.
Offshore fishing was on fire last weekend.
Fez Sepic was anchored in 30m off Barwon Heads when Australian salmon busted up around the boat, providing great sport and ahandy bait supply. Fez then baited up with fresh salmon, immediately catching a gummy of around 14kg.
Trelly’s Fishing World Geelong’s Peri Stravropoulos and mate Josh Whitford were anchored about 100m away when they too boated a gummy of the same size.
Anglers also reported schools of southern bluefin tuna offshore, although they were difficult to tempt.
Anglers spinning the beaches and rock platforms down the coast found improved salmon fishing. Beaches like Bancoora also produced gummies after dark.
Freshwater anglers who persisted with Wurdee Boluc Reservoir caught some monster redfin. Long casts with spoon-type lures did the job, with odd trout taken as a bycatch.
Stony Creek Reservoir was a safe bet for brown trout to just over 1kg, with similar tactics to Wurdee working well.
Anglers had fun on carp in the Barwon River at Breakwater. Fish over 6kg gobbled up most baits, particularly super sweet corn kernels.
Next week should be worth fishing for gummies in 30m offshore if the weather permits, while the Barwon River estuary will still hold elephant fish.
Anglers can also celebrate a net-free Corio Bay during a free family event with various activities from 10am to 3pm Sunday at 711-729 Portarlington Road, Leopold.
