The Pelican's Pick
Thursday, 24 September
Grand Final fever is here, and Alastair has already scored a beauty with this golden football!
Alastair and his son Zephyr were on the hunt for the perfect yellowbelly fishing spot along the Goulburn River. After having a look around, they uncovered a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and found a nice patch of yellas!
The fish were on and the action was constant! Alastair and Zephyr managed to land a handful of yellas between them and released them back into the water to swim another day.
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Along the Coast
Mallacoota duskies are heating up and they are on the move! Paddle tail soft plastics are working well along the edges of sandy flats. The top lake is filled to the brim with bream! Bass yabbies and prawns are scoring big catches for both boat and land-based fishers.
Port Albert is serving up fresh catches of squid around the jetty with some flathead in the mix. In deeper waters, catches of flathead are more common and anglers are taking home a good feed! Bait up your rod with large chunks of mullet, squid or yakka and reel in some of the monster gummy shark on the chew!
It’s a seafood trifecta at Apollo Bay with anglers reeling in a mixed bag. Larger specimens of gummy shark have been reported, and they are hammering oily fish fillets. Snapper are devouring squid strips on paternoster rigs in deep water. In shallower waters flathead are dominating the space. Bait is a good option, but lures are a sure fire way to land them on the deck!
The fish around Portland never sleep and neither do the anglers. It’s been another jam-packed week of fishing action with large Aussie salmon inhaling poppers and metal slugs. Green, silver and white lures have been working the best in current conditions. Snapper are biting off the breakwater and some quality fish are getting reeled in with pilchards and squid strips.
Around the Bays
The early bird gets the worm, and the early angler gets an 80cm+ snapper in Western Port. The season is heating up early for those who are putting in the hours. Corinella is the snapper capital with quality catches on pilchards, squid and mullet.
Kraken sized squid continue to gulp down jigs left right and centre along the weed beds at Flinders. Catch them to cook or save them for later to catch something bigger! The gummy shark in the bottom end of Western Port have large appetites and they are craving squid! Setting up a running rig in the fast-flowing channels will set your bait up for optimal presentation and a guaranteed bite!
There’s been strong snapper reports coming from Clifton Springs, with many fishers hooking into big reds! Brightly coloured curl tail soft plastics and pilchards are working well for land-based anglers. If out in the boat, head towards the channel and cast out large squid strips for a chance to catch the fish of a lifetime!
The Patterson River is producing good catches of black bream on soft plastics with the odd flattie snapping at the line. Switch to metal spoons for a chance to score a silver trevally or Aussie salmon. Further down the coast at Mornington, there’s been excellent catches off the pier from squid to snapper. Port Phillip Bay offers heaps of variety for all anglers!
Inland
The Goulburn River is trout fishing galore with anglers reeling in whoppers from Alexandra to Thornton. With low flows coming out of Lake Eildon, the river is low and clear, so a stealthy approach is required. Using lures such as spinners are a perfect way to cue an aggressive strike response! The rainbow trout getting reeled in are absolute stonkers while the brown trout are often smaller in size, they make up for it with looks! The colours of the brown trout getting reeled in have been spectacular – these fish are healthy and in prime condition!
The Goulburn's tributaries are running high but clear, and anglers are finding success on a variety of presentations including worms and using small lures or flies. Target the slower pockets of water to the sides of the main flow and at the tail end of larger pools to find hungry fish waiting for an easy feed.
It’s a gold rush at the Wimmera River as it just keeps producing giant nuggets! These yellowbellies are looking healthy and ready to bite! Spinnerbaits are working effectively while walking the bank but worms are a clear winner for bait fishers. In amongst the yella action there’s been some ripper silver perch reeled in and some class catfish!
Lake Nillahcootie is one of our fantastic year-round Murray cod fisheries and fishers are getting in on their slice of the action! Fishing deep ledges with raw chicken or yabbies has proved most successful. There’s also a healthy population of golden perch in the lake which can be tempted with worms or spinner baits. The yellas will aggregate towards the sticks so try suspending your bait in the middle of the water column next to scrub.
Tight lines – Mr. Percy!