Snook on the hook puts snapper on plate
SNOOK are about in good numbers, in both Corio Bay’s inner and outer harbours. Among those to catch them last week was Darcy Scott who picked up several, using the fillets of one of them for bait.
To good effect as it turned out, for he caught two snapper around the 2kg mark and a gummy shark of about 5kg.
Darcy, along with companions Aidan, Liam and Layton Kelly, also did well on the whiting in the Lonsdale Bite at Queenscliff, and what beauties they were. They caught 20 altogether, ranging in size from 40-48cm, using squid for bait.
Rod Ludlow, of Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented, Head reports that squid are back in good numbers over most of the inshore reefs, along with modest catches of good size whiting, particularly on the flood tide.
Mike Windsor of Clifton Springs Boat Hire reports that the southern boundary of the mussel farm is producing the goods of late with pinkie snapper, gummy shark and flathead being caught. But good size whiting are scarce.
Andrew Johnson and Dennis O’Brien had a good crack at them on Friday afternoon in one of their favourite areas off Curlewis, but as sometimes happens, they caught no big fish at all and had to settle for the ever-present pea-dodgers.
The following day though, Andrew and his friend Luke Hurley returned to much the same ground, armed this time with squid jigs. They caught 17 with some good ones among them.
Spearfishing closer in to shore, in about three metres of water, Andrew’s son Tim was hunting for the large flathead this area is known for, when he got a surprise. What he first thought was a shoal of large salmon turned out to be a half dozen or so kingfish, each around the 70cm mark. But they passed too quickly for a shot.
Fishing offshore from Limeburners Point with soft plastics on Saturday morning, Justin Burns and wife Katryna were soon in business with rock flathead to 800g or so, and some fairly large snook. However the snapper they were hoping for, and which they’d caught here previously, didn’t seem to be present. On Sunday morning Justin and Simon Williams tried their luck at Wurdiboluc Reservoir, where — fishing from the rock wall near the car park — Simon caught a rainbow trout of 1.4kg while Justin had to settle for a half dozen small redfin.
John Clements, of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park, reports that large brown trout are still on offer with Phillip Pirotta hooking a real beauty on a Rapala F11 one evening last week, only to lose it near the boat.
Undeterred, he headed out first thing the following morning and was rewarded with a brownie of 4.8kg that — on this occasion — took a Tassie Devil.
Drop-shotting with a Tassie Eliminator, Peter Collicoat from Bellbridge picked up another beauty of 3.9kg.
Redfin also remain on offer, with regulars like Joe Vito picking up fish to a kilogram or so last week using scrubworms for bait.
Geoff, I recently caught a snapper with a hook in its mouth and trailing a short length of line. It had obviously been there a long time because the hook was corroded and the line had seaweed growing from it. I’ve been told that fish get rid of hooks in a short space of time, so what is the truth?
Ryan, fish that become hooked and escape with the hook embedded, are stuck with it for quite some time; usually until the tissue around the hook forms a cyst, which eventually breaks away with the hook, a somewhat unpalatable fact for many.
A lot of unwanted or undersized fish are released by cutting the line, leaving the fish burdened with the hook. That is why having a suitable hook remover with you when fishing, and using it carefully to remove the hook — preferably while holding the fish with a wet towel or the like — is a good idea. Of course some fish swallow the hook and there’s little to be done about that.