ON THE BITE Peri Stavropoulos
The most recent lockdown has made getting out for a fish challenging, but for anglers who managed to wet a line within 5km of home, there has been some respectable fishing on offer.
Right through the Geelong waterfront has been fishing very well for pinky snapper with anglers casting soft plastics around the shore and surrounding structures finding plenty of fish.
The pinkies have been in fantastic numbers with the majority being either side of 28cm, with a fair share of fish getting over 40cm swimming about too.
Australian salmon have also been in very good numbers but, unfortunately, they are not very big.
Garfish have been a popular target species over the lockdown with the whole inner harbour fishing very well for them.
Anywhere from Cunningham Pier to Grammar School Lagoon has been fishing very well for garfish, with St Helens being the prime spot to be.
A simple pencil float rig with a tiny cut of silver fish for bait is the perfect setup to run, with plenty of burley to get them in the area.
After restrictions eased on Wednesday, local anglers can begin to cast their net a little bit wider.
The Queenscliff harbour and Barwon estuary should both still be fishing well for trevally.
Fishing with bait or casting lures should both result in plenty of bites.
Strong winds will have stirred up the King George whiting along the Bellarine Peninsula, with St Leonards being a spot well worth looking at.
The stronger tides are the better times to fish for them, with pipis and squid as prime baits.
If you’re still after a barrel tuna, then Apollo bay is well worth a look.
After a few weeks of bad weather and minimal boats on the water, the fish will have had a nice break and can be expected to chew pretty freely.
JB Micro Dingos are a fantastic lure to troll around the area as the fish were last feeding on small baitfish.
Portland was fishing very well on the shelf for both Bluefin Tuna and Albacore before the lockdown.
Trolling lumo coloured skirted lures and Rapala X-Raps are by far the best lures to run in the spread.
