The change of season is in the air, with warmer days lifting spirits and getting anglers back on the water after a cold, wet winter. Boats are rolling out of hibernation, and reports are streaming in from saltwater, estuary, and freshwater fishers across the region.
Saltwater: Shark fishing has been nothing short of sensational this past week. Anglers working the 30–50m depths have enjoyed hot action, with both school and gummy sharks on the bite. The Bellman boys christened their new boat with a successful trip, young Rylee landing his first proper school shark at around 18kg, while dad Grant chipped in with a solid gummy. Brent Unwin and mate Tony Read also found success after stocking up on berley, Brent bagging a quality gummy before releasing one of the tiniest gummies seen locally—barely 40cm long! A reminder for anglers: many larger sharks at this time of year are carrying pups or eggs. If keeping one for the table, check and release pups to give them a chance to grow.
Snapper have also been active, with Thomas Neale landing a cracking 4.8kg fish on a jig—an impressive catch in cold water. It’s great to see plenty of junior anglers out with their parents, building memories and learning the ropes. If you’re keen to introduce your kids to fishing, drop into the store for advice and tips to get them started. On the squid front, a few have been taken off the beaches at Killarney, with Max Fry testing out Daiwa’s new jointed Amarous jigs that impart extra movement with minimal effort.
Estuaries: Local rivers are in full spawning mode for bream and estuary perch, making fishing a little tricky but rewarding with the right approach. Instead of working the big schools for hours with limited success, try targeting the fringes or nearby banks where feeding fish are more active. Blades are a great searching lure, covering plenty of water quickly. Once you find them, expect aggressive strikes. The Hopkins is stacked with fish from the Ski Run to the mouth, but timing is key—the action fires when blue water pushes in on the high tide. Black 35mm blades are the standout option, while lightly weighted soft plastics with scent also work.
The Curdies, Fitzroy and Glenelg rivers are also fishing well in their lower reaches with the same tactics. Further east, the Barwon River at Geelong has produced a solid winter run of silver trevally, with 2.5” soft plastics in the main channel around Barwon Heads proving most effective.
Freshwater: Trout anglers are watching the skies, with more rain on the way. While not a red-hot season, the average size of fish is up, with plenty around the 2kg mark. The Merri at Woodford has been busy and the trout a little shy, but less-fished stretches of the Merri and Hopkins are delivering better results. The Mt Emu has been quiet, but the lakes are producing.
At Bullen Merri, brown, rainbow and tiger trout are being caught on flatline trolling and casting rocky points, though chinook numbers are down—possibly due to predation from tigers. Elingamite is low but still producing quality trout and redfin for those willing to carefully push tinnies or kayaks through the soft, dangerous mud. Purrumbete remains too low for launching, while closer to Warrnambool, Lake Gillear has been slow on redfin but yielding some nice browns to trollers using Double Clutches, Tassie Devils and Rapala F9s.
Some wet weather is forecast, making conditions less comfortable but unlikely to spoil the fishing. As always, if you land a catch worth sharing, send it in—we’d love to feature it. Until next week, tight lines and good luck!