Anglers reel in kings out west

FISHING KING: Micheal Moore shows off a whopping Port Fairy catch.

By Adam Van der Lugt

Kingfish are high on most anglers’ hit lists this week with quality fish being caught locally and further down the coast to Portland.

Michael Moore and Ben Mclean fished Port Fairy around Lady Julia Percy Island over the weekend and managed five kings to 17kg on live slimy mackerel.

The Portland north shore area produced kingfish for anglers casting stickbaits and poppers in shallow water.

A little closer to home has seen kings caught in the rip by jigging and live-baiting while off shore from Ocean Grove through to Apollo Bay produced rat kings to 5kg with the odd bigger fish over 10kg caught amongst them.

Whiting are in great numbers from Clifton Springs to Queenscliff for those fishing a moving tide with pippies or squid.

While fishing the same waters you can also expect squid, so be prepared with a squid jig in white or natural whiting colour, size 3 to 3.5.

Queenscliff’s harbour is fishing well for silver trevally on a slack high tide.

Either using soft plastics or baits like bluebait or squid will have you in with a chance of a trevally to over 50cm, with the average size around 35cm.

There are still a few nice pinkies in the harbour to 40cm as well as salmon and the odd flathead.

Fishing around the Alcoa spoil grounds has been good for pinkies, flathead and pike for anglers drifting while casting soft plastics.

Using the wind, start a drift that will have you cover a big stretch of water around 6m deep while casting in front of the boat and working your lure close to the bottom, jigheads in 1/8-1/6oz are ideal.

Freshwater fishing has been great with Barwon River fishing very well for redfin and carp, and even natives like bass and yellowbelly have made an appearance with the warmer afternoons.

Casting small minnow style lures or soft plastics are ideal while using 1/4oz spinnerbaits is a good way to target the bigger redfin while avoiding the small fish.