The Pelican's Pick
Friday, 11 April
Last weekend, during the Central Vic Lure Casters Super Series competition at Lake Eppalock, Silvio claimed first prize with a beautiful 60cm yellow belly caught using a soft vibe on 8lb line. Silvio shared that numerous large yellow belly were both caught and spotted throughout the event, making for an exciting competition. What an incredible day to remember!
If you’re out fishing this week and would like to feature in Pelican’s Pick, send your photos to pelicanspick@vfa.vic.gov.au.
Along the Coast
Ripper kingfish await in Port Welshpool! The use of poppers and diving stick baits when fish are along the surface have proven successful for recent fishers.
On the coast there have been consistent catches of Australian salmon along the 90 Mile Beach, with the odd gummy shark being caught in the lower light periods. Surf casters are reporting some excellent catches of salmon and snapper at Delray Beach, using good old pilchards as bait.
Plenty of mulloway of all sizes have been caught around the state lately. Some lucky anglers have landed the fish of a lifetime, with models up to 1.4 metres caught in Mallacoota. The Yarra River in Melbourne has also been supplying mulloway in good numbers.
Gippsland Lakes is seeing plenty of action. Recent reports indicate solid bream and flathead around Metung and Paynesville. Best results are coming off live shrimp or hard-bodied lures, with flathead preferring soft plastics.
Portland continues to treat fishers with solid gummy, whiting and tuna off the coastline. Across in Port Fairy, fishers are finding large mako shark early in the morning, in the deep, with some measuring larger than 2 metres!
Around the Bays
Bream have been active along the Maribyrnong, with successful reports around the Edgewater Marina being the spot for some locals chasing them! Following on to Hobsons Bay, snapper have been a hit for fishers chasing action in the early morning, before sunrise, try between Station Pier and Princes Pier. Further along Port Phillip Bay, schools of mullet are about in Altona.
Snapper have also been a hit off Avalon Beach in the early evening. There’s also good snapper coming out of Wyndham Harbour in Werribee during dawn and dusk periods, squid strips on a running sinker rig do the job!
Fancy a feast? Over in Western Port, flathead and gummy shark are biting near Hastings and Corinella, and it’s best to target these using fresh squid or pilchards during slack tide.
Squid have continued to be on the chew around Western Port. As the water continues to cool, the bigger models have started moving in. The bay is known for strong currents which makes larger sized 3.0 and 3.5 squid jigs vital for getting down into the strike zone. For bait, a silver whiting on a prong under a float has proven to be incredibly effective.
Port Phillip’s turning it on for fishers of all stripes! Closer to Melbourne, the flathead are on the chew—plenty of folks are bagging out straight off the jetties. Over in the northwest near Werribee, the elephant fish are making an appearance, putting up a solid fight for those tossing out pillies, squid, or salmon. A classic running sinker rig is doing the trick—just cast out and wait for the action to kick off! Just remember that the bag limit is one per person.
Inland
School holidays are upon us and a warm weekend approaching, though this won’t stop the frosty mornings up in central Vic. Start your day off right by flicking a line in some of our pristine inland waterways with the kids!
With water levels reaching a norm in the Goulburn, yellow belly have been present around Kialla Lakes, chasing soft plastics.
Heading over to Eildon, target brown and rainbow trout using soft plastics or spinners. Fly anglers can try nymph patterns. Try for fish near the dam wall or Jerusalem Creek.
Water temperatures around the state are currently optimal for those going out to chase redfin. Reddies respond well to a variety of baits and lures depending on location. Natural-coloured soft plastics such as ZMan Grubz are very effective as well as small hardbody shallow diving lures, or jigs for deeper water.
Upcoming Events
This Sunday we have our FREE ‘Catch a Carp’ festival at Lake Colac! Don’t forget to bring your rod and get the kids booked into the free kid’s fishing clinics! Click here for further information and registration.
Tight lines – Mr. Percy!