Rip is the place to be

Stefan Uzur with a kingfish. (supplied)

The rip continues to be the current fishing hotspot this week with solid and consistent reports rolling through.

Anglers fishing the start and end of the tides are proving to be the best time of the day to target the kings and find success. Fish have been ranging from about 85cm to 110cm in length.

Live baits have been working very well but unfortunately the seals have been a massive problem in getting baits down. Knife jigs have been a great alternative and been super effective. 200 to 300 gram jigs have been lethal and colours really haven’t mattered too much.

Anglers seeking live bait have been finding slimeys and yakkas around the mussel farm at Mud Island and calamari in the usual hot spots in that region such as Swan Bay, the grass beds and mud island.

Back inside the bay and the variety of species that hold this time of year in the outer harbour are still chewing reasonably well. King George whiting, snapper, flathead, salmon and pike have all been in good numbers with the spoil grounds proving to be the standout locations. This time of the year is a great time to go back with the snapper spread and have a crack purely for snapper as we do tend to get a great late season run this time of year. The southern part of the channel would have to be the better part of the bay to have a go at this.

Offshore Barwon heads has been pretty hit and miss with the tuna action, but there does seem to be a good number of fish out there, although tricky to tempt into a bite. The 50 metre line has been where the majority seem to be hanging and down 25 metres. Deep diving lures or skirted lures with the aid of a teaser is ideal to either get down deeper and create more splash on the surface to get the attention of the tuna.

Stoney Creek Reservoir has been fishing quite well this past week for anglers having a crack at the resident redfin. Soft plastics and spoon style lures have been working best, anglers have been doing best with 3 inch paddle tail plastics with the aid of a jig spinner and plenty of scent.