The Pelican's Pick
Friday, 6 February
When it comes to fishing, the early bird gets the worm. Josh can vouch for that after launching his tinny at the crack of dawn on the stunning Lake Eppalock. Josh, an avid fisher, was keen to check out the lake after hearing reports that the fishing was going off!
Once he hit the water, he tied up to one of the many trees and snags around the lake. Josh cast out his bright red and green spinner and as he reeled it in right at the boat, he saw the unmistakable golden flash of a hungry yellowbelly grab his lure.
Josh landed the beautiful 42cm golden perch only 20 minutes into the session! A quick photo and it was back in the drink to swim another day! The action didn’t stop there as he reeled in some stunning cod on mozzarella cheese! It was a great morning spent on the water!
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
Warrnambool is a fishing hotspot this week, offering up quality estuary and saltwater fishing. Anglers out on the boat are scoring big kingies and even bigger tuna. Snapper can also be found around the 40m mark. They are devouring squid strips and mullet. You can also venture up the Hopkins River where there’s plenty of fun to be had! Casting out surface lures on dusk will see large estuary perch hooking up on your line. If you fish around the mouth of the river, be sure to have fresh bait on hand to land some ripper flathead and mullet.
The game fishing at Yarram is one of a kind, with plenty of anglers catching large feeds of tuna and kingfish offshore around the Cliffys and Glennie Islands. Kingies have been taking a liking to jigs, while tuna are hammering bibbed and skirted lures on the troll around current breaks and rocky points. When the tuna and kingfish are quiet, anglers have been successful in catching gummies offshore in deeper waters around 30m using fresh squid and yakkas as bait. Plenty of anglers are finding yakkas and slimies whilst transiting to their fishing spots.
Corner Inlet is swarming with gummies and flathead. Anglers are catching a good feed of gummies and are getting enough flathead as by-catch to create a multi-course meal! The shallower areas of the inlet around the northern channels of the basin are most productive. Pilchards have been the pick of the bait, with both flathead and gummies being vulnerable to a cube or whole pilchard.
The Gippsland Lakes are going off! Anglers are reporting bagging out on prawns that have made their way into the system, and plenty of large flathead are being caught throughout the estuary, particularly around Paynesville.
Around the Bays
Every time we think the fishing can’t get any better, Western Port steps up and delivers a whole new level of fishing! Anglers fishing the top end of the bay are bagging out on whiting. We aren’t the only ones that think these smaller fish are delicious…as large schools drift through the area, a bigger mouth-watering predator is on the prowl. Gummies love feasting on whiting and anglers are seeing an influx of huge gummy shark ready to strike your line. By using whiting strips you’ll be sure to reel in one of these hungry beasts!
Down along the Hastings side of Western Port, there’s enough variety to keep anglers fishing all day. The deep channel is hiding plate sized catches of trevally while the sandy banks have squid and flatties on offer. There’s the odd salmon about, along with the usual suspects, whiting and gummy shark.
Anglers jigging around Rye this week are taking home fresh squid. To optimise your squid fishing, selecting the correct squid jig is the key to success. Shallow, calm waters are ideal for lightweight jigs that sink slowly and increases the time you can drift them over seagrass beds. If you’re fishing deep and strong waters, ensure to switch to a heavy jig around the 20g mark. Offshore at Rye there’s excitement, as tuna are frequenting the area and creating a fishing frenzy!
Inland
Don’t miss out on all the action at Lake Eildon this weekend! Pack the swag or hitch up the caravan and hit up the awesome camp sites along the Delatite Arm Reserve. There are many points to launch the boat, so set yourself up for a hectic weekend of fishing! The cod are on the chew and they aren’t being fussy. Hard-bodied lures, cheese and even chunks of meat from lasts nights dinner are doing the trick! Swap to spinners and land some of the beautiful yellas swimming along deep banks and snags.
The Goulburn River is flowing consistently, creating the perfect environment for fish movement leading to optimal fishing conditions. With a great variety of locations, there’s no wrong answer when trying to find a spot to wet some line. If you’re keen to target trout, head towards Thorton and Alexandra. Fishing around first and last light at optimal feeding times can result in a free dinner. Both browns and rainbows are chomping at brightly coloured spinners and powerbait. If you’re chasing natives in the Goulburn, head down around Arcadia where there’s reports of quality cod on cheese!
Victoria’s northeast rivers are beginning to get quite warm, but there’s still plenty of native fish to be found. Reports from the Ovens River around Myrtleford are reporting cod caught up to 60cm, as well as the endangered trout cod and Macquarie perch as bycatch. If you do accidentally hook one of these fish, be sure to release these precious endangered species as soon as possible to reduce stress in this warm weather.
Our stocked Australian bass rivers in Gippsland are creating great opportunities for freshwater anglers over the summer, with stacks of bass being caught in the Avon River and Macalister River below Lake Glenmaggie. These fish will take a wide variety of lures, and even smash a fly or two, and are renowned for their fighting ability, so if you hook up - hold on and don’t let the fish drag you into any snags!
Murray cod are the main attraction at Rocklands Reservoir, providing plenty of free entertainment once the line starts peeling. Trolling along the edges of the deep channels with bibbed hardbody lures will attract big bites! There’s hundreds if not thousands of trees providing the perfect habitat for yellas to play hide and seek. Find them using fresh yabbies and aggressive spinners!
Tight lines - Mr Percy!