VIC
Last chance for good PPB snapper sessions PORT PHILLIP
Gerry Morsman
The peak of the boat traffic is over now that the footy is back, and for some people now is the best time to capitalize on what great fishing is still on offer. The snapper are still going well before they head on out of the Bay, the whiting are still going strong and, as per usual, the squid and
gummy sharks are still firing as they stick around all year long. SOUTHERN CALAMARI The Mornington pier is seeing some great reports this month, with early morning and late afternoon being the ideal times of day to target them. The first section of the pier at the rock wall casting out towards the bay has been producing good numbers. You are best to use a 2.5 sized jig to get
Cuttlefish are always a welcome bycatch when fishing for squid. The author always releases them. being caught in Bass Strait. Skirts with and without teasers are getting results, as are diving lures, poppers and stickbaits. Alan Falzon fished with Nick Mahoney in Bass Strait recently. The lads trolled all the way down towards Torquay without luck, so they headed back to the Rip. Around 7:30am Nick hooked up on a shallow diving lure, and landed a nice little tuna. The lads drove around for a few more hours and ended up
the casting distance, and this size is also good because it’s not too heavy for the shallow reef that you will be casting over. Reports say the better colours have been green, red foil, black and white. Moving further up the pier, it’s best to cast on the inside as the locals say this area has been fishing very well. Bird Rock at Mount Martha has been in the reports a lot lately, with big numbers caught all throughout the day. It’s a big reef and you can get a very good drift going for a long period of time. Limestone Reef out the front of Mount Martha has been fishing very well also. KING GEORGE WHITING Fishing in the sand holes off Mount Eliza over the broken ground has kept a lot of anglers busy of late. You might have to move around a bit, but by all reports it has been very worth it with good numbers and sizes. Fish up to 45cm have been getting caught on squid strips and pipis. The better times have been early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Mills Beach off Mornington has been fishing
Hugh has been catching a few redfin at Wurdee.
Matthew caught and released this 74cm kingfish casting lures off Limeburners.
back near Torquay. They decided to give up on the tuna and went over to an old wreck that Alan knows. They sent a Chasebait soft plastic down on a heavy jighead, and landed a nice kingfish to round out the day. Alan reckons they were lucky to boat these fish because others at the ramp hadn’t had much luck. FISH HARD – DIE HAPPY! Catch a few around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula or Surf Coast to Lorne recently? Send in a report to slaterfish@gmail. com with “FMG” in the subject field or give me a call on 0408 997 348. Please include where (without giving away your secret spot!), when, what on and who caught the fish. Pictures are always great, but please make sure they are at least 1MB (file size).
Michael Kandanoleon with a nice female gummy shark. really well, too. Fishing near the yellow poles will have you in a big sandy area just off the edge of light reef, and the whiting love to hang around these areas. You might get a few small pinkies, but if you persist the whiting will eventually turn up and push the other fish out. Bird Rock is an area that comes up every year as the whiting love to hang around this big rock that comes out of the water. Here you are fishing in around 6m of water in sand holes and broken reef. It’s possible to catch whiting all day long here, with the best baits being squid, pipis, mussels and cockles. As you move down to Dromana you will find you get a little more tide, which is a much easier way to fish as the tide will generally keep your boat and lines straight. You can also berley and bring the fish to you if they aren’t in your exact location. Look for broken ground and sand holes, and if you find the fish aren’t coming to you with the berley, you might have to move around a little bit.
end of the flood tide. Choosing your bait is a very big deal when it comes to gummy sharks. They have a very good nose so make sure you have the freshest bait you can get. If you can’t catch your own on the day, which is ideal, then getting some from a local fish store or market is the next best thing. A fresh salmon or trevally would be perfect as they are very oily and have a lot of blood, which create a really good berley trail. You would be surprised at how far away a gummy shark can smell it. Sorrento has been popping up in the reports also. The key is get right up close to the edge of the channel because this is where most of their food source will travel with the tide. SNAPPER This month will most likely be your last crack at
Ben found some quality whiting using squid strips for bait. GUMMY SHARKS The South channel all the way from Rye to Portsea is a very good area to target gummy sharks all year round. They will swim up and down this channel all day and night with the tide, cruising the edges looking for food. There have been great reports off Rye at the
There are still plenty of school-sized snapper on offer in the bay.
having a solid Port Phillip Bay snapper session, until they return around September. They always go very well this time of year, and can be found in big numbers wide near the shipping channel off Frankston and Mornington in around 20-22m of water. The best bite time, judging by the reports, has been first light. That’s no surprise; it’s very common at this time of year. The best baits have been silver whiting and fresh squid. Berley is key, and you want to start before the sun comes up. As soon as the bite time starts, get ready because the chances are the school will be big, super-competitive and very hungry. If you are lucky you will have your bag limit within 20 minutes. Keep in mind that snapper don’t release very well due to barotrauma, so fishing in water over 11m isn’t ideal for catch and release after you have caught your bag limit. APRIL 2023 81
