By CHRIS PITMAN
GREETED with calm conditions Sunday morning, Phil Walters and Ray Beeden made a daybreak start and headed out from St Leonards.
They anchored in 23 metres of water where small flathead ravenous devoured most of their baits until a school of Australian salmon moved in, improving the sport and offering ideal fresh bait. Then the fishing really intensified, with the pair landing a small seven gill shark and a gummy of 6.1kg.
Other anglers who fished St Leonards found squid in good numbers both from the pier and boats, with size 3 jigs working best.
Whiting were also about, with the entrance to Swan Bay producing to 43cm.
Queenscliff Harbour’s held great numbers of silver trevally on the tide changes. Soft plastics such as Z-Man grubs and Gulp Turtleback worms on jig heads heavy enough to reach the bottom worked well.
Some big squid were taken from the bight outside the harbour, with drifting the deeper water returning good results.
Kingfish reports slowed this week, possibly due to the drop in water temperature. However, they should hang around until at least Easter, with some beasts usually boated around the end of the kingfish season.
I fished in excellent conditions off Barwon Heads on Sunday morning but without any success in finding kingfish. Some tip-offs helped me find a small school of Australian salmon, which produced fish close to 3kg on soft plastics.
Elephant fish remain a solid option in the Barwon River estuary, with some up to 5kg. The best baits were squid strips and pilchards, while the section of river above the end of Sheepwash Rd was the most productive.
Bream were caught in the same area, with Bass yabbies the favoured bait.
Out of town, Warrnambool was a hotspot for bluefin tuna near the offshore boat ramp and just further out. Casting small metal lures or trolling smaller skirted lures worked well on these easily accessible fish.
Fishing World Geelong’s Michael Moore spent a week fishing the Glenelg River on the Victoria- South Australia border. Michael caught great numbers of bream, estuary perch and mulloway.
Michael said a light hanging from the deck of his rented houseboat attracted huge schools of whitebait, making for a handy bait supply. While lure fishing during the day he noted that whitebait-imitation lures worked best.
On the freshwater front, Michael Evans had success at Wurdee Boluc Reservoir. Using the reliable Fish Arrow soft plastics, he banked a healthy brown trout of 45cm.
Other anglers caught redfin to 45cm by casting out beyond the weed banks to find a school of fish.
Further down the road, Lake Purrumbete produced brown trout to 2kg for anglers down-rigging cow bells and hard-body lures. The best depth was 15m along the east bank at first light.
Next week anglers should try the kingfish either in The Rip or offshore from Barwon Heads, keeping eyes peeled for schools of surface feeding fish. Whiting should be holding in good numbers off Swan Bay, with the start of the run-out tide normally best.
The Barwon Estuary should be a worthwhile option for bream and elephant fish, while anyone with time to travel could try Warrnambool or Port Fairy for tuna.
