As winter creeps closer, we’re once again facing the cold weather and strong winds that our coast is known for, and as expected, fishing activity has slowed considerably. Offshore anglers are holding out for any opportunity to get out on the water and target the many species still available, but how long will it be before a suitable window opens?
Estuaries:
The Glenelg River has been producing excellent catches lately, particularly for mulloway and bream. Peter Kavanagh has had great success in the river's front section, using live mullet and large soft plastics cast into deeper waters. He mentioned that while mullet are abundant, selecting the right size can be tricky—too large or too small doesn’t seem to work. The ideal size for bait is between 10-15cm. Larger mullet tend to be eaten without getting hooked, as the mulloway will often kill the bait before it can be properly hooked.
For rigging live mullet, you can either pin them through the skin just behind the dorsal fin or hook through both upper and lower lips. It’s important not to hook them just through the top lip, as this can cause them to drown due to the water flow through their gills being too fast.
Mono fishing line is preferred over braid because of its stretch, which is useful for handling the larger mulloway. Live mullet can be fished in various ways, including trolling, anchoring with a float, or on the bottom using a running sinker rig.
When using lures, soft plastics in the 2.5” to 7” range have been successful. While larger lures may be used for mulloway in other states like New South Wales or Queensland, our local mulloway tend to eat a broader variety of baits, so it’s best to match the hatch with smaller lures.
Bream fishing has been strong as well, with great catches reported along the river’s rock walls and sandbanks. Young Finn Coates recently set a new club record, catching five bream weighing a total of 5.44kg—an impressive feat for someone his age. While some bream are still coming from the sandbanks below the poles, the smaller perch can make fishing challenging. Using cut crab is a reliable way to avoid the perch, though you may still catch the occasional one.
With the river now blocked, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the mulloway population, as they haven't been performing well in these conditions.
Saltwater:
Inshore whiting have been keeping anglers on their toes, with some big fish reaching over 50cm being caught both from the shore and by boat. Alongside these, smaller snapper continue to make their presence known, making it harder to get through them, though they add plenty of excitement to the fishing. The new Black Magic Tinga Stinga rigs have been particularly effective, with anglers around Killarney seeing good numbers of whiting. The rig’s short sinker dropper and longer 60cm trace keep the bait in the ideal feeding zone for the whiting, and slowly winding the bait along the sandy bottom has been a productive technique.
Further offshore, school tuna have been abundant at the island, with fish ranging from small "jellybean" sizes to up to 20kg, caught on various bibbed minnows and skirts. Enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the larger tuna that have been spotted at Apollo Bay, with fish up to 60kg recently landed. Bigger tuna are expected to appear soon off our coast.
Gummy shark fishing has slowed unexpectedly, leaving anglers puzzled as to why. Despite this, a few decent snapper have been caught in the process. One interesting catch recently was an elephant shark off Port Fairy’s "Golfies" Beach by Davin Ockerby. These fascinating creatures spawn in our bays and are also known for their excellent eating qualities. Thresher sharks have also been spotted, with Andy Smith landing a 48kg one with help from Ben Woolcock on light tackle. Meanwhile, Zac Van Wegen caught his first thresher shark while fishing solo off Warrnambool after losing one on a previous trip. After some intense runs and acrobatic displays, he successfully landed the shark—a great accomplishment for a solo angler!
The weather this weekend looks less than ideal, with conditions expected to make fishing difficult, especially offshore. It seems like another weekend of tough conditions ahead.
Until next week, tight lines and best of luck!