Peri Stavropoulos
By Peri Stavropoulos
There seems to be one thing on fishermen’s minds at the moment and that is tuna!
Over the past week we have had arguably the best run of bluefin tuna our local waters have seen and it could only be just the beginning.
Trolling and casting have been by far the most popular methods to target them. Ethan Solly has had some great success on the local tuna trolling small skirted lures with a “lumo” colour being the standout.
Casting stickbaits and poppers has been accounting for a large percentage of fish too and is definitely the most exciting way to target them watching them smash your lures off the top.
It’s even getting to the point that anglers are taking the hooks of their lures due to catching too many fish but still want to get the thrill of seeing the fish chase the lures!
Owen Westwell managed to snag himself a nice bluefin first thing Monday morning whilst micro-jigging, which can be very effective if the fish are holding a bit deeper.
Although the tuna are dominating reports this week there are still plenty of other fish to catch including kingfish.
There is still great numbers around Charlemont Reef in 25m of water. Drifting baits has been accounting for a lot of fish and if you’re into your lures, casting stickbaits, poppers and micro-jigging has been getting its fair share too.
Josiah and his son Judah Munday got out Sunday morning and crossed paths with plenty of yellowtail
kingfish whilst trolling small white occy skirts, the pair also managed some nice bluefin tuna.
Inside Port Phillip Bay there is still some great fishing on offer with plenty of pinkie snapper still on
the chew. There are reports of fish from around the mussel farms and also the inner harbour too.
Squid and whiting still remain biting along the peninsula. Fishing a tide change is key to getting yourself a
bag of whiting and for the squid the incoming tide is best allowing the cleaner water to let the squid
hunt and see your jig easier. St Leonards Pier has been producing plenty of squid for the land based
fishos with night time producing the better numbers and size.
The Otway Streams have been fishing quite well for brown trout over the last week. The Cumberland River and Smythes Creek are well worth a look.
Casting small shallow diving hardbodies, soft plastics and fly fishing are all producing fish.
