Bay yields big snapper
DESPITE rough and windy weather, some anglers have caught snapper in Corio Bay, both from the inner and outer harbours.
Among them is Andrew Johnson, who — along with different companions — has caught them on each of his past five trips.
Fishing along the west side of the Wilson Spit with Brodie Bell on Saturday, it took three bites at the cherry for Brodie to boat a snapper. It was 5kg, taken on silver whiting bait.
Out again on Sunday, this time with Dennis O’Brien and his son Daniel, Andrew reports fishing was slow, but at 11.50am he caught their only fish for the day, weighing 5.5kg.
Land-based anglers have also picked up a snapper or two as Johnny Raft reports after fishing the inside of the Portarlington breakwater near the ferry terminal. He did not get a bite, but witnessed the capture of a 5.2kg snapper by an angler nearby who was also fishing inside the harbour.
Rod Ludlow, of Beachlea Boat Hire, at Indented Head, reports a large number of small barracouta have appeared off Indented Head lately, but flathead — and squid in particular — remain the main catch.
Snapper are to be caught offshore for those able to pick a break in our unsettled weather; something that Aaron Habgood of Red’s Fishing Adventures could relate having consistently caught snapper to 5kg or so — along with the occasional good size gummy or school shark — in about 40m of water off Barwon Heads.
On Sunday, Simon Werner fished Wurdiboluc Reservoir with daughter Kassidy for a brown and rainbow trout, each about 1kg. One was taken on a mudeye suspended under a bubble float and the other on a white metal spoon.
John Clements, of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park, reports that several large brown trout were taken from the lake, including a couple over the 4kg mark caught by Danny Torgensen and his mate “Bettsy”.
John also fished the lake, his best being a 48cm, 1.5kg redfin that took a Rapala F5 on the troll. Others to do well on the lake included Andrew Robinson, of Altona, who caught redfin to 1kg using scrubworms and minnow.
At Lake Bullen Merri, Camperdown rod builder Ken Carman continues to enjoy success on chinook salmon to 1.5kg and better while fishing land based with soft plastics.
Trevor Holmes, of Victorian Inland Charters, fished Lake Toolondo with cousin Rod Rees over the weekend, with Rod’s 2kg brown trout the pick of their catch. It took a Fish Arrow J Shad being retrieved across the shallows. Rod also landed a respectable rainbow while trolling a Daiwa double clutch while Trevor’s catch included a 42cm redfin.
Geoff, where is Laker’s cutting? I’ve heard it’s a great place to catch bream.
Abdul, Laker’s shellgrit cutting may be reached by turning left at Fellows Road from the Bellarine Highway just before you reach Queenscliff. It’s just a bit further along from the Portarlington Road turn-off.
After crossing the railway line on Fellows Road, you will come to a large drain that runs under the road, from which you can fish either side, or — having passed the drain — you can walk down toward Swan Bay taking care not cross the fence on to private property.
To access the eastern part of Laker’s cutting, continue along Fellows Road, following it around to the right where it becomes McDonald Rd. Parking your car at the end, you can wade down through the swamp to the water’s edge, another good area to fish.