A BUMPER HAUL
OFFSHORE
WITH good weather on Sunday, Chris Stamalos was among several to head out from Barwon Heads, and with the exceptionally low tides late last week and over the weekend it was a bumpy ride over some of the shallow sandbars.
Eventually, at anchor in 30m of water, Chris was soon in business with a sevengilled shark of possibly 30kg.
Fortunately, there weren’t too many of those about.
Next cab off the rank was a 9kg gummy shark followed by a 4kg snapper.
Simon Werner, of Adamas Charters reports that, fishing in much the same area, his clients also took snapper to 4kg, along with both gummy and school shark to 15kg.
CORIO BAY/ BELLARINE PENINSULA
ON Saturday morning, Andrew Phillips and Tony Greck launched at St Leonards, and on the last of the outgoing tide, headed out into around 19m of water, hopeful of catching a gummy shark or two.
However, first up was a sevengilled shark of around 60kg that they released, and that was followed by an 8kg gummy shark that they kept.
All they caught after that though were flathead of various sizes, not really what they were after. So, they decided to head in toward Coles Beacon off the entrance of Swan Bay to fish for whiting.
Initially there wasn’t much doing, but when the incoming tide picked up in the midafternoon, the whiting came on the bite and by late evening, they’d topped off their bag-limit catches with some bigger fish, one stretching the tape to 43cm.
Early on Friday morning, Andrew Johnson headed out off Curlewis, and by 6.30am was at anchor in 5m of water from where he took a baglimit catch of whiting, the smallest he kept measured 35cm, the largest 41cm.
With time on his hands, Andrew pulled the anchor, and – fishing on the drift in around 3m of water – picked up a half dozen nice squid.
Just as well there are plans to excavate the Clifton Springs harbour entrance, said Andrew, because – with the exceptionally low morning tides toward the end of last week, and over the weekend – he just made it back through the harbour entrance, and that was 30 minutes or so before low tide.
Three larger craft weren’t so lucky, running aground, their owners having to wait out the tide to get back in.
Fortunately, we won’t be seeing any more really low tides until mid-June.
They’re predicted to occur midafternoon on the 13th and 14th of next month.
OFF THE BEACH
FISHING last week’s morning low tides from the beach at Ocean Grove, Stanley Owen and Tony Ingram were initially plagued by large crabs taking their baits of squid, and – as confirmation – brought several to the beach still hanging on to what was left of their baits.
But as the tide eventually began coming in, the crabs seemed to go into hiding, heralding the first of several good bites that produced a couple of pinkie snapper and a small mulloway. And by the time the incoming tide forced their retreat, they’d added a couple of snapper nudging the 40cm mark.
FRESHWATER
KEVIN and Amber Wild, of the Maryborough Angling Club, spent a few days at Yarrawonga on Lake Mulwala, trolling lures mainly, with Percy the Perch (an articulated rubber bodied lure), and Old Mate deeprunning bibbed minnows, with one of which Kevin plucked a 120cm murray cod, his biggest to date.
They also did well during the club’s outing on Lake Mulwala – a total of 20 fish caught and released; Kevin plucking an 82cm cod and Amber another of 72cm.
Last Tuesday, Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters was joined by clients Mick and Steve from Horsham, both keen to go out onto Lake Purrumbete despite the stiff breeze and occasional passing shower.
Redfin were on the bite from the get-go, mainly in the usual size range, but Mick picked up a beauty of 44cm and 1.4kg.
Altogether they probably would have caught over a hundred, keeping 60 for themselves, their families, and friends.