While it is springtime in our neck of the woods, spring has also sprung along the coast, according to Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters based at Queenscliff, south of Geelong.
Rod said there were some early signs of snapper moving back into their breeding grounds after spending the winter both north of Wilson’s Prom and along the coast of South Australia.
Rod said the patient snapper angler should wait until after the football finishes. My old dad used to say the snapper run did not happen until the first Tuesday of November, Melbourne Cup Day.
Rod said at this time of year, he caught only the occasional resident snapper around pinky size with a rare bigger fish among his haul.
He said there were also flathead, silver trevally and odds and ends, as he put it. Rod said the salmon were scarce, as were whiting and couta.
Rod said anglers were catching southern bluefin tuna along the coast at Bells Beach, better known as a top surfing beach. He said fish were mainly 10 to 15kg.
Rod said there were also early signs of what should be an excellent kingfish season. He said it was rare for the kingfish to be quiet for two seasons in a row, and last season was below average, right around the coast from Narooma in NSW to South Australia.
Rod said the fishing in Western Port Bay was also in a ‘between seasons’ status, with pinky-sized snapper off the rubble beds along the shipping lanes, flathead off the sandy bottom and a few whiting along the inshore grass beds.
Gummy sharks were caught in the deep off San Remo and Phillip Island.
Rod said he also caught gummy sharks off Point Lonsdale and Barwon Heads dive sites, mainly on fresh fish fillets and small whole squid.
North of the border at Eden, John Liddell said the boys from Freedom Charters were catching good-sized snapper, morwong, leatherjacket, gurnard and other table fish.
Mark said kingfish were starting to school up, and off the shelf, there were a few bluefin tuna and an occasional yellow belly.
Mark said the best fishing was between Green Cape and Boyd’s Lookout.
Further north at Narooma, Graham Cowley also said he was catching good-sized snapper, morwong and plenty of good-sized flathead.
Graham said the fishing around Montague Island improved as the weather moved deeper into spring.
He said that when the water temperatures were right, the bait fish would move back to the region around the shelf, and the bait fish would attract tuna and marlin. He said the kingfish should also move back.
Let’s look at freshwater fishing in our region. The river levels have risen and fallen as rain showers moved into and through our area.
Fishing has been patchy, with some yellowbelly in the rivers and lakes, mainly Eildon and Nillahcootie, as well as Lake Hume and Waranga Basin.
While they are called yellowbelly, these native fish are also known as golden perch.
Speaking of perch, another member of the perch family is also on the scene. I refer to the non-native European perch, better known as redfin, an invasive species that at one stage was highly plentiful but has been reduced in numbers due to a virus.
Redfin are a good table fish, unlike another invasive and introduced species, the European carp.
We may see an outbreak of carp due to last year’s floods, but fortunately, their numbers have also reduced over the years.
At one stage, carp dominated our inland waterways, polluting rivers and dams as they destroyed aquatic plants.
I know I sound like a broken record, but at this time of year, Eildon is the only place you can legally catch cod in Victoria and NSW.
Eildon is not considered a breeding waterway, but remember that any cod you keep must still be of legal length and the usual bag limit.
Currently, fishing the river arms and around the boat harbour and wall, anglers can still capture Murray cod. In all other places, it is closed season on cod until December 1.
And now a severe word of warning: sadly, a man in Queensland lost his life after being bitten by an eastern brown snake.
He suffered the bite while holding a friend who the same snake had bitten.
Brown snakes are considered the most dangerous of our reptiles, not just because of the toxicity of their venom but because of their numbers and the fact that they tend to share the same habitat as humans.
So now, they are waking from their winter sleep, hungry and looking to breed.
Take care when in the bush, don’t alarm them. Take a compression bandage with you. If bitten, don’t panic — call an ambulance and seek help.
Until next week, good fishing, stay COVID-19-safe (and snake-safe) and tight lines.