By BRIAN LONG
WITH holidays near, now’s the time for a rundown on the best fishing locations around Geelong over summer.
Geelong’s waterfront provides a variety of species, with soft plastics useful anywhere between Cunningham Pier and the Royal Geelong Yacht Club. Evenings are always best over the summer, especially around high tide.
Cunningham Pier fires up over summer, with trevalla a common catch on the first or last two hours of daylight. Chicken baits marinated in tuna oil and fished just off the bottom work well along the first 30m of the pier’s western side.
Flathead, snapper and garfish are also available from the pier over summer.
North Shore rocks is ideal on evening low tides for spinning up pike with small metal baitfish lures of 15g to 30g. The rocks also host excellent land-based snapper fishing after dark on pilchard and bluebait.
The pier in the grammar school lagoon fishes well for pike on lure, with salmon, flathead and snapper available on bait around high tide.
St Helens rocks offers plenty of parking convenience but boat traffic can be a little busy when fishing for flathead and snapper in the evenings.
Boat anglers fishing Corio Bay’s inner-harbour should try Stingaree Bay’s spoil grounds for whiting on pippies or pinkie snapper and pike late in the evenings.
Bird Rock, near Point Lillias, is a hot spot for whiting an hour either side of high tide. Using berley will also attract garfish, which take silverfish suspended below a quill float.
The outer-harbour spoil grounds are the best location over summer for snapper, flathead and pike, with soft plastics working well on the shallow ground off Leopold and Hermsley during the run-off from high tide.
Wilson Spit is renowned as one of the best snapper locations over summer, especially early in the morning or late in the evening. Gummy sharks are a possibility after dark.
Clifton Springs to Grassy Point is ideal for whiting on the shallow inshore grass beds, although several shifts might be necessary to find the fish. The area also produces squid early in the morning.
Indented Head all the way to the entrance of Swan Bay produces some of the region’s best whiting fishing over summer. The extensive grass beds hold huge numbers of fish, with fresh squid and pippies the best baits.
Squid and flathead are also taken in this area.
Swan Bay’s almost always produces fish for anglers deploying a liberal berley trail. Whiting, garfish and snapper are all available but big flathead are the real prize.
Lonsdale Bight also produces a variety of fish but whiting and squid are the main target species.
Salmon have started to show up within The Rip. The surface action betrays their presence to anglers casting small soft plastics or trolling small white or clear occy skirts.
Kingfish should begin working the hard water of The Rip soon. Leadlines and downriggers work well, while jigging and poppers are successful by mid-January.
Queenscliff’s cut is ideal for silver trevally on soft plastics or pilchard fillets an hour either side of high or low tide.
Surf anglers should try Collendina Beach on dark for snapper, whiting and gummy sharks on fresh squid strips. Nearby, Black Rock is a worthwhile snapper location on high tides just before dark.
Fishing for blue and mako sharks heats up offshore in summer from The Rip to Lorne. The 20m and 40m lines are best early in the season, with big numbers of blue sharks in 60m to 70m later.
Barwon River’s estuary is generally productive over summer for trevally, salmon, mullet and bream.
In freshwater, the waters around Ballarat are worth trying, especially Lake Wendouree with mudeye baits, fly or lure.
Moorabool Reservoir and Hepburn Lagoon will produce quality trout on mudeye or lure.
Lismore’s Lake Tooliorook should be good for trout over 2kg, with redfin also beginning to show for anglers jigging with ice jigs or bobbers.
Wurdee Boluc Reservoir is always worth a few hours late in the evening casting lures or flies.
Send reports and photos to info@raylongtackle.com.au or visit Brian at Ray Long’s Fishing World, 105 Shannon Ave, Manifold Heights.
