Offshore: The barrels just keep on coming for the anglers that put in the time to target them. Stephen Rhook landed a solid 111kg fish on Sunday onboard Peter Goode’s boat. The boys launched off Port Fairy and were back at the ramp in time for Rhookys wife Andrea’s roast tea. The action seems to be behind the Island in approximately 60-70m of water which is due to a warm current bringing bait to the area. Whales, dolphins and seals have been the giveaway that there is bait in the area, and then anglers are starting to troll from there. Bullet style heads such as the Bonze Exocet has been super popular due to what these fish have been eating lately. Pilchards and redbait have been the staple diet recently so trying to match your skirt or hard body colour to these will be your best bet. Don’t be fooled into thinking that tuna are the only offshore target; there’s plenty more happening. Tony Read fished offshore from Port Fairy in search of a gummy or snapper, and was rewarded with a nice school shark caught on his trusty Tackle Shack rigs. If you’re new to bottom fishing for snapper or sharks, then these are a brilliant choice. Not only are they easy to attach to your main line, but they boast one of the best hooks, rigged with wire and are pre-tied ready to fish. These rigs are ideal for bottom fishing at this time of year, due to large numbers of school sharks present which will make a mess of monofilament rigs. Just remember that you mustn’t bunch up your bait, as this will only make things worse when trying to set the KLT circle hook.
Estuaries: the Hopkins River is still very dirty, but is producing some cracking bream and the odd estuary perch. Anglers fishing with bait such as scrub worms and shrimp have been landing some quality bream over the 40cm mark. This time of year sees the annual migration for spawning of both bream and perch. What you will typically find is that the perch come down to spawn and the bream will move further upstream. Huge schools of fish are quite visible on your sounders from the bottom boat ramp all the way up to Jubilee, but it’s finding the active fish that seems to be an issue of late. When you do find those active fish it’s definitely worth it. If you’re wanting to fish lures or soft plastics then you can’t go past a black blade or a curl tail soft plastic this time of year. Try fish the outer edge of the schools which will mean that you’re not fishing those sulky fish. The Glenelg River is alive and well for estuary perch and some pretty good bream at the moment. Something that is quite uncommon this time of year is the fact that the perch are still taking surface lures, even in the dirty water. Loads of fish were caught by some anglers who were invited for the annual “Perch Search” event which sees anglers catch and keep perch. These fish are kept alive in their live wells and then placed in large pens which are then transported to interstate hatcheries. From here they are used for breeding, and the new stock are released back into systems and new waterways that need them most.
Freshwater: the trout are still firing in the Hopkins and Merri rivers with some solid fish loving the dirty and flowing water. Try using bigger lures with a fair bit of flash to them so they stand out in the dirty water. The Bromfield Street weir has been the most popular locality and there has been some solid fish landed. Most anglers are casting into the plunge pool below the weir and simply winding back through the foam. The corner downstream from the weir is also a great place to have a cast at, since it provides a slower piece of water on the inside. Lake Bullen Merri is again firing for trout and salmon on trolled lures. Tassie Devils are the most cost effective way of targeting them and are one of the best choices. At only $7 they provide a wide wobble which the trout and salmon can’t resist. Using a downrigger is the preferred method as you can set the depth to target suspending fish on bait schools. There has also been some big trout caught flat lining Tassies over the years so if you’re without a downrigger this is also a great option.
Richardson Marine and The Tackle Shack will be holding a Boating and Fishing expo on Saturday the 15th of October. We will have in store specials, in store demonstrations, product reps who will have some new and exciting gear to see and try out on the fishing simulator. In the boating side we will have some great show specials and one of Stabicraft’s new 1850 Supercabs on display. Sam Powell’s famous slow cooked meat will be available on the day to keep your taste buds happy. We will have more information in the coming weeks so stay tuned to our social media pages and the report. Until next week tight lines and best of luck!