Geelong

GEELONG Neil Slater

slaterfish@gmail.com June should see a shift in angler tactics as the waterways cool down. Kingfish have left the building and snapper are a little harder to target successfully. Salmon will invade the surf beaches whilst lure casters set their sights on bream in the salt and trout in the fresh.

Freshwater fishos keen on a trout should try Wurdiboluc Reservoir near Moriac, or Stony Creek Reservoir near Anakie. Both reservoirs are nice and full, and I have seen a few nice trout caught at Wurdi and large redfin at Stony Creek on the social pages.

A little over a year ago, VFA built three recreational fishing reefs in Corio Bay. These basalt and limestone reefs were seeded with mussels and native oysters. So far, the reefs have thrived, and VFA have footage of pinkie snapper and other fish cruising around them. You can check it out at www.vfa.vic.gov.au/ rockyreefs.

The King George whiting have been biting very well

Recently 8yo Chelsea Young went fishing with her dad Rob down to Limeburners rock wall for an after-dark session. Using a Black Magic bleeding pilchard 3/0 Snapper Snatcher rig baited with squid, Chelsea hauled in a whiting that measured in at 42cm. Not bad for a first fish! Rob says Chelsea was so stoked to Corio Bay. Most fish have been either side of 40cm but super fat and real tough on the end of a 2-3kg whiting set-up. Dave Reynolds and I shot out from Limeburners on a whiting trip recently and noticed a few baitfish flicking out near the mouth of the boat ramp. We tied on a metal slice each and got stuck

Catherine and Jo had a good day out on the bay bagging a few flatties. Jo landed this solid gummy out off Portarlington recently.

Plenty of salmon have been smashing baitfish inside Corio Bay.

around Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula. Point Henry to Queenscliff has seen consistent captures of whiting up to 43cm on pipis and squid.

The stretch of water between Point Henry and Portarlington has seen a lot of boat pressure, so be prepared to keep moving to new spots as the fish do move around a bit. At some places we’ve found whiting one day, and struggled for a bite the next. After a tough day, you get back to the ramp and hear, “We struggled at Leopold so moved to Point Henry and found them.” Dammit! So don’t feel like you have to hang around a pack of boats if you’re not catching anything. They’re always biting somewhere!

Dad came down from Queensland to get out on Corio Bay and enjoy the whiting fishing. I got him out twice with myself and my 14yo son to catch a few up to 39cm, using mainly squid for bait. catch her first fish that she was still smiling the next morning and bugging him to take her out again!

Australian salmon have also been marauding the local baitfish population inside into a few salmon around the 40cm mark. They were fairly fussy, only grabbing small 5cm slices, but round as a footy and put on a great show. The same day, similar-sized salmon were busting up over near Point Henry, and they have been putting on a bit of a show along the Geelong waterfront. I invited one back for the smoker and then we shot around Point Henry for some whiting and calamari.

The Curlewis bank has also seen solid captures of calamari for those drifting in 4m of water. It hasn’t been very clear here, so to get a few is encouraging. The ones I’ve caught have been around 22cm hood length. Other anglers have been bagging out on squid drifting around the whiting fishers, so if you luck out on one, switch to the other for the big ones offshore.

Flake lovers have enjoyed quality gummy sharks to 15kg and bronze whaler sharks to around 30kg drifting out off Torquay at the time of writing.

Lorne has seen good numbers of pinkie snapper for anglers drifting in close, plus some solid King George whiting over 45cm. Anglers fishing the Lorne pier have enjoyed catching salmon, whiting and trevally.

The beaches and rock platforms along the Great Ocean Road can see good numbers of Australian salmon patrolling over winter. They love a metal lure or a pilchard or whitebait cast out on a paternoster rig, and can get up around 3kg at this time of year. Don’t forget that since 1 March, we are required to wear lifejackets when fishing from those rock locations identified as ‘high risk’. The Surf Coast

and always have a squid jig dangling over the side when whiting fishing.

One thing I did notice when we were coming back into the Clifton Springs boat harbour from a whiting session was garfish. They were everywhere in less than a metre of water, and in schools of five to 30+ fish, well within casting distance of both the rock wall and pier. They were solid fish too, easily up around 40cm.

Flathead have also been quite thick inside Corio Bay, with a few fish being caught over 50cm on bait and plastics. Jo Borgia fished with 91yo Catherine Wallace out off Portarlington recently, where Catherine caught five nice flathead and Jo managed a solid pair of gummy sharks.

Gummies have also been busy out off St Leonards in the deeper water, while in shallow, the whiting have been turning it on with fish to 40cm caught throughout the day. They have been patchy, so if you’re not having any luck, make sure you move a few times until you find them.

The mouth of Swan Bay and nearby Coles Channel has seen good captures of whiting and calamari when the tide runs.

Bass Strait still has a few school tuna from 10-15kg biting either side of the Rip. Larger barrel-sized tuna were being caught further down the west coast so keep an eye out Chelsea with a 42cm whiting she caught from Limeburners rock wall.

has two of these locations: Artillery Rocks and the rock platform opposite Sheoke Falls, both southwest of Lorne along the Great Ocean Road. For more info visit www.vfa. vic.gov.au/rockfishing.

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).