IDEAL conditions produced outstanding captures over the past week.
John Mole and I spun the rocks just past Lorne where we caught any number of salmon to 1.3kg.
However, the sudden appearance of many small kingfish made for some exciting catch-and-release fishing.
Danny Graham also caught a 3.4kg kingfish while spinning the rocks under Mount Defiance, along with quality salmon.
Anglers fishing Cinema Point landed some nice silver trevally, while Grant Martin caught elephant fish and a 6.5kg gummy shark while fishing Point Roadknight beach after dark.
Kingfish were taken offshore from Barwon Heads and inside The Rip.
Small gummy shark were caught close in to Swan Bay. The best captures were in the early hours and on fresh squid heads.
Stan Rogers landed the best gummy I saw this week, a fish of 10.4kg cleaned.
Whiting reports were fair, with the best fishing before daylight at Queenscliff on pippies for fish averaging 35cm to 38cm. Guy Tanner caught a 49cm whiting among six fish over 40cm directly out from Cottage by the Sea.
Whiting around 32cm were again caught close in to Bird Rock. The average bag was generally a dozen or so, with pippies and fishing before daylight returning the best results.
Garry Marshall spun the rocks at North Shore, catching three nice pike on small metal baitfish-profile lures.
Peter McMahon drifted the Hermsley spoil grounds with soft plastics, catching only the odd flathead and small snapper until he landed an 8.4kg gummy shark after a 15-minute battle just on dark – not bad on 4kg line!
Salmon were caught in many areas around Corio Bay, with Alcoa Pier and within 100m of the shore off the Quarries producing the most-consistent.
In freshwater, Troy Clements landed a nice brown trout from West Barwon Reservoir. He took his 1.9kg fish a gold-coloured Tassie Devil while spinning from the right end of the main rock wall.
Moorabool Reservoir produced redfin over 1kg on small freshwater yabbies and scrub worms, although the snags cost a few hooked fish.
The Barwon River upstream of the Shannon Ave bridge hosted reasonable redfin action on lure and bait, while bread or corn baits accounted for some big carp.
Estuary anglers targeted bream in the Curdies and Hopkins rivers on lure. Vibes and small suspending bibbed designs worked well, while shrimp, bass yabby or worms were handy baits.
This weekend should again produce good salmon fishing from the rocks near Lorne, while freshwater enthusiasts should consider the long drive to Lake Toolondo for some of the state’s best trout fishing.
Send reports and photos to info@raylongtackle.com.au or visit Brian at Ray Long’s Fishing World, 105 Shannon Ave, Manifold Heights.
