Mulloway take a bite

Daniel Baden ventured up the Barwon River estuary last week, baiting up in anticipation of a mulloway.
Just after the tide change his rod sprang to life before Daniel boated a 75cm mulloway. Later on he was about to call it a day when his rod took again, this time with a 67cm fish.
Other anglers fishing the estuary caught excellent numbers of silver trevally to 45cm on bait and lure.
Whiting and squid dominated off St Leonards, with the odd snapper being taken as well. Squid were caught over grass beds south of the boat ramp, the whiting were again biting straight out in 5m to 6m on the run-out tide, while the early-morning sessions were essential to catch snapper.
Tackleworld Laverton’s Cesare Abbate fished for snapper off Werribee on Sunday, boating a chunky 7.45kg fish on bait.
Clifton Springs was still the local standout for snapper, with persistent anglers bagging fish to 6kg. Catching squid or silver whiting baits beforehand produced the best results, particularly on the larger snapper.
Brian Long and John Mole fished Cinema Point with metal lures for Australian salmon. Their fish averaged 1kg, although some reached 2kg.
The Barwon River produced lots of redfin, with Tackleworld Geelong’s Adam Van Der Lugt doing well on small Bassman spinner baits. Adam attracted and caught reddies to 40cm in among heavy snags upstream from Queen’s Park.
Anglers reported increasing amounts of blue-green algae at Lake Bullen Merri, which often appears around summer. Fish were still available but the going was tough, with only a few smaller Chinook salmon banked.
However, Lake Purrumbete’s water conditions were excellent. Anglers who made early starts slowly trolling hard-body lure caught trout and Chinook salmon to 1.5kg along the lake’s weed-lined edges.
Anglers with small watercraft, such as punts or kayak, were able to fish Lake Elingamite. Casting or trolling hard-body lures such as Daiwa double clutches caught rainbow and brown trout to 2kg along with some big redfin.
Upstate, Lake Eildon fished well for yellowbelly. Charter operator Trevor Holmes trolled the main rock wall to also boat a small cod in great condition.
The next week should be worth fishing for snapper off St Leonards worth a try, while kingfish are rumoured to have appeared off Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove. Freshwater anglers could try the Barwon River around Queen’s Park for redfin.