On the Bite, by Adam Van der Lught
The past week featured some great fishing, with snapper and big flathead the main attraction.
Cody Carruthers fished Black Rock in 12m of water over the weekend, managing a number of big fish on pilchard and squid heads.
A little closer to town, the Alcoa spoil ground was a hot spot for big pinkies, flathead and large pike. Drifting was the most effective method of working the area, especially while casting plastics on 1/8oz jig heads in 6m, although anyone chasing pike should try diving lures or plastics fished mid-water.
Geelong’s waterfront hosted some great fishing. John ‘The Jigman’ Didge walked the bank casting soft plastics for around half a dozen flathead to 45cm, while bait fishing was also productive with bluebait or pilchard fillets.
Schools of quality pinkies to 45cm called Queenscliff Harbour home. Fishing out from the mouth of the channel or inside the harbour at slack tide was ideal, with silver trevally in good numbers too using bluebait or chicken.
Squid fishing was still hot from Clifton Springs right around to Queenscliff, particularly on green or white jigs. Bigger squid continued to take heavy baited jibs in the deeper water of the Lonsdale Bight.
Gone Fishing Charters’ Chris Vasilevski reported fantastic fishing in 45m out from Barwon Heads. Squid and couta fillet baits accounted for bag-limit amounts of pinkies to 1.5kg, although gummy sharks can also be expected in this area.
Land-based fishing at Lake Purrumbete was never so good after the installation of a new jetty, allowing anglers without boats to fish out past the weed. Rainbow and brown trout to 2kg were caught on lures cast off the end of the jetty, while mudeyes fished under floats around sunrise and sunset also caught fish.
Redfin to 46cm were also caught in good numbers, with soft plastics and minnow baits both working well.
