On the Bite, by Peri Stavropoulos
Although the weather over the past week wasn’t to kind to local anglers there was still some great fishing to be had, with fishos who braved the weather getting some great fish.
The snapper fishing up in the northern part of Corio Bay was fantastic. Once again the location known as P2 seemed to be the most popular spot of them all for snapper, with a few small gummy sharks thrown in for good measure.
In closer, the area from Williamstown to Altona also had plenty of snapper getting taken in about 8m of water on both bait and soft plastics.
All spots mentioned produced fish to 8kg, with bag-limit captures sometimes very achievable.
However, the local snapper fishing remained pretty unpredictable. Anglers in boats were able to sound plenty of fish but they became quite difficult to tempt.
The fishos who did report success bait fishing mostly anchored along the channel between Clifton Springs and Portarlington and fished the change of tide. Baits such as pilchard, squid and silver whiting were the standout baits, with some of the snapper reaching 7.5kg.
Also, a few nice gummy sharks were also reported in the same area, making a pleasant by catch.
Fishing in a bit closer to Clifton Springs along the spoil grounds produced plenty of pinkie snapper to 2.5kg on both bait and soft plastics. Some anglers also reported catching snapper to 6kg on plastics as well.
Squid continued holding in great numbers along the Bellarine Peninsula from Clifton Springs through to Queenscliff. Adam Taz and Owen Westwell snuck out Sunday night, managing to land themselves plenty of calamari out front of Clifton Springs.
After this week’s strong winds it’s well-worth having a go at some King George whiting off St Leonards. They have been biting pretty well lately but should really begin firing up after all the wind.
Anglers targeting the whiting should fish the tides and use fresh baits like pippies or squid.
Gummies are still chewing well out in the deep water of St Leonards. Nathan Collins got out over the weekend, catching a gummy around 15kg.
Queenscliff Harbour was on fire over the past week for both snapper and silver trevally. Bryce Nurnaitis has been fishing the harbour quite a bit lately and catching pinkies to about 2kg on soft plastics.
