CHRIS PITMAN
THE START of summer has brought a mixed bag for local anglers.
Clifton Springs was again productive for anglers seeking all kinds of species.
Karl and Michael Fedke trolled just out from the mussel beds despite limited experience using lures for snapper. They boated a few pinkies, which helped increase their confidence, on Rapala Tail Dancers and then found a school of pike to 70cm.
Adrian Cole, Jarred Maloney and Mark Sesar fished the turn straight out from Clifton Springs’ boat ramp where they used fresh mackerel and whiting baits for a catch of seven snapper averaging 4kg. They said the fish came right on the chew once the run-out tide commenced.
Other anglers fishing Clifton Springs over the past week found great numbers of squid on the shallow grass beds.
The spoil grounds just out from Alcoa held reasonable numbers of flathead, pike and pinkies for anglers drifting and casting soft plastics. Anglers getting out on the water at day break enjoyed the best results.
Swan Bay provided some shelter from the winds, with anglers fishing the channel boating species such as Australian salmon, pike, flathead and gummy shark. The most productive method was fishing baits such as pilchard and bluebait suspended under float or drifting the channel while casting plastics such as Gulp turtleback worm.
I fished Queenscliff Harbour on Sunday afternoon with soft plastics on the tide change, catching salmon to 800g and a flathead of 45cm.
Rob Pantazis tried his luck fishing for sharks off Barwon Heads, boating a mako of 65kg. Rob was using a small 10kg setup, which resulted in a one-and-a-half-hour fight.
Gone Fishing Charters’ Chris Vasileksi tried similar grounds over the past week, catching snapper to 4kg as well as some large flathead on baits such as pilchard and squid.
Anglers spinning the Surf Coast beaches caught salmon to 1.5kg on lures such as Sluks.
Many anglers have been travelling far and wide since the Murray cod season opened. Lake Eildon has been the best freshwater fishery, with Robert Wood catching a well-coloured cod of 64cm on a black and purple Stump Jumper.
Phil Nelson caught a bigger 12.9kg specimen and four others of similar weight along with some chunky yellowbelly.
Wurdee Boluc Reservoir continued providing persistent anglers with trophy redfin. Casting soft plastics along the rock wall resulted in fish to 45cm over the past week.
Anglers should continue finding good numbers around the turn off Clifton Springs over the next week, particularly on fresh baits such as squid and garfish. Freshwater anglers should consider Lake Eildon for large yellowbelly and cod, or stick closer to home by fishing Wurdee Boluc Resrvoir for big redfin.
