On the Bite, by Chris Pitman
Corio Bay attracted plenty of attention last week due to a run of snapper around the waterfront.
Only a handful of large snapper were taken from the old Yarra St Pier area by anglers patiently fishing lightly weighted pilchards.
Pinkies, Australian salmon and flathead were the main species taken along the waterfront, with soft plastics accounting for most fish.
Other anglers flocked to Clifton Springs to fish the grass beds in 3m to 4m for squid. Drifting slowly while casting size 3 jigs in white colourations produce bag-limit captures.
Good numbers of squid were also boated down toward Hermsley Road in similar depths.
I fished off Clifton Springs on Sunday morning, casting soft plastics around Alcoa Pier for reasonable numbers of pinkie snapper to 40cm.
St Leonards’ whiting came back on the chew, with the ever-reliable Bourke Street area fishing well for specimens to 40cm on pippies and tenderized squid.
Tackleworld Geelong’s Michael Moore and daughter Alannah Ogilvie-Moore fished off Swan Bay with squid jigs on Sunday morning. They were soon boating catches just out from the entrance to the bay.
Anglers drifting baits in 40m off Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads encountered gummy sharks and snapper.
But the most exciting news locally was the capture of some truly impressive southern bluefin tuna over 100kg just out from Port Phillip Heads. The trophy fish had been slowly moving east for a few months before turning up on our doorstep.
Trolling skirted lures is by far the most productive tactic, while anglers who fish around working birds and other clusters of aquatic life improve their results further.
Salmon remained available on lures cast from local beaches, while the rock platforms either side of Lorne were hot spots on the incoming tides.
Lake Purrumbete was a standout freshwater destination again. Trophy brown trout and Chinook salmon taken on the east bank again by anglers casting and trolling Daiwa Double Clutch lures around first or last light.
The Barwon River between Breakwater and Queen’s Park produced some hard-fighting carp to 4kg on lightly weighted corn kernel baits.
Josh Whitfrord fished an ASNA convention at Lake Eildon last weekend. Fishing from the edges of the pondage, Josh caught a well-conditioned rainbow trout 1.8kg on 1kg line with Powerbait.
Kevin Hunter also fished the convention, with his cast Strike Pro Bobbin Spoon hooking a brown trout of 1.84kg, also on 1kg line.
Next week should be good for squid out the front of Swan Bay, while game fisherman would do well to seek southern bluefin tuna off Phillip Heads. Trout anglers could try local streams and rivers as trout season opens this weekend, although Lake Purrumbete has been producing super-sized browns.
