GENERALLY good conditions over the past week resulted in some of the best captures for some time.
Kingfish from The Rip area dominated reports again. There was plenty of boat traffic to contend with but numbers of quality fish were landed, with jigging the best method.
Jigs in the 130g to 200g range were ideal, with most of the fish between 3kg and 6kg.
Every now and then a monster was caught, such as Greg Norton’s beauty of 18.3kg and another he lost of similar proportions.
Paul Ellis found the kings while trolling for salmon in close at Collendina. He caught plenty of salmon but the four kingfish around 70cm, which took black and silver Slug Go soft plastics, were a real bonus.
Many anglers tried offshore for sharks, with berley trails attracting makos from 30kg to 50kg. The best depth was 50m.
Patrick George fished his favourite platform just past Lorne where he enjoyed a frantic four-hour session on salmon. Using 30g metal slugs, his tally of fish included salmon over 2kg along with one small kingfish, all of which were released.
Guy Stevens fished Swan Bay’s entrance, landing four nice flathead and a 12.6kg gummy shark on 4kg tackle in just over 1m of water.
Cord Lund fished late into the night on the bay, catching seven gummies and keeping one that weighed just over 10kg cleaned.
Plenty of squid were taken but they were mostly very small, which isn’t ideal for eating but a great size for bait.
Troy Daniels fished in 18m off St Leonards well before dark where he soon had numbers of slimy mackerel in his berley trail. Unfortunately, it took until mid-morning before he landed three snapper all over 3kg on his fresh baits.
The Kelly brothers fished all night near Wilson Spit for a catch of five fantastic snapper to 5.6kg on fresh squid.
The outer-harbour spoil grounds remained a viable option on soft plastics, especially in the extremely early hours of the morning. Indications are that the snapper seem to slow considerably once the sun rises.
Peter McFarlane fished the Hermsely spoil early Sunday morning when he encountered many small fish. However, by 8am he had his bag limit of snapper to 3.8kg.
Whiting were caught in many locations with Kirks Point providing the best bags for anglers fishing the last two hours before dark with pippie baits. The average fish was around 33cm to 35cm but bag-limit captures were common.
Corio Bay was difficult, with only soft plastics anglers drifting the Stingaree Bay spoil grounds providing good reports. They caught snapper to just over 1kg, mainly early in the morning, while pike were taken from rock ledges around North Shore.
Trevally were landed in the cut at Queenscliff an hour either side of the high tide on soft plastics such as turtleback worms or curl-tail grubs.
Wurdi Boluc Reservoir fished best for quality redfin during the last two hours before dark on lures such as Bob n Spoons, tiger minnows and Fish Arrow soft plastics.
Corey Mann caught redfin while casting lures above the ring road in the Barwon River. Most were small but plenty were taken on an Atomic Shad lure in the Muddy Prawn colour.
Lake Toolondo’s water level continued dropping but it remained one of the best lakes in the state for quality trout. Mudeye has been the preferred choice but lure has been accounting for the best captures, particularly when using designs that can be retrieved extremely slowly.
The Rip might be an option for anyone looking to jig on the kingfish this weekend depending on the conditions, while surf anglers should find the tides late in the morning perfect for salmon between Lorne and Wye River on lures ranging from 20g to 30g.
Send reports and photos to info@raylongtackle.com.au or visit Brian at Ray Long’s Fishing World, 105 Shannon Ave, Manifold Heights.
