The Pelican's Pick
Friday, 21 November
Port Phillip is starting to see nice snapper appearing in the shallows, with this season taking a bit longer to heat up compared to last year. Nevertheless, Jordan got this cracking red on the maiden voyage of his brand-new kayak. Money well spent!
Casting out a Berkley Gulp 7-inch Turtleback worm in camo did the trick, which Jordan argues is the greatest snapper soft plastic ever made! Jordan labelled the day a success when he landed this whopping 73cm snapper at Altona Reef, and we’d agree! Great stuff, Jordan, hopefully your second trip out is just as successful!
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Along the Coast
The coastline from Apollo Bay to Lorne is receiving some fishing love, with large schools of Aussie salmon swimming through. Not only are salmon fun fish to catch, but they’re also great to take home for a feed. With a bag limit of 20, you’ll have enough to share with the family, and more! To target Aussie salmon land-based, look for deep gutters on surf beaches and fish around tide changes using oily baits or metal spoons.
The Port Campbell Jetty is the place to be when squid are on the chew. Use bright coloured jigs on sunny days and you’ll be in for a chance. The Princetown Surf Beach also has plenty of action for land-based fishers after salmon. Head offshore for bountiful catches of gummy shark, snapper and trevally.
Lake Tyers is busy with frequent catches of dusky flathead and bream in the shallows. Small soft plastics are working well for flatties and hardbody lures are reeling in quality black bream! Mallacoota is currently offering up giant duskies to rival Lakes Entrance. Anglers fishing in the area are also getting respectable hauls of sand whiting.
Fishing along the 90 Mile Beach has slowed over the last week with lots of weed in the area. Dedicated anglers are still reeling in catches of flathead, gummy shark and salmon. The odd snapper is being found in the area although primarily pinkies are on the chew.
Around the Bays
The shallow weed beds around Queenscliff are home to some monster squid. Drift over shallower areas with jigs to collect all the bait you need for an action-packed day on the water! Not to mention dinner, too. Trevally are in the area and they are hammering cubed squid baits. Keep an eye out for fast flowing areas and sandy flats. You’re sure to get some decent flatties as bycatch if the trevally fishing gets quiet.
The gummy shark fishing in Corio Bay is going off! The best baits have been fresh trevally fillets and squid.
The snapper fishing continues to fire in Western Port. A shallower depth and smaller surface area means Western Port has a quicker temperature rise, leading to catches of healthy reds! The Hastings Jetty has royalty visiting, with large schools of King George whiting in the area and they are feasting on pipis and squid. Lang Lang has got quality gummy shark for all to enjoy, it’s also a great place to launch the kayak on a high tide for a fishing session.
Carrum has got plenty of snapper around the bay, and the estuaries are also providing plenty of opportunity for a good day of fishing. It’s an awesome spot for both land-based and boat fishing! Further up the bay in St Kilda, anglers have been frequently targeting yank flathead with great success! There fish are commonly found around the many artificial reefs and are a great species to target while out in the kayak.
Inland
There’s golden opportunities all around the state this weekend, with yella’s just about anywhere you can cast! Thanks to our Native Fish Report Card program, we know the Wimmera River has record numbers of legal golden perch waiting to be caught, while anglers at Lake Eildon are still reeling in golden nuggets!
Lake Hume is offering up the most consistent catches, with the Goulburn River at Nagambie giving anglers a challenging but rewarding result! For those wanting to target yellowbelly, the techniques used in rivers versus impoundments are different due to fish size, habitat and water flow. In rivers, cast small soft plastics, hardbodies, and spinnerbaits along weed edges and change your location regularly. Whereas when fishing impoundments, cast spinners or large vibes at bigger structure and vertically jig plastics when you can sound up schooling fish.
The Murray cod fishing in Victoria’s year-round open fisheries is thriving! Mammoth cod are being reeled in around the Jerusalem Creek arm of Lake Eildon with respectable catches of brown trout in the mix too! Lake Eppalock has got a healthy developing population, with the elusive metery becoming more likely each week! There’s so much habitat in this lake, spinners at snags are working incredibly well. Anglers at Rocklands Reservoir are seeing great catches of mature cod that are fat and healthy! We love to see it just as much as the cod love seeing chicken and cheese on your line!
Anglers targeting trout are reeling in success in Lake Dartmouth, Toorongo and Goulburn River. Rainbow trout are aggressive feeders and will feed throughout the day. Target using small hardbody lures and they’ll be likely to attack your line. If you’re chasing brown trout, they prefer low light conditions and are more inclined to target lures that closely mimic their prey.
Tight lines - Mr Percy!