On the Bite, by Adam Van der Lugt
Corio Bay continued to fish well over the past week, with parts of the inner-harbour offering cover from windy conditions.
Anglers snagged some fantastic bags of pinkie snapper up to 2kg in what has been one of the best runs of these fish that we’ve seen in a long time. The Geelong waterfront remained a hot spot with schools of the fish responding well to soft plastics and pilchard baits.
Silver trevally were also present in good numbers and were caught using similar techniques.
The inner and outer-harbour was also host to big schools of Australian salmon that weren’t too hard to tempt. Casting metal lures into the visible schools of fish allowed anglers to hook up on quality fish.
Anglers chasing a feed of flathead didn’t have to look further than the grammar school lagoon, which had fish to 55cm on offer.
Stingaree Bay offered anglers some quality King George whiting up to 45cm. While using pippie as bait was the standout method, one angler reported catching around 10 whiting on soft plastics.
Local surf beaches fished exceptionally for mulloway, gummy shark and even snapper to 5kg. Mulloway are always high on most anglers’ hit lists, with fish to 10kg caught on fresh squid bait and even live salmon last week.
Casting baits into beach gutters an hour either side of a late night high tide was the most effective tactic, also accounting for gummies and snapper. Baits such as salmon and trevally fillet were very effective.
Quality salmon were also caught along the coastline, right from Bancoora down to the rock platforms and beaches near Apollo bay. Casting metal lures on overcast days saw anglers beach fish to 60cm, while pilchard and bluebait also led to some success.
On the freshwater scene, West Barwon Reservoir fired up with pan-size rainbow and brown trout for anglers casting lures like the trusty old pink Tassie Devil. Anglers using mudeye and scrubworms suspended under a bubble float also reported success.
Stony Creek Reservoir produced redfin pushing 50cm. Metal spoons were still a favourite for making long casts to cover most of the lake from the bank, while baits such as yabbies and worms also took reddies.
Wurdibuloc Reservoir rewarded early risers with solid trout at first light. Redfin were also present in great numbers and taken on lures, although the low water level required long casts with the preferable assistance of a tail wind.
