Port Phillip West

Fishing for all our favourites

PORT PHILLIP Gerry Morsman

You can always feel the hype around the boat ramps at this time of year, as all our favourite species are on offer and generally in pretty good numbers. The snapper are going strong, the squid are everywhere, and King George whiting fishing just seems to be getting better and better every year.

Gummy sharks are still around too. They tend to be there all year so you don’t Scott Humbles with a very chubby and healthy snapper out from Carrum during the month.

Garry Nortan with a quality feed of southern calamari.

really hear much hype, but there is still a lot being caught down the southern end of the bay. SNAPPER

By far our most iconic fish down here in Melbourne is snapper, and it’s easy to see why. They are big, they fight hard and when they are on the bite you need a second set of hands.

There are still plenty of fish hanging around the Black Rock area in around 10-11m of water. Squid, pilchard and silver whiting are the go-to baits as per usual, and don’t forget to berley! The idea is to berley a little bit at a time, but often.

Black Rock is also the ideal place to use lures, as it’s not overly deep which makes it a lot easier. Fishing plastics or real imitation baits such as the Atomic Real Baitz have been ideal.

Moving down the bay towards Carrum and Frankston, you will find very good numbers of fish at this time of year in around 18m of water. There are plenty of dumps which are artificial reefs that hold very good numbers of snapper. One of the more popular ones lately has been the old plane wreck, and you should be able to find the GPS coordinates on the internet. The most popular baits are the same as always – pilchard, squid and silver whiting. If you have fresh flesh baits like salmon or cuda, don’t be afraid to use that either.

Mornington has been starting to get some good reports lately also. The hospital is holding good fish, along with Ansetts Reef. KING

GEORGE WHITING

What a season we are having on the King George whiting! Every year just seems to be getting better and better. It seems to be that way across all areas in the country that hold King George whiting. I’m hearing good reports all the way from Port Lincoln in South Australia to Lakes Entrance in Victoria, which is great to see. Down here on the Peninsula there have been really good reports around Rosebud in around 10m of water over the patchy ground. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is an incoming or outgoing tide; as long as the tide is moving well, the fish should be there.

Pipis seem to be the bait of choice around this area, with squid strips getting a mention also. Blairgowrie is a spot that doesn’t get mentioned all that often, but let me tell you it has been producing a lot of fish on the run-out tide near the green poles just outside the harbour.

From page 86 few around 80cm turned up inside Corio Bay.

This time last year saw a few tuna poking about off Barwon Heads, so make sure you pack a few bigger fishing sticks and keep an eye out for birds if you’re planning a day offshore.

My new work colleague Michael Helwig was in search of a few new possies to wet a line, so I suggested Painkalac reservoir at the back of Aireys Inlet. The reservoir was stocked with perch and trout before it was opened, so I was excited to see Michael land a perch on a revolving blade spinner. It was only small, but good news for the future of this fishery. Michael fished the reservoir a second time but the heavy rains had turned it brown.

The Commodore of the Lorne Aquatic Club, Keith Miller, reports there have been some quality flathead biting out off Lorne. Larger snapper had been inconsistent at the time of writing, but there were plenty in the 30-40cm size range. Big gummy and school sharks around the 20kg mark have been caught out deeper along with nannygai and morwong. The good news is that yakkas have been everywhere so with the influx of bait, the larger predators like kingfish and tuna should move into the ‘hood.

Keith says the pier has been fishing as well as it ever has, with good numbers of large silver trevally biting. A wide variety of other species It’s a great time of year down the southern end of the bay if you want to target big squid.

You shouldn’t berley hard here, as this will bring in all the fish you don’t want, like toadies, small pinkies and leatherjackets. Pillies in the berley pot without mashing them will do the job, as they still have enough oil in them to give off a scent but don’t create a huge trail.

Squid strips as bait

King George whiting are in big numbers and sizes.

such as snotty trevally, mullet, flathead, grass whiting, snapper, salmon, King George whiting and calamari are all on offer from the Lorne pier.

Anglers should be focusing on the Great Ocean Road rock ledges this summer as some quality fish are caught off the rock every year. Just be sure to keep an eye on the swell and when in doubt, hit the Lorne pier!

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). will get the job done, but make sure to always bring pipis as this could be the game changer.

Getting in around the moorings off Sorrento and Portsea is always a sure bet at this time of year. You just have to make sure there is plenty of flow in the tide. Again, don’t berley too hard or you’ll attract more rubbish fish. SOUTHERN CALAMARI

As always there are very good reports of southern calamari coming in from across the bay. They live for around 12 months, breed very well in our waters and with a bag limit of only 10 per person I can’t see this fishery going anywhere anytime soon.

The southern end of the bay around Rye is producing very good numbers of squid. Although the consistency of big squid aren’t there, there are still plenty to keep you entertained and will leave you going home with a good feed.

Fishing in around 3-6m of water over broken ground is the key. If you can’t see the bottom in this depth it would be best to move around and find some cleaner water. Moving down to Sorrento just outside the moorings will put you in with the very good chance in around 4-5m.

Using the bigger 3.5-sized jigs is always key down the southern end of the bay for two reasons. First, the squid are generally bigger so using a bigger jig just makes sense, and second, there is a lot more current and the bigger jigs have more weight to them, allowing you to get them to bottom quicker.

Portsea is also fishing very well near the pier. It is closed during the week due to repairs, so there hasn’t been a huge amount of pressure there. It’s a very good place to start if you are in this area.

GUMMY SHARKS

The south channel is always your go-to spot for gummy sharks if you are fishing inside the bay. Most reports this month have been coming in from Rye. The key is to get in close to the edge of the channel. Gummy sharks will swim along this edge, moving up and down with the tide. Some people like the run-in, some like the run-out. Honestly, I hear plenty of reports from both, and it seems to be more important to be there either in the dark or at first/last light as these are more general times for them to feed.

Using fresh bait is always key, especially if you are chasing the big ones. Gummy sharks have an extraordinarily good nose. This means they will be able to detect your bait from a long way away, and if it isn’t fresh there is a good chance the gummies won’t come over to enquire.

Summer snapper fishing inshore hits its peak

PPB WEST Alan Bonnici

alan@fishingmad.com.au

What a crazy month it has been. After waiting patiently for some decent weather and some decent fishing, things just went bang. The season is later than normal due to La Niña weather patterns, and cooler-than-normal temperatures and recent flooding has seen inconsistent water temps and challenges getting on the water. However, just like that, snapper season is here and we have just hit peak fishing time.

As an avid kayak fisher, I love this time of year. It’s that smallish window where you can target big snapper on your yak only hundreds of metres from shore, ideally during the evening around the shallow reefs. All you need is one spin rod, one spin reel and several packets of soft plastics. I generally fish a tad heavier at this time of year, with a 2-5kg or 3-6kg spin rod paired with a 2500 or 3000 size reel. I recommend using a highquality, thin diameter braid, anywhere from 12-20lb. This is particularly important when fishing these shallow reefs, as these big fish will test your gear and will also reef you from time to time.

The soft plastics I like to cast include Munroe’s 3.75” paddle-tail in filthy pilchard colour, the Keitech Easy Shiner and the Berkley Turtleback worm in 4” and 7” versions. Snapper and pinkies find these plastics irresistible, and so do many other local species.

Around Port Phillip Bay these accessible areas include Black Rock, Ricketts Point, Avalon, Altona, Williamstown and many more – anywhere with a decent beach launch

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The author with a snapper off the rocks.

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and shallow reef areas. These are easy to identify with a decent sounder or apps like Navionics with relief shading. In these areas, I like to cover ground but also keep a keen eye on the sounder which does an amazing job at helping you to find the fish.

I will say straight off that we have had quiet days on the water, and also where I’ve landed only a few pinkies, and other days bagging out on snapper between 3-6kg. That’s snapper fishing for you, there are no guarantees. However, great intentions and attention to detail at this time of year on fishing those more productive windows can be key to success.

I have also been Pier, and many others. If you need some land-based fishing suggestions, head to ww.fishingmad.com. au, which has plenty of details. I have had multiple good sessions around Port Melbourne, Werribee and Bellarine peninsula. Just remember, land-based fishing around Melbourne means you need to be prepared to fish amongst crowds and to be patient.

The standout rig has been a paternoster rig, which provides better casting distance and presents two baits at different heights. The best bait for me this past month has been strips of squid or squid rings. Like on the kayak, the keys to success have been fishing around tide changes, early mornings, evenings and sudden shifts in the barometer. If you’re bait fishing, also make sure you have fresh bait. I often use fresh squid or salmon, which I have caught plenty of whilst out on my kayak for this sole purpose.

Also, ensure you bring a variety of baits with you. This might include pilchards, silver whiting, squid, salmon, yaks, snook, raw chicken and so on. If you’re using a paternoster rig, mix up the baits on each rig and see if you can follow a pattern of what’s working better. As

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Snapper don’t have to be huge to be a lot of fun.

chaotic days on the water with non-stop catches. Those chaotic moments generally are aligned with a tide change, sunset or spike up or down in the barometer. I’ve had days catching my fair share of snapper land-based. Around Melbourne, there are many good options, including Webb Dock, Wyndham Harbour, Sandringham rock wall, Mornington I mentioned earlier, most of my catches to date have been on squid, which is great as it doesn’t fall off the hook.

It’s always awesome