It was an exciting past week in fishing, with plenty of bluefin tuna caught right across the coast. Stories of tuna caught in The Rip right across the coast to Portland filtered through, with most fish around the 15kg to 30kg size.
Trolling small skirts or casting stickbaits into schools of fish once located worked well, while some anglers did best when casting small 40g to 60g metal lures with upgraded hooks and rings capable of standing up to the hard-fighting tuna.
Mako sharks were also in great numbers and conveniently found in the same areas as the tuna, which was water from 30m to 70m. The sharks ranged in size from 20kg to 70kg.
One angler reported raising to his boat four makos at once as they came to enquire after picking up on his heavy berley trail. This can only suggest they’re in great numbers.
The local pinkie fishing continued to fire, especially around Alcoa Pier and the nearby spoil grounds. Drifting over the spoil in 5m to 6m while fishing soft plastics across the bottom was an effective method, although anglers using bait should do well on bluebait or pilchard.
Geelong’s waterfront was also worth a look for pinkies and ideal for land-based anglers.
Good squid fishing was enjoyed across the Bellarine Peninsula from Clifton springs to Queenscliff, with Portarlington Pier a hot spot. Casting 3-3.5 size jigs in pilchard blue or King George whiting colours worked well for a number of anglers on the pier after dark.
Surf fishing was good for salmon to around 1kg, with gummy sharks coming on the bite after dark. Jan Juc produced gummies on high tide changes at night for anglers using squid and trevally fillets, although fresh salmon makes fine bait, too.
Trelly’s Geelong’s Kevin Hunter fished an ANSA convention over the weekend at Nelson where he did well on the bream and mulloway. He cast a small piece of bluebait intended for bream but ended up in a tussle with a 60cm mulloway that he managed to net.
