Port Phillip East

Exceeding expectations

PORT PHILLIP NE Jared Standish

Our temperatures are slowly cooling down, but the fishing certainly isn’t.

During this past month the whiting bite has continued around the local waters of Mt Eliza, Mornington to Dromana and much further south towards the heads.

Back in 2018 there was an article done by Vic Fisheries in relation to the science dating back to 1998 which predicts stocks of King George whiting. It was mentioned that 2019 to 2021 should see whiting reach a catchable size. I’m no scientist, but I would have to say just how right this prediction so long ago was. The quality of the fish has even exceeded those predictions, because I assume that “catchable size” refers to the minimum legal length of 27cm. It’s not uncommon now to have a session where these fish are low to mid 30s and into the 40s ,which is good for multiple reasons – they’re fun to catch and sustainable enough to take a few for a feed with family and friends.

This is a great time of year to fish for a variety of species. Good snapper captures will occur as our temperatures decrease over the coming month or so. Try sounding the areas between Frankston and Dromana. The fish can hold at varying depths, depending on how the weather has been or simply the time of day.

Another option at this time of year is targeting garfish around the rugged coastline between Frankston and Mount Martha over the weed and reef patches, or land-based where it’s safely accessible. Garfish make a fantastic fresh bait for snapper, and it’s good to plan your trip to have some fun catching garfish and squid first, and then head out wide into deeper waters in the hope of catching a snapper.

Garfish can be caught at any time of day in depths anywhere from 1-10m, speaking from personal experience fishing the peninsula region. Certain areas have extremely good broken ground that extends even further than 10m in depth. I recommend setting a good berley trail with pilchards mashed up in a berley pot only a fraction under the surface if you’re in shallow water, and further below the surface in deeper waters. Good garfish spots include Patterson River mouth, Seaford Pier, Frankston Pier, Mornington Pier, Safety Beach jetty and anywhere your adventurous mind can think of. Simply giving it a go and discovering a spot is rather satisfying.

Salmon schools will circulate through a lot of areas in Port Phillip Bay during the cooler months, and can make for some exciting fishing. Having said that, like most fish, they can have their fair share of challenges. If you’re in the right place at the right time and find them on the surface, you can get good results throwing a variety of lures like metals, stickbaits and poppers. I also recommend trolling small skirted lures or hardbodied diving lures to depths around 6m and in the 100mm size, or a fraction smaller. The trolling technique isn’t for everyone as they can be challenging. However, if you’re willing to give it a go I have found that working depths of around 6-12m, teasing these fish up to creating a feeding frenzy, creates the opportunity to throw surface lures. The salmon can be there one minute and gone the next, but the good times aren’t few and far between if you put in the work. Ty Coulson with a nice snapper off Mornington.

An angler’s paradise

MARLO Jim McClymont

mcclymont@net-tech.com.au Finally, the rivers have subsided. The muddy water has dispersed to the ocean, letting fresh seawater into the estuary with the tides, and allowing all species of fish back into the system.

The fishing has exploded into an angler’s paradise. With the conditions back to normal, plenty of anglers are out and about fishing the estuary and offshore. However, you shouldn’t be complacent; just because the entrance is good, with plenty of water in the channel, doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. Recently a fishing group of three turned their boat over, spilling the crew overboard, and the Marlo rescue had to be deployed. Fortunately, luck was on their side and all three were dragged from the water alive.

If you want to fish offshore and haven’t had experience from an entrance Good size bream are on the chew.

MARLO

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Dave Shanahan with a 43cm bream.

and crossing a sandbar, it’s a lot smarter to head out from the boat ramp at Cape Conran. As soon as you leave the ramp you are out to sea and on your way fishing.

When you get fishing, by all reports there are plenty of fish to be caught. Anglers have reported getting good numbers of flathead in close, and out wide there are big tiger flathead with lots of pinkie snapper, morwong, squid, barracoota, gurnard, salmon, and plenty of gummy shark on the chew.

The surf beaches are still fishing very well with plenty of salmon, tailor, snapper, flathead, and gummy shark on the bite. For the onshore game fishing mob, big bronze whalers and other big toothy sharks are still patrolling the surf beaches.

Back in the estuary the fishing should be good this month, provided that the Snowy River behaves itself and does not flood again. Reports of bream are coming from Lake Corringle down along the foreshore at Marlo and up both the Snowy and Brodribb rivers. Luderick are back in again and schooling on their favourite haunts – the rock groynes that surround the islands and river banks. Estuary perch are holding on structures and snags in both rivers, big flathead are still in good numbers along the sandflats that run all the way to Frenchs Narrows, and salmon and tailor are in numbers near the entrance and smashing metal lures.