The barrels have been running hot with plenty of reports of local anglers making the most of the hot action.
The fish have been widely spread, holding from Bells Beach right through to the western entrance of Western Port and even further east to Cape Patterson.
The fish are primarily feeding on whitebait so getting bites can be a challenge but with persistence the rewards are on offer. Small 6.5 inch Skirts from JB Lures have been a standout as it’s the perfect size to represent the bait the fish are feeding on. Finding the fish isn’t too much of a mission either as if you just find bait, birds, whales, dolphins and seals, the bluefin won’t be far away.
Cody Carruthers christened his new boat in style, landing a barrel tuna the first time he hit the water. Cody was fishing alongside Ethan Solly with the fish hitting the scales at 118kg.
Snapper have started to come onto the radar after getting a taste of the good weather and have wasted no time in getting out and soaking a bait.
The outer harbour of Corio Bay has been productive with both the north and south sides of the channel producing fish with some at 6kg.
If bait fishing, the best baits are pilchards, squid, silver whiting and just about anything you can get fresh. At the moment the water is still quite cold so try to fish on a tide change.
Anglers are picking up some small to medium size gummy sharks whilst chasing snapper over the past weeks. The gummies have been picking up snapper baits, so there’s no real need to put a big bait out.
Portarlington Rock Wall has great land based snapper and over the next few weeks, those windy nights should only fish better.
Calamari remain a popular target, spreading right along the region from Clifton Springs to the bight in Point Lonsdale. Fishing from the Clifton sticks to smaller 2.5 to 3.0 jigs and ramp it up as you go around. If fishing the bight, use a 3.5 or 4.0 jig.
