Ray Long Fishing Report
On The Bite 24 Feb 2010
Freshwater Offers A Fantastic Alternative
For consecutive weeks we have had to contend with strong gusty winds but still outstanding captures continue to be had by many anglers.
Freshwater reports have been fantastic with quality redfin coming in locally from the Barwon River, here slowly worked lures such as SX 40s and Rapalas are working a treat between Queens Park and Breakwater. Upstream of Buckley Falls has seen Mark Hamilton nail good bags of redfin on live minnow along with the odd nice tench that has taken a liking to his shrimp fished in against the deeper banks on a float.
Carp are also being taken around Queens Park on both corn and bread baits, here the key is to fish without any sinkers just your unweighted bait on a number four hook, remember to berley your area for the best results.
Lake Fyans has also been a favorite for many anglers, here redfin to a kilo are happily taking mudeye fished one to two metres below a bubble float, while trout reports are a little quieter there has none the less been a few caught in the one to two kilogram bracket.
West Barwon Dam was a rewarding destination for Phil Cook this week, here fishing mudeye he caught small redfin along with two Brown Trout both of which were close to a kilogram each. Early morning saw all the action in this area.
While not everyone has the opportunity to fish the private trout waters around the Ballarat district noted fly angler Robert Hughes did get the opportunity and make the most of it he did with fish to three kilo happily taking his midge patterns.
Barwon Heads has been an ideal option this week with protection from the south easterly winds, fishing from the Ozone Jetty has seen salmon, trevally and whiting on offer but the number of squid that have been caught is the real surprise, smaller jigs are working well here. Maybe it is due to the number of squid in the river that has bought some of the rarer captures to the forefront, both elephant fish and small mulloway have been taken with of course the best bait, fresh squid.
Corio Bay has seen soft plastics working a treat with the Grammer School Lagoon producing flathead, bream and small snapper, turtleback worms in the Pumpkin Green color seems to be working the best, also an hour either side of high tide has seen the best action.
The Geelong waterfront is always worth casting a lure from, here a mixed bag is always on offer but of late small flathead and snapper have dominated captures. Those in the know are finding that the larger lures such as four inch gulp minnows in the natural colorations seem to be working best. Keep an eye out for the odd good mulloway that seem to be around at present.
Stingaree Bay has seen whiting and plenty of small snapper being taken, best results are coming from the inshore edge of the spoil grounds where it is quite shallow generally around three metres but this seems to be where most of the fish are holding.
Conditions have not been ideal to work the salmon that are holding along the Alcoa Pier but those trolling small bibbed lures have certainly nailed a few fish, most are under one kilo at present. Better salmon are on offer in the vicinity of Point Wilson here large shoals are harassing baitfish consistently, soft plastics are the go but casting small baitfish profile lures into the surface action will also give instant hook ups at present.
All the better snapper reports have come from the outer harbour spoil grounds, while anglers are catching plenty of small fish with perseverance you will find a few quality snapper some pushing five kilo. Soft plastics are working a treat with bait anglers getting quite frustrated by the small snapper that pick the baits clean in no time, patience is needed.
Whiting reports have been patchy this week but the best results have come from Clifton Springs, St Leonards and Queenscliff, fresh squid has been the bait followed by pippies, evenings have also yielded the best bags.
Swan Bay has seen little pressure this week but Paul McDonald has been one of those putting plenty of time in here, with snapper to two kilo and gummy shark to 4.5kg I can understand his persistence, Paul’s best results are coming after dark on the run off from high tide. Bait choice is critical with both fresh squid and cured eel what is needed.
Numerous reports are coming in from Portland on the Southern Bluefin Tuna that are quite plentiful at present, most fish are up to thirty kilo in weight and can be found near the horseshoe in the eight hundred to one thousand metre depth. Best lures have been small skirted lures such as Pakulas and Pirates, but as more fish this area I’m sure there will be a wide variety of lure that will catch fish, keep an eye on this fishery over the coming months.
One of the best reports I have had this week came from David Atkinson who had an amazing session on salmon while fishing lures off Fairhaven Beach, a huge shoal of fish between 900grams and 1.2kg had pushed baitfish hard against the shore break and went on a feeding rampage for nearly an hour. David landed over twenty fish before the shoal move out wide but were still feeding on the bait around three hundred metres offshore.
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Hope to see you all somewhere on the water, Brian, Brendan, Jeanette, Hudson & Ray.