VIC
Finally we’ll see more consistent fishing ahead PHILLIP ISLAND
Craig Edmonds
Another 12 months have passed, a season has come and gone and a new one is about to start. The wind has blown over Westernport Bay in every direction possible, and even two at the same time. The four seasons in one day have come and gone many times over. The one consistent thing throughout this year has been the fishing. Not
we were excited for those living in Metro Melbourne, who for the first time were able to travel to the island for the summer and a lot were finally able to fish. In contrast, this year the lure to Westernport Bay has been year-round, with the tuna catches growing from a schoolie to a barrel. Not just one, not two but numerous large catches of tuna, with the majority over 80kg and all within a stone’s throw of our little island’s shoreline. It was truly wonderful to see the
ways, and detoured in the shop from just buying hooks and sinkers to looking at lures and different skirts, and changing their fishing styles. Another strong season for the whiting this year began during winter with those large winter whiting we expected to see. This trend did continue well into spring as the water took a very long time to come up to temperature, as the consistency of hot days to cold/rainy ones was almost non-existent.
There have been some quality snapper being caught lately.
Liam was stoked with this solid snapper. every single trip, but the majority of anglers are finding fish all year round. The major contributors to peoples’ bags this year have been the tuna and the King George whiting. This year has definitely been one to remember, with both size and bag quantities. This time last year From page 88
to see the local landbased legends catching quality size fish, often with quite basic gear but lots of willpower and determination. The variety of gear used is fascinating. For me, I like to stick with a 9ft, 6-10kg rod when using bait, and a 7ft, 2-5kg rod when flicking lures and soft plastics from the banks. The next month will continue to fish well for land-based anglers, and we will also see the pinkies and flathead come on strong as the water temperature rises. All in all, it’s a great time for land-based fishing and to get your kids out fishing with you. All the boats are certainly out and about now. I have had multiple sessions fishing areas such as P2 and Black Rock where boats were packed
joy in anglers’ faces again after it had been depleted for so long. Everyone had a real passion for fishing again, and those who weren’t normally excited or passionate about bigger gamefish all of sudden wanted to learn. People started looking at their fishing gear in different in their hundreds. All the boats are congregate here because they are known snapper grounds which fish well at this time of year. Don’t be afraid to find your own grounds away from the crowd; it’s rewarding and also less frustrating. It may mean spending a bit more time covering ground and staring at the sounder, but it’s awesome when you find a good patch of fish to yourself. As I write this we are finding that the majority of catches are still happening towards the more shallow side. As the water temp rises the fish will start to head deeper, and areas surrounding the fishing channels will start to fish well. All in all, it’s an exciting time so get in the action. Stay safe on the water, and I hope you catch plenty of good ones! Until next time, good
Once the water did warm up, the whiting began to drop off a bit and the average 40-50cm ones we were getting did begin to dwindle. Still, anglers are catching the odd decent sized one, mostly early in the morning and before the sun rises and the heat starts to be felt. The variety of
fish caught has been good, with the majority of fishers finding a mixed bag instead of the odd toadfish. Calamari fishing started off worse that we can remember; reports were very slow through August/ September. Even once reports started coming in it was anything but normal, with most of the calamari well over 1kg and many closer to 3kg. The usual mixed sizes just didn’t happen, and at one stage we didn’t get a report off San Remo jetty for almost a month. The best reports were coming from 40m of water offshore. Thankfully, things have normalized a bit, and reports are now regular with good numbers and mixed sizes the norm. The jetties are a little slow still, but the beaches at Ventnor and Cleeland Bight are reasonably consistent, and
Nights are also fishing well.
anglers in boats and kayaks are having no trouble finding them. Land-based fishing has been equal with catches when it comes to those fishing from the boats. The fish being caught out in the bay are showing up around the jetties. There have been some decent 6kg snapper off of the jetty, and the squid have been bigger and more consistent lately. Not everyone owns a boat, so it has been nice to see that those fishing from the jetty, rocks and beaches have been rewarded with some decent fish. Back in Spring there were some really nice-sized flathead coming from Rhyll jetty during the day, with a lot of smaller just legal ones in between. Overall, a lot can be said about the health of Westernport Bay, Bass Strait and the fish in. It has been
top notch this year. The fish being caught have been all round in good numbers, the size of the fish have been bigger, and the condition of the fish has been exceptional. We have even been having a lot of new species of fish or variations of fish showing up that we have never seen before. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come in 2023. If you are heading down our way over the school holidays or during the summer period, drop in and say hi and come check out our new store. Let us know you are reading the reports and keep an eye on our Facebook page for competitions and specials that we will have over that period. If you are new to the area, we have plenty of information sheets that will help you find a few fish while you are here. fishing everyone. Feel free to contact me at alan@fishingmad.com. au to share your fishing experiences, photos and catches around Melbourne, Port Phillip Bay and beyond, which we can feature in next month’s article. Please consider becoming a FishingMad member at www.fishingmad.com. au/member for fishing reports, workshops, podcasts, and exciting monthly giveaways. Also, don’t forget to follow my fishing adventures on the FishingMad YouTube channel (www.youtube. com/c/fishingmad), Facebook (facebook. com/fishingmad. com.au), Instagram ( w w w. i n s t a g r a m . c o m / fishingmad.com.au) and on Channel 31 on Tuesday evenings at 9:30pm, and Saturday afternoons. DECEMBER 2022
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