By Adam Van der Lugt
Snapper, snapper, snapper! This week saw the snapper run get off to a flying start with some amazing captures reported, including fish over 10kg .Fishing ‘the bend’ just out off Clifton Springs was what most people had in mind, and this resulted in some great fish being boated.
Using fresh squid, barracouta and garfish was most productive with the humble pilchard and silver whiting also accounting for fish.
Snapper were also caught in the inner harbour, with Rob Thornton landing a beast of 7.95kg not far from St Helens boat ramp on a fresh-caught couta fillet.
The Corio Bay inner harbour hosted good Salmon fishing right along the Geelong waterfront for anglers casting soft plastics.
Local fisher Josh Whitford reported having a good session fishing from Fisherman’s Pier, where he caught a number of Salmon up to 1kg.
Pinkie snapper to 50cm are also present along the waterfront and are holding against structure, they will respond well to soft plastics worked on the bottom or baits like pilchard or bluebait.
Squid fishing was again fantastic across the Bellarine Peninsula with Clifton Springs, St Leonards, Portarlington and Queenscliff all producing the goods to those drifting the weed beds with 3 to 3.5 jigs, while the Point Lonsdale Bight was the place to be for the big models being caught on baited jigs.
Queenscliff and around to Clifton Springs has been good for Whiting in excess of 40cm.
Fishing the tide change, preferably of an evening, using squid and pippy, has been most effective.
Fishing freshwater has been great with a number of small lakes being stocked with rainbow trout for the school holidays.
St Augustines waterhole in Highton received a few hundred rainbow trout that you can expect to catch on Powerbait or worms fished on the bottom with a light sinker.
Lake Bolac had another good run of fish over the weekend with anglers that camped overnight finding the fish biting well at all times of the day and into the dark.
Fish over 2kg were taken on Berkley trout eggs and Powerbait.
Also worth a visit is Lake Elingamite near Cobden where brown trout and big redfin have been taken by anglers trolling shallow diving lures or fishing mudeye under a float on the edge of the weed beds.
