On the Bite, by Chris Pitman
Anglers find huge mix of species on the bite.
Clifton Springs was really the go-to location for a mixed bag over the past week, with snapper, gummy shark, whiting, flathead and squid all making their way into anglers’ bags.
Whiting were boated over the Curlewis Bank in 5m to 6m of water, with pippie the most-desired bait.
Snapper averaging 3kg to 5kg kept anglers busy in the Alcoa area.
The shallow areas off Clifton Springs produced some well-conditioned flathead, with soft plastics a great tactic.
Barry Wood was at it again Saturday morning chasing flathead in the deeper water off Indented Head on Saturday morning. Using bluebait, Barry landed an impressive bag of flatties to 40cm.
The reef sections of Indented Heads were fantastic for squid, with bag-limit captures sometimes possible.
St Leonards was whiting central again.
I made a daybreak start out from St Leonards on Sunday, anchoring in 6m off the yacht club. I managed a dozen whiting to 40cm over an hour before the bite slowed, with pippies rigged on running sinker rigs working best.
Squid kept other anglers busy in the bight at Queenscliff. Drifting with large size-3.5 jigs worked well.
Kingfish were the main attraction, with The Rip showing no signs of slowing down. Anglers drifting in the tide with 150g jigs boated kings to 8kg along, while the odd fish was also taken on the troll.
But what caught a lot of attention was the occasional bluefin tuna still hanging around on The Rip and the bend, both areas where anglers should take care around large ships.
Anglers also caught kingfish offshore from Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads. Jigging around schools of bait marked on sounders with produced fish to 70cm.
Other offshore anglers found that drifting in 40m was a great way to bag a feed of tiger flathead.
Portland was a hot spot for bluefin tuna. Trellys Geelong’s Kevin Hunter boated fish to 20.52kg on the troll with Rapala Xrap lures.
On the freshwater front, Lake Purrumbete produced fantastic numbers of redfin along with the odd rainbow trout. Anglers did well sending jigs down to schools of redfin marked on sounders.
The Barwon River around Geelong continued fishing well for numbers of redfin to 35cm on small, hard-body lures such as the Atomic Hard in colour 017.
Lake Eildon was a hot location for anglers chasing Murray cod. Trolling hard-body lures along the steep banks was productive for fish to 65cm.
Over the next week, anglers seeking whiting should keep St Leonards in mind, with the area known as Bourke St worth a shot on the incoming tide. Kingfish in The Rip will also be an option, while freshwater anglers should make the drive to Purrumbete for large numbers of redfin.
