In depth fishing report 7/3

In depth fishing report © Richardson Marine

As we wind down from the summer hustle and bustle, we know that this time of year brings a crossover of winter and summer species. The past two weeks have definitely been no exception, which makes this season exciting—because you never quite know what you might catch.

Saltwater: The King George Whiting fishing has been fantastic this past week, both in terms of numbers and size. Leigh Monaghan currently holds the bragging rights for this year, having landed a 57cm whopper during an action-packed session. And it wasn't just the 57cm fish that impressed—Leigh also landed another 50cm whiting in the cast before that. It's definitely a session to remember. Other anglers have also had great days and nights, catching multiple fish, with some even bagging out on their 20-fish limit.

Pippies and fresh "clickers" (or bass yabbies, as they're sometimes called) have been the best bait choices by far. The great thing about using clickers is that you can take the kids along to help pump them out of the sand, and they can collect the smaller ones, which won't pinch much, while the bigger ones can give you quite a nasty nip if you don't handle them properly. Be sure to grab them behind the head, or if you're concerned about the pinch, just take off the claw. Running a long-shank hook through the bottom side of the tail and just behind the head is an effective way to keep your bait securely on the hook. You'll find that bites with live bait are much more aggressive than with dead bait, although this can result in using more bait, especially soft baits like clickers. The head is the first part of the bait to be taken off the hook, so positioning the hook as close to the head as possible is key.

In other news, some decent school tuna have been spotted, especially in the shallower waters around Warrnambool, Port Fairy, and the surrounding areas. Xavier, Luke, and Bilal went out off Warrnambool after work, and they managed to land some nice fish up to 20kg on stick baits. We should start seeing more of these fish in the coming weeks, along with bigger tuna weighing over 100kg. I spoke to a local expert on the barrels, and he expects a great season ahead, as the current hasn't been as strong as last year, which was likely the cause of the slower season. It's only a matter of time before someone hooks into a big fish while targeting the smaller ones.

Kingfish are still showing up around the traps, with some local anglers landing good-sized fish on sluggo lures over the weekend. While larger kingfish have been caught in April in previous years, the cooling water temperature is making it less likely to find them in shallow waters. However, targeting them in deeper waters is still an option. Plenty of pinkies are still on the bottom for those chasing a feed. Gummy fishing has slowed down, but after months of excellent catches, it was bound to happen. There are still a few around, though they seem to be less frequent.

Further afield, a couple of locals headed up to Bermagui for a few weeks to chase marlin. Peter Goode and his mate Craig Kermond were in search of Craig's first marlin, and it didn't take long for them to hook a solid striped marlin weighing in at 79.2kg. By the time I wrote this, they had spent six days fishing, with a couple more to go. Their tally stands at 11 strikes, 7 hook-ups, and 6 fish tagged and released. It's been a great season so far along the New South Wales coast, and should continue for the next couple of months before the cold water moves in again.

Estuaries: The Hopkins River has seen some good numbers of 30-35cm fish recently, especially for anglers using bait. Glassies have been the standout bait, along with crabs cast against the walls and mud flats. At this time of year, using minimal weight is key to enticing the bigger fish, particularly when smaller ones are around. As I always say, the less weight, the better when targeting big bream, especially now that the water is high and the fish aren't fully active. Mick King has been doing well fishing glassies along the ski run and mud flats. The lure casters have found things a bit tougher, but there are still quality fish to be had using soft plastics worked along the bottom. The key lately is persistence—small hops on the bottom followed by long pauses work well to trigger strikes. In the evenings, there have been some nice perch caught off the surface, particularly when there are lots of bugs hitting the water. Warm, calm nights seem to produce the best action. Perch are also sensitive to a falling barometer, so fishing may be tougher on those days.

The Jackall Suisen and Micro Pompadours have been standout lures recently, with their great action leading to some solid strikes. Mason Walpole from the Tackle Shack landed some nice perch up to 38cm behind the Allansford and District Angling Club rooms at Jubilee Park during the week.

The Curdies River has dropped significantly recently, but the fishing has remained steady, with some nice bream being caught. The Allansford and District and Curdies Vale Angling clubs held their annual Ward Wilson Shield on the Curdies River this past Sunday. Ray Fedley and Mick McLaren took out the heaviest bag of 10 bream, weighing in at 5.69kg. Aiden Gordon scored the biggest bream at 840g, and new member Xavier Cunnington landed the heaviest junior bream, weighing 800g. Lennox Neave caught the heaviest other species, a 450g perch. The Curdies Vale Angling Club took out the shield this year, so congratulations to them!

Shane Murphy and I were on the water that day, though not fishing the competition. We found the conditions challenging due to strong winds, but we still managed to land fish up to 37cm using a range of soft plastics cast near undercut banks and shallow reefs. The fish were being a bit finicky with the plastics, but every once in a while, one would commit to the bait.

The Glenelg River is still fishing well for perch and bream, especially along the rock walls and up-river in the snags. One customer using live minnows for perch has had bream eating the minnows' eyes out under a float. Some solid fish are mixed in with the smaller ones, and the perch have been decent too. There have also been reports of mulloway being caught down the bottom section on live mullet, with some solid fish landed, though a few bigger ones have been lost due to pulled hooks. With the Easter big tides approaching, we hope to see more big fish moving into the system.

With some good weather on the way, the fishing should remain strong, and we should see more of the summer-to-winter species transition. If you catch something you'd like to share, send it to us via email, and we can feature it in the paper or on our socials. Until next week, tight lines, and best of luck