Ray Long Fishing Report
On The Bite 28 Jan 2010
AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND A HIT
Well the Australia Day long weekend saw not only hundreds of magnificent yachts on Corio Bay but also hundreds of pleasure craft with anglers wetting a line and were there some fantastic captures to be had.
Personally I spent four days fishing soft plastics in the outer harbor landing my bag limit catch of snapper each and every day this was in addition to some class flathead the best at 75cms, pike also made a showing as did whiting. While the majority of snapper landed were between 38 and 45cms my best stretched the tape at 52cms.
Brendan Sheedy also found snapper in good numbers with the four inch Berkley Gulp minnows clearly the fish’s favorite these past few weeks. While it has been difficult to locate any notable shoals of fish the fact that three or four quality fish per hour are achievable makes soft plastics fishing well worth the time.
Tim Carroll and dad Raymond sent in a notable report also while using soft plastics in the outer harbour. Raymond landed a quality 2.5kg fish while the pair were plagued by small snapper around the 25cm mark, about to call things a day Tim had a screaming 50metre run on his 4kg outfit and after a drawn out battle a rare capture was boated, 4kg of Yellowtail kingfish, while not a common capture here within the bay it just shows the quality of fishing that our region can produce.
Bait anglers also nailed snapper this week, while at the Limeburners boat ramp Terry and Matt Welsh were cleaning the pair of snapper they had taken early in the morning on pilchard, both fish pulled the scales to 3.5kg and taken from the Wilson Spit. Here small snapper were also in numbers but the pair did manage a nice bag of fish averaging 36cms also.
Generally most anglers were returning with combined bags of snapper flathead and whiting, while the outer harbour was clearly performing best the area between the Grammer School Lagoon and Avalon Beach was ideal for those looking to fish whiting, most whiting were around the 33cm mark with the odd fish hitting 38cms, pippies were the bait here. Also on the Grammer School lagoon land based both flathead and snapper (most small) are being taken on soft plastics, turtlebacks in pumpkin green being the go.
Landbased saw North shore rocks a winner with small snapper, flathead and a few pike landed, this area always fishes best of an evening with the low tide a bonus.
St Helens also was producing many small snapper, at times you have to fish through the small fish but with patience the odd good snapper will be had. Generally blue bait has worked best followed by fresh squid. Small snapper have also been holding up along the Geelong waterfront, Fishermans to Cunningham piers has been a hive of activity causing early morning the time to try your luck.
Clifton Springs in the vicinity of the mussel leases has been the area for whiting with many taking there twenty fish in no time, pippies are the go on the run off tide.
St Leonards to Edwards Point also has produced whiting some over 40cms, best results have come from those using fresh squid which have been caught off the entrance to Swan Bay, all reports indicate that small dark colored jigs are working a treat as most of the squid are small at present but ideal bait size.
Swan Bay saw some big flathead landed the best I saw was 3.1kg and taken on a blue bait suspended just off the bottom by way of a float, Terry Holt took this fish along with four others all around the 1kg mark. Gummy shark have also been taken in this area after dark, while most have been small, reports of fish to 4kg have been coming in.
Salmon are holding in and around the rip at present, while the ebb tide has been best, lure choice also seems to be crucial, trolled white ockys are working but anglers casting into the shoals of surface feeding fish are certainly doing best, clear colored Berkley power minnows are the lure.
Offshore has seen the small kingfish still available with most under the kilo weight, but it has been the numbers of Striped Tuna that has caused the most interest, huge bust ups have been common with anglers frustrated at the difficulty in catching this hard fighting species. Best results have come to those casting once again the Berley power minnows in the clear color into the activity, let to naturally drop the fish just can’t resist them.
Mako shark are in reasonable numbers in the 50 to 70 metre depths, with most between 20 and 50kg they make the perfect table fish. It must be noted that the government has made a back flip on the banning of fishing for mako shark due to take effect on the 29th of this month, a change they must be congratulated on for making.
Portland has seen many Geelong anglers arrive for the fantastic kingfish fishery available at present, reports of fish close to 20kg have been had with most fish between 8 and 15kg. Live baits are working well but many are opting to cast the Williamson jet popper which has been having devastating results over the past month.
Boat anglers need to be aware that the boat ramp at Limeburners Point will be closed on Sunday 8th February due to the running of an ironman event around this location, boaties are advised to use the ramp at St Helens to avoid any problems on this day.
Must mention the freshwater scene, Barwon River still fishing well on the redfin, live minnow being the bait but clearly those casting lures are having a better time. As always the SX 40s are the favorite hard bodied lure with 3 inch power minnows in clear the best soft plastics.
If you haven’t heard by now there ARE Bluefin Tuna being taken at Port Mac, up to 35kg on the usual lures such as vibes, X Raps and Zukers, will keep you all informed on this fishery over the coming months.
Don’t forget to check out our GAME TACKLE SALE now on in store, a few deals are on our web site at www.raylongtackle.com.au just click on the specials page.
Been reminded to let you all know of the upcoming GAME NIGHT hosted by the Torquay Angling Club at of course Torquay will be on Wednesday 10th Feb starting at 7pm, a free BBQ will start just after 6pm, both Peter Pakula from Pakula lure fame and Andrew Jones from the Williamson lure stable will talk on a range of topics including rigging, using teasers, trolling and a host of other interesting topics, hope to see you all there.