In Depth Fishing Report 11/7

The cold and wet weather has been hard to dodge lately, but when the clouds break and the wind drops, there’s been some great fishing action to get stuck into. From saltwater to freshwater, there’s been something for everyone.

Saltwater-wise, the ocean’s been a bit all over the place with some big swells early in the week, but conditions improved beautifully by the weekend. Peter Goode and Craig Kermond made the most of a good weather window and snuck out for a winter snapper session. Peter landed a cracking 60cm, 2.7kg snapper on a jig, plus some nice gummies, while Craig hooked into a solid 1.44kg nannygai. Closer in, there are plenty of smaller snapper (pinkies), but heading wider gives you a better shot at the bigger ones hanging in the deeper reefs. Keep an eye out for rises and falls on your sounder—marks at depth look different than inshore. Fish often stack up just 5 metres off the bottom behind a lump to shelter from strong currents.

If you’re using a Garmin sounder, try setting your TVG (Time Varying Gain) to high when fishing deep—this helps mark fish tight to the bottom. A lot of anglers don’t realise how useful this setting is. If you’re targeting fish up high, switch it to low. If you want to learn more about how to get the most out of your Garmin, we’re holding a talk night at Richardson Marine on Friday the 29th of August. It's a great chance to unlock some handy features and ask questions in person.

There’s also been a solid return of big salmon off the beaches and jetties. Winter is prime time for these cold-loving speedsters—even if it means braving some rough weather. Casting 40–60g metal slugs is the go, letting you chase moving schools without having to set up each time. Rods around 9–10ft matched with 4000–5000 size reels are ideal to cast long and keep your line clear of the surf. Salmon to 70cm have been showing up around Port Fairy, the end of the Moyne, Killarney Beach and East Beach.

Tuna reports have been quiet locally, but further east some serious fish are being caught—up to 160kg. Boats from Barwon Heads have been making the run across to Lorne and finding good schools. Skirted lures and hardbodies in pilchard and redbait colours have been the standouts.

In the estuaries, things are ticking along nicely with a few spots firing. The Curdies is producing loads of perch on both hardbodies and big soft swim baits. Mick Moore has been doing well on the Berkley Stunner in Smelt and the 5” Berkley Nessie—which might sound huge for perch, but they work a treat. These lures glide just under the surface and with a subtle twitch, they dart from side to side. Most of the strikes are visual, which makes it super exciting. Mick’s biggest went 47cm and weighed 1.6kg.

Mick and Fergus Mahney and Paul Tippett also had a session to remember, landing over 40 fish with a bunch cracking 40cm. Bigger lures helped them avoid the smaller fish. There’s also some chunky bream mixed in, and anglers are getting dusted up on snags—upping your leader size isn’t a bad idea in winter when they’re less spooky.

The Hopkins is still producing, with perch and bream schooled in the deeper parts. Baits like cut mullet, shrimp and river shell, along with metal blades, have been doing the job. Focus your efforts around the ski run area and up near Kings Head along the flats and drop-offs.

Corey and Merryn hit the Fitzroy River on Sunday chasing bream on hardbodies and had one of those unforgettable days. They landed around 70 bream, including a chunky 40cm blue-nose. Corey ran with two lures all day—a Daiwa Sazanami in Adel Rice Fish and a Slippery Dog in whitebait, with the Sazanami being the star. Merryn was on a Zman Slim Swim in Dirty Oil and got about 15 bream, including a PB of 36cm. The action was nonstop, and everyone fishing from the jetties was getting into them too.

Freshwater has been promising as well. The upper Merri is fishing nicely for trout, especially in the still pools on either side of the usual runs, which aren’t flowing properly yet. Max Fry’s been catching plenty on Zipbait Rigges and even giving the fly rod a go. Some of the trout are in great nick, others are a bit skinny with big heads, but the lower Merri fish seem better fed thanks to more baitfish in the system. Kaitlin Neal landed a great fish at Dennington Bridge on a Daiwa Sazanami, which is a perfect match for the small bait hanging around.

Lincoln Boekhout’s been walking the banks of the upper Hopkins and scoring some quality trout too, with one going 53cm. The fish have had some incredible variation in both colour and condition, and once the rivers start flowing properly, we should see them fatten up nicely.

This weekend’s looking rough, so if you’re keen, the rivers might be your best bet. And don’t forget—our winter trout comp is still running, with great prizes up for grabs from Daiwa, Black Magic and Pure Fishing. Send us your best catch shots and we’ll share them each week.

Until next time, tight lines and good luck out there.