LANDING THE BIG ONE
Whiting were scarce, though, said Rod, but flathead saved the day for some.
Early last week, Tony Ingram fished the evening high tide from the beach at Jan Juc where, as is usually the case, there was no shortage of Australian salmon. Unfortunately, most were on the small side, so hoping for something decent he fished into the night for a gummy shark or perhaps even a mulloway, sacrificing part of his salmon catch for bait.
Tony did eventually hook an obviously good-sized fish. It felt like a gummy shark, he said, but after a minute or so it escaped, along with his hook and trace. Almost certainly a shark, but not a gummy.
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that the weekend was fairly quiet with few fish taken, but among the successful anglers was Colby Lesko, whose catch included a brown trout of 2kg and several chinook salmon.
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club reports that nearby Lake Tullaroop has become a popular destination with many — including Kevin and his wife Amber — taking respectable catches of redfin.
Brown trout have also been caught by anglers specifically targeting them, said Kevin, with morning and evening possibly the most productive times to seek them.
Geoff, I’ve heard reports of salmon being caught at Cinema Point, which is on the way to Lorne, but it’s a cliff and any access seems to be through private property. Are you able to provide any information about accessing this spot and the tackle required?
Hugo, while there may be other points of access to the rocks under Cinema Point since I fished there during the early ‘80s, the approach shown to me by the late Ron Kitchen was to park in the cleared area on the left hand side of the Great Ocean Road as it climbs from the beach and turns right after crossing Spout Creek, which is just past Eastern View.
From here, there’s a track down the slope to Grassy Creek, through which you can wade before proceeding along the rocky shoreline to the southwest, where you will eventually come across a large cave at the base of the cliff. The obvious rock platform from which you can fish is just past that. From memory, it’s about a 20-minute walk from where you park your car.
As for tackle, you can fish on the bottom with baited hooks, but it is a bit snaggy so you might first try casting with lures, and if salmon are about you should soon get a strike.