CHRIS PITMAN
CLIFTON Springs continued its consistency for local anglers over the past week.
Ben McLean returned to the Turn after his recent successes, this time trolling lures down deep with the aid of downriggers. Five minutes after starting, he caught his first snapper, a fish of 5kg, before boating another of the same size soon after getting the lures back in the water.
Fishing World’s Kevin Hunter fished a similar location Saturday night, catching snapper around 1kg on pilchards. Kevin also took good numbers of silver whiting, which make fantastic snapper bait.
Last Thursday night I took advantage of the calm weather to find great numbers of Australian salmon at Alcoa Pier. Casting Fish Arrow soft plastics, I boated salmon to 1.5kg.
Nearby, anglers fishing the channel edges caught snapper to 4kg on sunset.
Clifton Springs was also productive for squid of respectable size. Jigs in size 2.5 accounted for most catches, with the White Shimano the most popular jig.
Pinkies responded well to soft plastics fished around Geelong’s waterfront.
Anglers fishing further around to North Shore rocks caught larger pinkies, some nudging 50cm.
The grammar school lagoon produced flathead in good numbers on soft plastics such as Gulp Turtleback worms in Pumpkin Green. Bream were also caught on lures.
St Leonards Pier remained popular for land-based anglers seeking snapper. Sunrise and sunset were best, with fresh squid and pilchards the best baits.
The pier also hosted a good population of squid, making fresh bait easy to gather.
Swan Bay produced squid and salmon for anglers drifting out the front. Lures such as Daiwa Double Clutches or Yamashita occy skirts caught the salmon.
Anglers fishing though the night bagged snapper to 3kg on baits such as pilchard and squid.
Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale were productive for big squid. Larger jigs got the job done on the biggest squid.
Fishing World’s Michael Moore caught his bag of squid in the Lonsdale Bight with Gan Craft jigs.
Whiting remained patchy, although anglers who found them caught fish averaging almost 40cm.
Snapper of 3kg to 4kg were caught in 40m off Barwon Heads, with pilchard and silver whiting baits working well.
Anglers also found salmon busting up in large schools at the 40m mark, taking fish to 2.kg on lures.
Freshwater fishing improved for trout, redfin, carp and yellowbelly.
Wurdee Boluc Reservoir produced outstanding brown trout, with Tim Beusmans drifting mudeye under a float to bank a fish over 2kg.
The Barwon River fished well for redfin to 800g on hard-body lures. Queen’s Park remained the standout location.
Anglers fishing super sweet corn kernels as bait grassed carp from 1kg to 4 kg.
Out of town, Lake Eildon fished very well for yellowbelly. Trolling or casting lures was the preferred method, with catches of fish to 3kg reported.
Next week’s options include St Leonards Pier for squid on size 3 jigs in the evenings. Otherwise, Queenscliff Harbour should be worthwhile for silver trevally on soft plastics.
Snapper enthusiasts should head to the turn at Clifton Springs.
Send reports and photos to info@raylongtackle.com.au. All photos go into the draw for Fishing World Geelong’s monthly photo competition.
