Decent bream catches in the Hopkins River

COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

Some excellent yellowtail kingfish have been caught in close by those specifically chasing them. The bycatch has been Australian salmon to 2.6kg as well as some small bluefin tuna to 6kg. Some of the kingies are pulling the scales down in excess of 14kg.

Fresh baits such as slimy mackerel and yakkas pinned to a ganged rig and allowed to waft unweighted slowly down over any shallow reef area has worked on the kingies.

Also, many anglers are jigging a variety of lures over similar ground. When the bite is on, casting and trolling lures around feeding schools works well.

Anglers targeting kingfish are launching off Boat Bay, Warrnambool, Killarney Beach and Port Fairy, and fishing reefstrewn ground in depths less than 20m.

East of Warrnambool, the flathead grounds have been worth a shot for many anglers, with some bagging out with flat fish measuring up to 44cm.

The best bait has been squid topped off with a pilchard chunk and allowed to drift along the bottom, in line with the boat.

Some nice King George whiting have been caught off various beaches between Port Campbell and Peterborough on nothing but pipi meat. Either side of a high tide is best, and so too is introducing some berley into the wash.

Casting out beyond any gutters is the go for the bigger fish, which are measuring around 39cm.

The Hopkins is doing well for bream and perch, and it seems some mulloway are still in the system and testing the patience of many anglers’ bream fishing gear. Cubed mullet or salmon is attracting mulloway bites whilst soft plastics in shrimp patterns are catching a few bream, especially in the shallow mud flat areas at dawn and dusk.

At low tide, the bommies (coral mounds) that can be found out in the Bay of Biscay area are holding schools awaiting the building tide. They are well worth a cast or two, as you may annoy a bream or perch into attacking your bait or lure.