Easter’s looking good for fishing around the Geelong area.
Early-morning high tides for Corio Bay’s inner-harbour should suit fishing for snapper or flathead at North Shore rocks with blue or whitebait. Surf rods are generally required here for the long casts needed.
Geelong’s waterfront between Cunningham Pier and Royal Geelong Yacht Club should be worthwhile for a variety of species on soft plastics, particularly Gulp turtleback worms in the Pumpkin Green pattern.
Boat anglers could try the outer-harbour spoil grounds for snapper and flathead on soft plastics, while bait anglers using pippies could bag a few whiting.
The same area has been producing some quality salmon on lure.
Squid were caught in the last week along the Bellarine Peninsula from Hermsley to Queenscliff on the inshore grass beds. Small jigs were required.
Whiting numbers were down but quality fish were still caught from St Leonards to Queenscliff. Fresh bait and fishing at first light helped.
Swan Bay’s entrance was productive, with berley tempting flathead, whiting, garfish and salmon. Anglers fishing after dark over Easter should be in the mix to catch gummy sharks, especially if using fresh squid or salmon fillets.
Kingfish could also be an option inside The Rip and offshore. Knife jigs and live baits have been getting results.
The Barwon River estuary has been fishing well, with elephant fish common and small mulloway also caught on squid and fresh fish fillets. Soft plastics have been catching trevally and salmon.
Salmon have been well spread out in the surf between Fairhaven and Wye River. Last weekend after heavy easterlies the water was average, taking us a number of moves to find clean water at Grassy Creek where we were flat out for three hours on salmon to 1.5kg.
Down Portland way, albacore and bluefin tuna have been taking small skirted lures and bibbed Rapala X Raps, with the biggest numbers caught in water 400m or more deep.
Good numbers of redfin have been available from the Barwon River upstream of Buckley Falls on small bibbed lures. The best action has been in the middle of the day.
The river also produced fantastic carp fishing from Queen’s Park to Shannon Ave bridge for anglers using berley and unweighted bread or corn baits.
Wurdee Boluc Reservoir should have big but hard-to-catch redfin available for Easter anglers.
Moorabool Reservoir is low but the fishing has been productive with scrub worms or small freshwater yabbies for big redfin and for trout to almost 2kg on mudeyes.
Send reports and photos to info@raylongtackle.com.au or visit Brian at Ray Long’s Fishing World, 105 Shannon Ave, Manifold Heights.
