On the Bite, by Chris Pitman
Anglers caught Australian salmon around Corio Bay’s inner-harbour over the past week while casting soft plastics hard against structure.
The yacht club was a hot spot but anglers reported salmon captures from Limeburner’s Point boat ramp right along the waterfront to North Shore.
The odd winter snapper was also on offer for anglers willing to put in the time. The humble pilchard and a light burley trail produced the goods for anyone prepared to brave the cold while anchored at dark.
Pinkies were also present, found in close to Geelong’s waterfront where they responded well to soft plastics and blue bait.
Clifton Springs hosted exceptional squid fishing in terms of both quality and quantity. Quality bags were taken on size 3.5 jigs all the way around to St Leonards.
Queenscliff Harbour’s silver trevally action picked up. Anglers fishing worm or grub-style soft plastics around high or low slack tide caught trevally throughout the harbour.
Anglers fishing the harbour’s ferry end of the channel also reported quality King George whiting captures on squid and pippie. Casting out toward the deeper water at the start or end of the ebb tide produced some quality bags of whiting, with the chance of a trevally as well.
Local surf beaches continued offering some fantastic fish for salmon. Anglers casting 20g to 50g metal lures were rewarded with quality fish.
Hot spots for surf fishing included Bancoora, the Barwon River estuary mouth and beaches near Anglesea right through to Marengo near Apollo Bay.
Surf Coast estuaries fished well for bream. Scrub worms, freshwater yabbies and crabs were the baits of choice for fish of excellent size and condition.
Anglers did best in the deeper sections of water and with the lightest weight as conditions allowed.
Lake Bolac remained on the radar, with anglers still finding good-sized rainbow trout from 1kg to 2kg, although the action was slower than in previous weeks. Powerbait worked well for anglers fishing from the bank, while trolling small, hard-body lures was successful for boaties.
Kayak anglers reported exceptional trout and redfin from Cobden’s Lake Elingamite, with the water level less than ideal for boats. Casting or trolling minnow-style lures produced great results.
Wurdee Buloc Reservoir remained the pick for local anglers. Redfin to more than 1kg were caught on three-inch Flash J minnow soft plastics rigged on 1/4oz jig heads, along with metal spoon-style lures cast out as far as possible and retrieved slowly.
Anglers who fished in first light had the best chance of snagging the trophy-sized trout available at Wurdee Boluc this time of year. Casting hard-body lures up to 110mm along the rock wall can maximise the odds of encountering a big trout, with the Daiwa TD95 lure a proven favourite.
