The Pelican's Pick

Friday, 10 October

What started as a simple session to chase some squid ended up being an outstanding day on the water at Cliffton Springs for Kelsi!

Fishing the tide change when the water slowed in 5m depth was the secret to success! Kelsi was casting out a white size 3.0 jig in murky waters and before she knew it, she had bagged out!

The catch of the day was this sea monster squid! Kelsi is now enjoying the fruits of her labour with a fresh feed of calamari!

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Along the Coast

Golden Beach has golden opportunities for all anglers keen to cast a line! Decent sized gummy shark are being landed using squid and oily fish strips. The main star of the show has definitely been the giant Aussie salmon! Large schools have been cruising the deep gutters. Metal slugs are doing damage when cast out at high tide.

The Hopkins River has the estuary fishing trifecta instore for dedicated anglers! Low light conditions have been the most successful for mulloway, bream and estuary perch. Areas full of structure are holding the most fish, although deep holes are known to be hiding mulloway. Soft plastics have been the perfect all-rounder choice resulting in outstanding catches!

With last week’s downpour, the rivers have opened up, and bream are starting to fire in the Aire River, Painkalac Creek, and Erskine River. Offshore, nice sized gummy and school shark are being landed at Peterborough. If you’re looking for some pier fishing, head to Lorne where the Aussie salmon have been going off!

The Portland breakwater continues to produce for land-based anglers! Trophy sized fish are being caught left, right and centre! Snapper and gummies are the main bait stealing culprits with squid strips, yakkas and salmon chunks landing quality fish! Boat-based anglers are reeling in monsters with larger gummy and school sharks on the bite!

Around the Bays

The top end of Western Port is getting some of the snapper love, with ripper catches on squid strips. Overall feedback is that the big fish are on the chew around run out and flooding tides. Aim for a depth of 6m to really be in for a chance! Corinella continues to take the top spot with anglers breaking PB’s!

Hastings has plenty of fishing action for anglers to take home a feed. Along deep channels you’ll find gummy sharks lurking. Large squid chunks are producing the biggest bites, or park up along edges where weed beds meet sandy flats, equipped with mussels and pipis, and you’ll hook into some quality Western Port whiting!

The piers around St Kilda and Albert Park have been busy with fishing action! Pinkies have been getting caught off the Kerferd Rd Pier with larger specimens in the mix! All thanks to the wonderfully thriving Kayakers Reef! Other catches have consisted of small flatties and garfish which are inhaling small bits of pilchards and pipis.

There’s kraken squid around St Leonards, so get your rod ready for a cracking session on the water! The pier has been a really productive spot with glow and red coloured jigs reeling in success! For those out in the boat in brighter conditions stick to dark natural colours that create a nice silhouette in the water.

Inland

Cairn Curran Reservoir isn’t just the perfect place for wakeboarding, swimming and BBQ’s, it’s the perfect place to wet a line! The natives are firing up and the yella fishing is off the charts! Anglers casting out worms and small yabbies are reeling in class fish! Fishing near structure and banks is the key to striking gold!

Rocklands Reservoir continues to prove why it is one of the best year-round Murray cod fisheries! Trolling bibbed hardbody lures along the old Glenelg River channel is enticing big bites! Or park up in the sticks and cast out spinnerbaits for a chance at both cod and yellas!

Get your lures ready and head to Blue Rock Lake. This week, small hardbodies, metal blades, and soft plastics are reeling in a mixed bag of fish! Aim for steep banks that have plenty of structure to land a class Aussie bass or redfin! Stay consistent and you may have a nice surprise when a brown trout snaps at your line!

The Toorongo River is a scenic trout fishing spot that all anglers can enjoy. It’s full of wild trout waiting to be caught. Lure presentation is everything as shallow sections can cause fish to spook easily. Use lightweight inline spinners in natural colours and cast into areas where fast flowing riffles meet slow moving pockets. There’s some cracking brown trout being caught at the moment and while they may be small, they make up for it in looks!

Tight lines – Mr. Percy!