VIC Fishing Report
Latest fishing report from Compleat Angler Dandenong 8th Feb 2019
Local squid
Squid going well
Feb 07 2019
Squid fishing around both bays has been pretty good recently, as we’ve had no rain until just the last 24hrs. Some of the northern regions of both bays will be discoloured and will need a good few days to clean up – but these areas have been a tad too warm for numbers of squid recently anyway. While you will catch squid right up in the warmer water of the bays, the larger squid tend to prefer the cooler oceanic water coming in from the bottom of the bays.
While it’s not mayhem yet – it won’t be far away. Mornington pier has been starting to produce a few more squid, and in a month or so there should be large numbers of small squid in the harbour. Stock up on small jigs in the 1.75 & 1.8 size while they’re in stock! Customer Connor fished the pier recently and caught a few squid to 25cm hood length. Connor found 2 different were effective over 2 days – bright orange and pilchard patterns in size 2.2.
The southern end of the bay has had lots of squid in the 200g size especially around Rye and Rosebud. Customer Jason was out stocking up for a kingfish session recently and found no shortage of squid in around 5m of water off Rye – with darker coloured jigs working the best. Blacks, dark reds and dark greens were the most effective.
Across in Westernport bay the squid fishing has been good further south also. While not known for producing huge numbers, the Flinders area has seen some bigger size as per usual. Customer Ryan caught a couple of nice specimens from the pier in between all the mackerel floats. With all the mackerel around Ryan found the natural mackerel pattern Yamashita worked the best. Just out from the pier customer Justin caught some really solid squid. Fishing the area out from the pier in the boat can be effective with size 3.5 fast sink jigs, as there is some undercurrent that will keep lighter jigs from reaching the ‘kill zone’.
Customer Brendan also found some nice squid out in Westernport over the weekend. Brendan found a UV orange belly/brown back Yamashita jig did the damage. Brendan was targeting the edge of the grass beds in 6m of water to catch his squid.
Fishing for flake
Great time for gummies
Feb 06 2019
The gummy shark fishing has been over the past few weeks, for both table sized fish in both bays along with the larger females that move into the bays to pup over this time of year. The smaller table fish have been caught frequently from Tenby and Stockyard Point in Westernport especially during the nights. Customer Anel caught 5 nice fish with some mates over the weekend on the run out tide. Anel found that pilchard and squid were the better baits.
Southern Port Phillip has been producing some super solid fish for anglers persisting and using fresh baits. Customer Josh has been fishing with mates in the channels around the Rye and Sorrento region and he has been catching some good fish. Josh fished the south channel over the weekend to land a ripper female fish of 18kg. Josh fished the run out tide and found fresh slimey mackerel was the successful bait.
Customer Ryan has also been catching quite a few small gummies from the Mornington region. Ryan has caught fish from 18m through to 21m, using fresh baits of yakka, slimey and squid. These smaller gummies have been present in the area, and also to the north around Brighton and Altona. Fresh baits have been the key in attracting the gummies in rather than berley also.
Yellow tail thugs
Kingies
Feb 06 2019
The kingfish have been the flavour of the month for anglers fishing all around the state over the past few weeks, with fish being caught from one end of the state to the other. While searching for the kingfish isn’t for everyone, picking the weather and heading out offshore will see you in with a good chance of a hoodlum. Customer Jason loves chasing kingfish and recently headed out from Port Welshpool to tackle with some heavy hitters around the island and rocky promontories. Jason fished with live baits and lures and found fish to around 13kg. Live slimey mackerel and squid were effective along with poppers and stickbaits in the 140mm size range.
EJ Todd Victorian Representative Mitch also got out amongst the kingies in a similar area over the weekend, with a heap of smaller fish around but some around 6kg making their way to the boat. Mitch found a variety of lures worked but the poppers like the Maria ‘pop queen’ were effective in drawing fish from larger packs.
Around the rip the kingies have been going well, although the area can be trickier for many to fish. Customer Steve fished brother Michael and mate Jason over the weekend to hook up to some good fish on a variety of methods. Live squid, squid strips and jigs all accounted for fish. Steve landed fish to around 9kg on smaller jigs which gave him a workout – with the other boys getting stitched up in the reef by some bigger fish.
Out of town estuaries
Estuary fishing due for rain
Feb 07 2019
While there have plenty of active fish to be caught, many of the estuaries both local and into Gippsland are in need of a decent rain and flush – with quite a few landlocked at present. With no real rain to open up these estuaries they are closed, with warmer water than normal and not affected by tides and salinity which has turned the fish off somewhat. Clearer than normal water has also made the fish flighty, perfect if you’re up for a challenge!
Staff member Dylan fished with mate Adrian down in the estuaries from Lakes onward where the fishing was tougher than normal. Fishing around Lakes and Marlo, Dylan and Adrian caught around 20 bream up to 41cm – with surface lures performing the best. OSP bent minnows and Bassday sugapens were the 2 best lures, perfect imitations of the available bait. Fishing these lures around pockets in the thick weed and over silt beds were where the fish had been holding more consistently. Many other anglers were seen but without turning a reel, but they also weren’t paying attention to what bait was around and where the fish were holding.
Speaking of bait, these estuaries all had good numbers of prawns about. While they weren’t huge there were plenty about to use for bait or for a snack. Most of the prawns have been from 6 – 12cm long and these are what a lot of the fish have been feeding on. Dylan and Adrian kept a bag of dusky flathead from 38 – 50cm working lightly weighted prawn pattern soft plastics around the silt beds.
Good luck this week from the team at Compleat Angler Dandenong – George, Dylan, Don, Chris and Glenys.