Ray Long Fishing Report
On The Bite 28 Apr 2010
Geelong Waterfront The Place To Be
Well the cooler conditions have certainly hit us but with this change so can your results, as many an angler will attest to this week, with fantastic snapper reports.
Soft plastics enthusiasts have been having a ball from the Geelong waterfront catching some quality snapper , while most have ranged between 40 and 50cms there have been a couple nudging close to 5kg, fantastic fun on light tackle. Best lures have been Gulp four inch swimming mullet and the new Eco Gear Bug Ants.
North shore rocks was David Guilds hot spot, this week he has landed five nice snapper the best 2.5kg all were taken on blue bait and fresh squid. David has found the fish are biting there best on the run off from high tide.
Fishing the boat moorings between Eastern Beach and The Royal Geelong Yacht Club saw two anglers land over twenty snapper ranging from 35 to 48cms on one occasion this week, once again the method was soft plastics.
Snapper captures have generally been great considering some of the wind we have had to contend with, for those working the outer harbour spoil grounds fish to 3kg have also been landed to those using both bait and lure.
Whiting reports were generally down due to the conditions but still bag limit captures were taken by Stan and Graham McMahon fishing just out from Point Lillias, with most fish ranging between 32 and 35cms and taking pippies and mussel baits.
Once again the salmon showed up in Corio Bay this week with the major centre of activity being between the Grammer School Lagoon and Bird Rock, most fish are 800 grams and will take virtually any type of baitfish profile lure.
Squid are still around in great numbers with all the inshore grass beds between Clifton Springs and Queenscliff producing, small dark colored jigs are the go at present fished early morning or after dark.
Paul Skinner found the squid willing to bite off Queenscliff Pier of late, while he hasn’t always caught his bag limit catch of ten he has certainly come away with a few stand out size calamari the best at just on 3kg. Paul has also taken two nice cuttlefish over the past two weeks.
Gummy shark were taken within the vicinity of the Wilson Spit again this week, best fish we saw was 6.5kg and taken on an eel bait. This area also produced a few snapper as well to 3kg. Stuart Dyson of Point Cook sent me in a few photos of the gummy shark he has been catching between Point Wilson and Werribee, fishing in fifteen metres of water his best fish would have weighed close to 15kg, all Stuarts Gummys have been released to fight another day.
Looking for some protection from the winds over the Anzac weekend saw Peter Phillips fish Swan Bay with success here a mix of gummy shark, flathead, whiting and salmon kept him busy, Peter insists that berley is an absolute must in this area.
Elephant fish have started to disappear in the Barwon estuary but Xavier Dolton still managed a few this week, fishing after dark from the floating pontoons at the Ocean Grove boat ramp saw the fish bite just after high tide, fresh squid caught in the river was the bait.
Surf anglers are finding most of the salmon being caught are generally small, with the constant offshore breezes that we have been getting this just isn’t ideal for great fishing. Best captures have been taken from our better rock platforms and not from the beaches, lures have also worked better than bait. Hopefully a change over the next few days will bring the better fish on the bite.
Freshwater has seen both lakes Purrumbete and Bullen Merri worth your time, trolling has been consistent with the old favorite the tassie devils hard to go past in the gold colors. Anyone with the ability to troll deeper either with a downrigger or lead core line are certainly catching more fish at present.
Cooler conditions have seen the redfin in the Barwon River become a little more difficult to catch, but if you still wish to chase this species head above Buckley Falls and fish the deeper water with lures such as SX40s or deep running Micro Minns, natural colors are currently best.
Corey Gallagher was hoping that the estuary perch were still biting in the Hopkins River this week, unfortunately with the cooler conditions they had gone right off the bite, but the bream saved the day landing five nice fish the best at 38cms on a mix of turtleback worms and squidgy wrigglers.
For this weekend my best tips are to fish the late afternoon high tides in the Queenscliff Cut for silver trevally on soft plastics such as grubs or worm patterns or try the Corio Bay foreshore from dawn to mid morning also on soft plastics, here you should catch a snapper or two, good luck
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Look to see you all casting a lure at the Geelong Waterfront, Brian, Brendan, Jeanette, Ray & Hudson.