Salmon dominate coast

SALMON were the dominant species over the past week, with many caught along the coast.
Ken Alford found them at Bancoora Beach where he caught plenty just under 1kg on small metal slugs.
Noel Robinson fished Eastern View where the going was slow until he saw a large, dark shadow down the beach. His first cast into the patch resulted in a hook-up, followed by continuous action over the next couple of hours on fish averaging around 1kg.
Steve Dmytrenko caught salmon around 700g on small metal lures from Lorne Pier early Monday morning.
I fished Sheoaks River last weekend, catching salmon and some big couta on lure until rain forced a shift to Wye River. I added only one big couta to my tally but a pair of anglers fishing with bait had caught over 20 salmon on the run-up to high tide.
Paul Edwards fished Cinema Point for a catch of five salmon over 2kg each. Paul was fishing one rod with bait and the other a surf snatcher, with the latter accounting for all his fish.
The Barwon River estuary also returned salmon. Most were small but still fun on light tackle.
The estuary also continued producing small mulloway, most below the 60cm size limit and requiring quick releases to ensure their survival.
Troy West spun the Erskine River for seven bream over 35cm on Eco Gear SX 40 lures.
Stuart Stephens was fishing soft plastics on Geelong’s waterfront on Monday night when he hooked up a big snapper. A young bloke walking past with his dog helped Stuart land the 5.4kg fish after a 20-minute fight on 4kg line.
Squid were taken in respectable numbers from St Leonards to Hermsley. Most were under 1kg and taken on jigs in size 2.5 or smaller.
Tan Chee fished Queenscliff’s cut where he caught four trevally among a mixed bag also comprising salmon, tommy rough, wrasse and squid.
Lismore’s Lake Tooliorook remained consistent for trout averaging 1.5kg. Successful anglers used Powerbait from the shore after wading out to clear the shoreline weed.
Hepburn Lagoon and Newlyn Reservoir also produced quality brown trout from 1.5kg to 3kg. Shallow-running lures were best choice, especially tiger minnows and Tassie Devils used in reverse.
West Barwon Reservoir produced trout for Daniel O’Connor after three fruitless trips. His luck changed on Tuesday morning when he landed a brown trout of 2.8kg on a Daiwa double clutch deep-diving lure in the black colour.
Craig Knowles has reported excellent trout fishing on the Moorabool River around Morrisons over the past few weeks. He has been using shrimp fished under a very small float to tempt the browns, releasing most but keeping a magnificently coloured fish of 55cm.
Terry Johns fished for carp near Queen’s Park bridge last weekend, grassing eight fish, the biggest around 6kg, on bread.
Peter Murphy and James McGee returned from the cod nationals at Lake Mulwala where they ranked 16th of out of 30 teams. Spinnerbaits were popular, with competitors taking quality cod despite the onset of cooler weather.
This weekend’s prospects look promising for salmon from the surf at Eastern View or the deeper-water rock platforms on the highs. The prediction is for light winds, so now is the time to have some fun on this readily available species.