On the Bite, by Chris Pitman
Wild winter weather continued making fishing difficult over the past week but anglers who picked windows of opportunity still reported reasonable captures.
Salmon were caught along the coast, with Bancoora Beach the most consistent location. Bait anglers had success with blue bait and pippies, while lures that did the job included the Norestream Baitfish, Asari Mahi and Sea Iron Pelacus.
When the weather turned rough, Grey River offered a relatively sheltered rock platform that produced salmon to 3kg.
Tuna continued to feature down Portland way, with large 100kg fish taken when the weather allowed. The most productive area was between Capes Nelson and Bridgewater, with the tuna gorging on pilchards pushing into the bay between the two points.
Some of the more productive lures were the Tornado T7 and the Pakula Sprocket in the Fallen Angel colour.
Fishing the bottom in 40m to 80m produced some quality gummy sharks, snapper and assorted bottom fish that offered excellent table fare.
Winter snapper remained the target of many an angler. Andrew Tan took advantage of a day of fine weather to fish around Mt Martha, where he was soon rewarded for his trip across the bay with an awesome fish of 10kg after a short tussle.
Corio Bay produced similar fish, with successful anglers fishing at anchor, laying berley trails of chopped pilchards and using silver whiting or pilchard baits with little or no weight.
Whiting showed no sign of slowing down between Queenscliff and St Leonards. The strong tide around Queenscliff requires leaders of 1m to 2m or so baits that can be presented as naturally as possible.
Fresh squid and cuttlefish were the most popular baits.
The Barwon River’s carp were a great option for Andrew Whitford, who took daughter Emily fishing with him. Using bread for bait, Emily landed an awesome fish of 5.8kg on 1kg line, while dad managed some to over 7kg in recent weeks. Wurdee Boluc Reservoir continued producing awesome fish. Tim Beusmans fished off the rock wall last Friday, lancing a brown trout of 57cm and 2.49kg after a short but spirited battle.
Redfin to 50cm were also taken on lures such as the Nories metal Wasabi and Strike Pro Bob n Spoon.
Send any reports and pictures to sales@twgeelong.com.au.
