On the Bite, by Peri Stavropoulos
Corio Bay’s inner-harbour remained a red-hot location over the past week for pinkie snapper and snotty trevalla.
Fishing the incoming tide proved to be the best time to fish, with both species reaching over 40cm. Pilchard and squid were the best baits.
Soft plastics were also worth throwing, with Turtleback worms working well on the pinkies and small grub-style soft plastics best for the Scottys.
David Leo was again getting stuck into the local action over the weekend, catching plenty of pinkies and a few silver trevally.
Squid and whiting continued biting well along the Bellarine Peninsula, with the area from Queenscliff to St Leonards producing the larger fish and better numbers. Pipis and tenderised squid were still the go-to baits, but making a move if the fish didn’t bite within 10 minutes made a lot of difference to catch results.
Brad Apps managed a good haul over the weekend when he took a good feed of whiting, squid and flathead at Clifton Springs.
The surf fishing at Jan Juc fired back up, with Australian salmon on the chew. Bait fishing with bluebait of pilchards worked a treat, although casting metal lures between 25g and 60g is always an effective and fun way to target salmon in the surf.
Offshore fishing remained productive for gummy sharks between Barwon Heads and Torquay. The gummies have been averaging 8kg to 15kg but offshore anglers are advised to keep heavier leader at hand because it’s hard to know what might bit next in this area.
Offshore anglers did well near reefs in 30m, with some reports rolling in of tasty reef species including pinkies and bight redfish, also known as nannygai, taken on either bottom rigs with bait or slow-pitched jiggs.
Trout Open season begins this weekend, and with the rain we’ve had over the past few weeks the fishing should be pretty hot.
Along the Great Ocean road and into the Otways is a great place to go for a cast. Just about every system in this area should hold fish, with the most popular being Smythes Creek, Bahram River, Cumberland River and Aire River.
Casting small, shallow-running minnows is the best way to target them. The fish won’t be massively sized but should make up for it in looks and numbers.
