Chasing rainbow record
GEELONG angler Frank Bluch fished New Zealand’s Tekapo Canal - famed for its huge trout - and he and guide Nicor Sutherland caught several remarkable fish.
They included a 9.9kg rainbow trout Frank caught on the fly. But, while not even close to the biggest taken there, on Frank’s regulation 1kg class tippet, it is a potential world tippet-class record, and for which he will be making a claim.
CORIO BAY/BELLARINE
GUSTAVO and Alexia Kurten headed out into Corio Bay’s inner harbour on Sunday afternoon, expecting to have to fish into the late evening to catch a snapper, but that wasn’t the case.
They were on to a good patch of fish out from the waterfront more or less straight away, both taking bag-limit catches of snapper they estimated to be between 4- 6kg.
A 3.30am start on Sunday saw Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck anchored up just north of the No. 3 Point Richards channel marker where they’d boated their first snapper by 4.30am. The bite was on, and using squid and silver whiting for bait they had a bag-limit catch of snapper to 4.5kg by the daybreak low tide change.
With the day still young, they broke out the whiting gear. Anchoring up just east of the Point Richards mussel farm on the rising tide, they again took bag-limit catches, their biggest whiting stretching the tape out to 45cm.
Also successful were Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien, who picked up 28 whiting to 43cm off Curlewis.
Rod Ludlow, of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head, reports that clients have done well on whiting, including some in the 40cm range.
These have been mainly caught between Grassy Point and the Governor Reefs.
Client Damien, and his daughter, caught three goodsize gummy shark, and hooked a much larger model, obviously with teeth because it bit through the line, which may have been just as well.
On Saturday evening, Mark Francis and companion John Jones made the 4km walk in to Edwards Point from St Leonards hopeful of some productive land-based fishing.
On their arrival at 6pm, it was still sunny so it was no surprise that nothing was doing.
But their departure at 10pm saw them loaded up with pinkie snapper and a good-size gummy shark.
FRESHWATER
SNOBS Creek fish stocking co-ordinator Rhiannon Atkinson advises that 5500 rainbow trout at an average size of 50g will be released into Lake Bullen Merri on Wednesday outside the club rooms at about 1.30pm. And, on Thursday, rainbow trout will be released into Lake Purrumbete at around 1.15pm.
For details, contact Rhiannon on 0407 987 016, or by email at atrhiannon.atkinson@vfa.vic.gov.au.