The Pelican's Pick
Friday, 4 July
When a 100kg barrel is your second-best tuna, you know you’re a serious fisher! Kim landed this beast out from Lakes Entrance on 60kg line while targeting swordfish. It’s safe to say this is an impressive bycatch! Kim is no stranger to catching barrel tuna, with her personal best weighing a whopping 125kg caught out from Queenscliff. This catch really shows Kim’s strength, skill, and dedication!
We always love seeing more women and girls going fishing! This week, the Pelican’s Pick team have been lucky enough to receive input from the Women in Recreational Fishing and Boating (WIRFAB) network. The WIRFAB program encourages women’s participation in fishing and boating by providing skill development programs alongside networking and community building opportunities. Our WIRFAB leaders are very successful fishers and boaters who have generously agreed to share their tips and tricks to our Pelican’s Pick readers this week.
To find out more about the WIRFAB network follow this link or visit their Facebook page.
To be our next Pelican’s Pick star, submit your photos to pelicanspick@vfa.vic.gov.au, or share your fishing story here.
Along the Coast
There’s always lots happening off the coast of Victoria, with fishers reporting plenty of salmon and some seriously big tuna. For tuna seekers, be sure to venture to Portland, with those chasing barrels having great success. Live baits are proving the best option to catch a big one.
Salmon are well and truly about for those who like to fish off the beach. Land-based options along the coast are providing anglers with fun salmon sessions on bait and lures. Have some berley handy to keep them interested!
Port Welshpool has been a popular spot for land-based and boat fishing. If you’re after a feed of gummy shark, Port Welshpool is the recent hot spot.
If snapper are more your thing, then strap yourself in, Jo Fyfe, one of our WIRFAB leaders, has shared some of the best ways to catch a prized snapper.
You may be aware that winter is not the best time for snapper, with October and November the most productive. However, recent reports by local anglers suggest dedicated snapper fishers, willing to travel offshore, are still finding big reds. Check out the shallower reefs around Portland if you are from the west, or similar areas at Mallacoota if you are out east.
Jo’s tip for the best time to target snapper is to focus on tide changes. Try your luck two hours either side of a tide change or when a tide change occurs at the same time as sunrise or sunset. If you don’t have a boat, the best time for land-based snapper fishing is usually during windy or choppy conditions.
Jo’s recommended method for snapper fishing is using fresh bait. Calamari rings are a great option, and make sure to hook the ring at the top and in the middle. This allows the calamari to swim nicely in the current. Another option is the humble pilchard. For presentation, make sure the pilchard is hooked near the head or gills, with a second hook further down the body. Snapper love to eat fish headfirst so keep that in mind when rigging baits.
Around the Bays
Port Phillip and Western Port continue to produce great snapper, gummy shark and salmon, alongside excellent whiting, squid and flathead.
Keen on some whiting? Look no further, Michelle Brittain has shared some great tips for success.
King George whiting are the perfect target species for beginners and experts alike. Most fishers report catches of around 35cm.
Winter is a great time to hunt whiting. Try areas around the Geelong arm of Port Phillip. Places with seagrass beds, reef and sand holes or warmer water pools are great areas to start.
Whiting can be caught at all hours of the day, but two hours either side of high tide is commonly productive. If high tide occurs right before sunrise or sunset, that is another great time to give whiting a try.
Michelle’s tried and trusted approach to whiting fishing includes using a 2-4kg rod with 5kg mono line and a paternoster whiting pre-rig. A reel sized between 2500-4000 is great as well. Pair this with fresh bait if you can catch some prior to the whiting hunt. Whiting love a variety of baits including worms, molluscs or even pilchard slivers. Using a circle hook is a great way to improve your hookup rate and allow for a quick release of the fish with minimal harm.
If squid is your thing, WIRFAB leader Kim Abbot has taken the time to put together her advice for squid fishers of all levels. Southern calamari or squid are interesting creatures that often spawn in springtime and only live for about a year. Spring is best for finding the biggest, but squid fishing is still productive year-round. With or without a boat, there are many great spots for a squid fish. If you are land-based, focus on ink-stained piers surrounded by weedy grass. On the Bellarine Peninsula side, check out the Clifton Springs jetty, or the piers at St Leonards, Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale. On the Mornington Peninsula side, try the piers at Portsea, Blairgowrie, Rye, Mornington, Hastings or Crib Point. Kim’s tips for fishers at these locations is to focus on evening or night fishing, an hour either side of tide changes, or at sunrise/sunset when the water is fast flowing. If fishing an area full of snags, use a light jig or put it under a float. Techniques to use include casting out, then following with a series of lifts, pauses and slow winds to entice a bite.
If you have a boat or kayak, focus on locations with water clarity of around 2-9m. Great areas can be found on both the Bellarine and Mornington Peninsula sides. Drift along these areas and make sure to cast in front, in the direction of the drift so it sinks naturally. Couple this with rods out the back with baited jigs and a float.
There are plenty of flathead about as well on the western side of Port Phillip. WIRFAB leader Cara Cummings loves to fish for flathead and recommends using soft plastics such as 4-inch turtleback worms. She also suggests focusing on the edges of sea grass beds or where rocky ledges drop off. Make sure you cast and wait a few seconds for your plastic to sink to the bottom, once the line goes slack, wind it in so that the line is tight and give it a few jigs of the rod.
Inland
It’s a great time of year for cod fishing, with anglers reporting meterys almost daily, especially after dark in Eildon!
Looking for trout? Kelsi Gull has shared everything you need to know to catch a prized trout. Winter is one of the best seasons for trout. Their territorial instincts kick in and they attack anything that swims in their space! However, it is trout closed season for anglers fishing most rivers and streams, so be sure to visit Victoria’s lakes to search for trout this time of year. Some great locations that fishers have had success with trout recently include Wartook Reservoir in the Grampians, Wendouree, Moorabool Reservoir, Lake Fyans and Bullen Merri.
If you are happy to brave the winter weather, then Kelsi recommends trying for trout at either dusk or dawn. However, trout can be caught all day and overcast days with a ripple in the water provide perfect conditions for a bite.
For anglers who like to use bait, there are many options that Kelsi uses to encourage a bite. These include worms, mudeyes, crickets, whitebait and PowerBait. If fishing in areas with a weedy bottom, then suspending baits under a float can be effective. If fishing in areas with a clean bottom, then running a sinker rig works well.
For those who use lures, consider using paddle tail soft plastics, suspending jerkbaits, hardbody diving lures or winged lures. Scenting your lure is also another way to improve your chance of success.
The best rods to use are the most simple. Consider a light spin outfit with a graphite rod of 7ft in length and 2-4kg in weight alongside a 2500 spin reel.
Targeting redfin? Brooke Crackers has shared the best methods to catch some crackers. Redfin have no bag or size limit and no closed season, so they are a great target year-round!
To find redfin, check out dams or slow-moving waters, if they hold water year round, they are a good chance to have redfin. Lake Eildon is a popular spot that has produced great redfin for years. Burrumbeet Creek has been popular of late, with local fisher Les Baxter reporting a successful day chasing reddies near Miners Rest. In the lakes, try large timber, areas with snags, and slow-moving water with about 10-20ft of depth.
Brooke’s redfin set up includes a light spin rod. Try a 1-3kg rod or 2-4kg rod paired with a 1000-2500 size reel. A 7ft rod works well for redfin. For the line, try 6-10lb, depending on where you are fishing - for areas with more structure or snags then use a heavier line to ensure the line rubbing on a snag won’t cost you a fish.
If choosing to use bait to catch a reddie, grab a single or double paternoster and attach it straight to your line or use a swivel. Choose a sinker that is just heavy enough to sit on the bottom without drifting away. Hook and bait combos that Brooke uses include a size 1 or 2 baitholder loaded with worms or a circle hook with a shrimp or yabby. If you have a boat or kayak, then try a running sinker rig.
If you’re using lures, there are many options. Floating hard bodies with diving bibs can be good in areas with heavy timber. Work them down and then pause to allow them to float over the snag. The downside however, is that they are prone to collecting weed. Spinners or spoons can cast well, sinking into deeper water and staying there, but again they are prone to collecting weed or snagging. Hard body diving lures are another good option when trolling. Focus on trolling at around 10-20ft deep at a speed of 2.5-3kph.
Tight lines – Mr. Percy!