Ray Long Fishing Report
On The Bite 3 Mar 2010
Snapper Near & Far
Once again conditions this week haven’t been ideal for anglers to venture out but for those that have some nice captures were made.
Corio Bay has seen any number of snapper being taken, while those land based have had to contend with many fish under 30cms for those able to venture onto the Stingaree Bay spoil grounds quality fish of up to 3.5kg have been a regular capture. Bait anglers are finding that the run off from high tide has been perfect and this weekend the tides are just that perfect.
Soft plastics have been truly superb with most finding turtleback worms and Gulp 4 inch minnows hard to go past. Terry Helmer found the fish on the outer harbour spoil grounds thick and only to willing to bite he has caught over twenty fish this past week over forty cms, all were released accept for the monster 5.2kg fish taken on Monday morning.
Similar reports have come from others fishing the area between Alcoa Pier and Hermsley, with soft plastics clearly the best method. The other regular catch has been flathead, most being rocky’s with some fish measuring over 70cms.
Wilson Spit has seen both snapper and gummy shark on offer, bait anglers have found the first two hours after dark is the time with fresh squid the bait of choice. While you do need to fish through the small snapper, the tuffer squid baits seem to be lasting long enough for the better fish to be caught.
Salmon continue to make there presence felt around Point Wilson, large shoals of fish are working the baitfish to the surface on a regular basis, here casting small baitfish profile lures into the action will have you hooked up, trolling has not been working well of late.
Whiting reports are patchy with the best reports from the mussel leases off Clifton Springs, yet another boat had an incident with a wayward rope on the outer edge of the farm, please travel slowly through this area as it can be quite dangerous.
Swan Bay entrance also produced quality whiting captures, once again fresh squid is doing the trick here. Darren McCallam had a hot session at the entrance last weekend when a shoal of kilo plus salmon showed up and were quite easy to capture on both bait and lure, Darren also caught four nice flathead all over 60cms.
Squid are still a viable option from St Leonards all the way to the Lonsdale Bight, small natural colored jigs are working best with early mornings currently the prime time, those land based have also been doing well at Bell Reef at Queenscliff. This weekend’s afternoon low tides will be perfect for here.
Xavier Harding has been fishing the salmon in and around the rip these past few weeks and even though there has not been a lot of surface action the salmon are still available. By slow trolling a Berkley Power Minnow behind a paravane he has caught any number of fish to 1.5kg.
Offshore has seen charter boat operators consistently bring in some nice bags, Chris of Gone Fishing Charters has reported of the huge shoals of striped tuna that are working between the Rip and as far down as Lorne, while some fish are 5kg the majority are around 2kg and make for a great fight on light tackle. Gone Fishing Charters has also seen there fair share of Kingfish of late, these are available between Barwon Heads and the Rip with a variety of methods working including trolling and jigging along with lightly weighted squid strips fed down a berley trail..
Black Rock has seen both snapper and whiting taken of an evening with the Breamlea end of the rocks the better area. Fresh squid is the bait but do take care as the conditions have been quite dangerous of late.
The estuary at Barwon Heads has seen a variety of species taken and is currently an anglers best option. Squid can be caught from the Ozone Jetty an hour either side of high or low tide on small artificial jigs. The floating pontoons at the Ocean Grove boat ramp is ideal for anyone looking to catch a mulloway, here fish the two hours of the run off from high tide for your best chance. If it’s an elephant fish you are after upstream of the sheepwash is best an hour either side of high tide, when this tide is after dark your results will skyrocket.
Freshwater has seen the Barwon River your best bet with redfin available to those casting a variety of lures. Small bibbed lures are great along with minnow pattern soft plastics worked along the deeper undercut banks. Fish are being taken all the way between Ceres Bridge and Breakwater with the middle of the day your best time to fish, the redfin seem to love the warmer conditions.
While not many anglers are currently surf fishing it must be noted that good numbers of salmon are working both Fairhaven and Eastern View beaches at present, While size of fish varies lure casters are the ones having the best results, this weekends midday low tides will be the ideal time to try one of these beach locations.
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God luck and hope to see you all on the water somewhere, Brian, Brendan, Jeanette, Hudson & Ray.