Flying high with Port Fairy’s tuna

James Arkinstall and Andy Congram ventured down to Port Fairy recently after hearing numerous accounts of school-sized tuna on the bite.
The pair decided to try something different and opted to fly fish, with Andy eventually boating a tuna after many refusals.
The pair said subduing such a high-speed species was no easy task on a 20lb tippet with fly rod and reel.
John Mole and Brian Long fished the Wye River area for Australian salmon but had to contend with strong easterly wind. They still caught fish averaging 1kg and a few specimens of 2.5kg on 25g Sluk lures.
I fished the Surf Coast for salmon on Saturday afternoon with minimal luck. I changed tactics to casting lures in some of the small creeks and rivers for bream, landing a 39cm fish at dusk on a 60mm Daiwa Double Clutch.
Clifton Springs continued producing great numbers of squid over the shallow grass beds, especially during periods of clear water without floating weed.
Anglers caught salmon to 1kg while casting 25g Gillies baitfish-profile lures at Portarlington Pier. Anglers who fished the tide change reported increased catch rates.
Queenscliff Harbour produced silver trevally to 45cm on soft plastics such as turtleback worms in the Pumpkin Seed on high tide.
Anglers caught good numbers of whiting from the mouth of Swan Bay. Pippies and tenderised squid accounted for most fish, with the average size around 35cm.
Ocean Grove Angling Club’s Ron Proud trolled off Barwon Heads for pike last weekend, landing a 70cm fish on a deep-diving hard-body lure.
Greg Thomson spent Saturday afternoon casting strike pro Bob ‘N’ Spoons around the shoreline of Lake Purrumbete. He landed Chinook salmon to 450g, with most caught while casting off the jetties at the caravan park.
Other anglers at the lake have caught brown trout to 2kg while trolling Tassie Devils at first light. A few anglers also had success casting shallow-diving hard-body lures such as Cranka minnows over the extensive weed beds.
Lake Wendouree yielded brown trout to 2.5kg for both boat and land-based anglers, especially those who covered plenty of water.
Highton’s St Augustine’s Lake still holds reasonable numbers of rainbow trout released for school holidays. Perry Stavropoulos took cousins Thomas and Lachlan Welsh for a quick session at the lake where the pair managed a rainbow each on Powerbait
Michael Evans caught redfin to 49cm and 1.9kg while casting Fish Arrow soft plastics close to the weed beds at Wurdee Boluc Reservoir. Anglers chasing redfin also took larger trout as a by-catch.
This weekend Lake Bullen Merri should fish well for Chinook salmon down deep with bait or lures trolled behind a downrigger. If the wind holds back Clifton Springs and St Leonards should have good numbers of squid, which is a great option for stocking up ahead of snapper season.