VIC
Welcome the warmer months PORT PHILLIP NE
Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au
After another cold and wet month in lockdown in Metro Melbourne, there have been mostly limited opportunities for the bay’s anglers. The arrival of spring, the warmth in the air, and the prospect of easing of the current restrictions have all been welcomed with open arms by everyone, but especially the anglers living along the eastern seaboard of PPB. At the time of writing, these stay-at-home restrictions have been applied to the entire state of Victoria, but unlike last year, anglers are still able to fish within 5km of home. In contrast to previous winters when we received only small amounts of rain, this year the rain has been constant and plentiful, and this trend has continued into the start of spring as well. Although the dirty water around the inshore areas can be annoying, spring rains are often crucial to kick starting the bays food chain, especially for the annual snapper migration, so let’s hope that the current trend continues for some time to come. Traditionally, many of the bay’s anglers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the snapper season at this time of year, and normally Western Port Bay will be already
producing some big fish at the top end of the bay. The end of the AFL season is the real start for many anglers. With the footy finals being moved interstate for the second year running, I’m expecting more anglers to start earlier this year if they are fortunate enough to live close to the water. Fairly consistent snapper reports have been coming in
for the past couple of months, mostly from kayak and small boat anglers targeting the resident snapper population closer to the top end of the bay, especially around the piers and docks close to the mouth of the Yarra River. Anglers fishing with lures amongst the pylons and rocks have been doing particularly well. This is a great sign for the start of the
tends to scatter the schools for a while, but Mornington pier is till producing consistent numbers on the calmer days. Some good bags of big gars are still being reported with the use of burley. Silverfish and peeled prawn have been the best baits fished under a lightly weighted float, as well as maggots. Big schools of salmon have still been harassing the local baitfish population around Mornington as they have done for the most of the year. Recently they have been popping up close to shore, especially during strong onshore winds, and have been providing land-based anglers with some good sport on light line around the rocks and jetties. Small baitfish profile lures and plastics are best, and small slugs that can be cast further are worth trying as well. Reliable and consistent numbers of whiting still coming from the southern areas of the bay is a great sign for the months to come as well, providing another option close to home for many anglers. Those that have persisted in local areas have been doing well also, particularly around Mount
Mark Keaveny and son Eoin have been cashing in on the squid during the calmer days around Mornington lately. Eliza and Mount Martha. Patterson Lakes has been consistently fishing well for bream for the past couple of months, especially when the water is dirty. This is when the bait fishers generally does the best in the main river system
using scrub worms and small freshwater yabbies for bait. Plenty of small salmon have been hanging around the river mouth as well, and there’s always a few EPs for the anglers fishing with lures after dark.
The squid fishing continues to be very consistent along the inshore reefs and from the piers and rocks.
Sunny Martins with a Nagambie Lakes redfin caught while targeting golden perch on the edges.
migration, as the snapper tend to head for this area of the bay first when they enter the bay from the ocean to feed. Recent local land-based snapper captures during rougher weather from various locations around Mornington and Mount Martha have been very encouraging, and I would expect to see many more of these in the weeks to come. Areas further north, especially around Sandringham, Brighton and Mordialloc have also been producing a few nice reds as well when the conditions are right. The squid fishing continues to be very consistent along the inshore reefs and from the piers and rocks, although the wet weather and windier days tend to dirty the inshore water, which can keep slow things down for a short time. Mornington Pier and the surrounding reefs has been by far the most reliable and consistent location for land-based anglers. Natural coloured jigs like red/brown and green have been the best, as well as UV white in the dirtier water and black. Kayak and boat anglers have once again been doing most of the damage in close from Frankston to Mount Martha during the calmer days. Garfish numbers have slowed up a little in recently, and once again the dirty water
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