Estuary Fishing Report

ESTUARY Report – 02.09.2024

Spring is here, however, the weather was horrendous last week with gale-force winds and a cold winter chill. As I cautoned in last week’s report please be very careful when planning your fishing trips. Monday the 2nd of September has winds up to 100 k/ph in some regions around Melbourne and Victoria, so don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger.

I have recently returned from Mallacoota fishing in the Vic Bream Classic series. What an amazing place despite the crazy long drive passing some of my favourite fishing spots along the Gippsland region on the way. We had a blown trailer tyre on the way which extended our drive to nearly 9 hours which was killer. Myself and the Big Show teamed up and did well considering it’s a system we haven’t fished and that we were using a runabout boat which looked out of place compared to the field of amazing decked-out tournament boats. Despite those disadvantages, we did really well and got our bag of 5 bream easily on both days and stayed in contention. On day 1 we caught plenty of bream in both top and bottom lake flicking Zman ST GrunZ but weighted on 1/8 jig heads in 1-0H because of the depth and strong currents. We landed an avalanche of big salmon as bycatch but failed to land any big dusky flathead like a lot of other teams did. We caught a few good bream up to 43 cm in Goodwin Sands flicking on the shallow flats and working plastics back across the drop-off but got most of our bream beyond the narrows in the top lake working the shallow banks. On Day 2 we started red hot catching again in the top lake in the shallow edges catching 4 bream within the first 10 casts on jackal chubbies in the brown suji colour landing a really nice black bream to 44c2cms as the first fish of the day. Having our bag of 5 by 7.45. Unfortunately, we struggled to upgrade throughout the day which prevented us from skyrocketing up the leaderboard. However it was a great experience, I learned plenty and met some amazing people. Had we not dropped a few good fish boatside we would have been right up there against some of Australia’s best tournament and estuary anglers which is awesome again given we had never fished this system and were using a boat that stood out for the wrong reasons.

I have put together a workshop on all the gear I took which can be found in our behind-the-scenes area and will do some follow-up content including our podcast giving more insight into the event. Let’s get stuck into this week’s report to help get you into a few fish.

Weather Forecast Ahead

It will be another frustrating weather week ahead with very strong winds on Monday and Wednesday, from there scattered showers will settle in for the rest of the week. With heavy showers predicted on Friday and light showers over the weekend. The good news is the weekend ahead looks to have light winds and low volumes of rain. It’s been a frustrating 2-3 weeks of weather so let’s hope we get some better weather in the coming weeks. Do be careful if you plan to hit the water study met eye and always avoid going out if it’s unsafe, this week will have some days better suited to land-based fishing.

Weather conditions are always changing so study the weather forecast frequently before your fishing trip using tools like Meteye, Willys Weather & Windy ( links to these tools can be found in “helpful Links” ). Remember to check wind strength, wind direction, rain, and storm warnings. We have workshop refreshers that help you identify areas with low swell based on wind direction, so look at those if you’re unsure. Know the capability of your boat, kayak or jetski and never take unnecessary risks that might put you or your passengers in danger. Conditions on the water can change quickly so ensure you have all of the necessary safety equipment checked and ready. Remember to be sun smart during Summer as it’s easy to get sunburnt or dehydrated and to wear appropriate clothing in cold and wet conditions. 

Moon Phase week ahead

The new moon is scheduled for Tuesday 3rd of September so we have good tides ahead this week. The wind will make fishing challenging this week,

BREAM REPORT

Around Melbourne, I’ve had a few trips around Williamstown, Maribyrnong River, Barwon River, Yarra River, and Docklands, and even ventured down to Patterson River. I’ve been mixing up the techniques of fishing with bait, lures, and plastics. As mentioned above I have been fishing with plastics, lures, and bait. I’ve caught up with a few of my old mates who fish the nong with bait almost daily and they have been catching bream up to 42cm in big numbers. Many of these fish are being caught around the Essendon, Flemington, and Avondale Heights area on live baits including maggots, yabbies, and scrub worms. Berley does help so use feeder rigs or berley in an isolated area which will bring the bream and mullet in.

I have been fishing these areas walking the banks and also navigating around on my Hobie Lynx. I work shallow diving hard body lures like cranks, chubbies, and minnow imitations slowly hard up against bridge pylons, timber structures, and any visible tress. This has worked well snagging a few good size fish at areas like the Footscray bridge. I have also fished with the usual soft plastic 2.5-inch grubs and 2.5-inch paddle tails rigged on a hws jig head from 1/12 through to 1/28. Working these along the shallow edges, structure, and even in open water. I’ve caught some nice fish employing these basic techniques. The bay is really busy at the moment with the snapper season rush its been awesome to fish these metro rivers by land or kayak. Taking in the sights, enjoying no swell, and casting at something that you know will hold fish. Even Port Melbourne, Docklands, and around the CDB have heaps of stricture that hold good fish. Along the moored boats, jetties, and buildings on the water are standout areas to wor lures, vibes, crabs, and soft plastics. Adding some scent to all of the above when the bite is a little quieter. It’s amazing how the scenery changes so much in these areas. I paddled last week from the CBD surrounded by buildings and traffic, I paddled to Avondale Heights surrounded by residential hills and trees. Contrasting different yet same fishing strategy.

Areas to focus on should include.

• Malacoota
• Metung
• Gippsland Lakes
• Nelson River
• Aire River
• Hopkins River
• Lake Tyers
• Hollands Landing
• Patterson River
• Maribyrnong River
• Williamstown near moored boats
• Web dock
• West Gate
• Limeburner’s by Kayak
• Yarra River
• Docklands

AUSTRALIAN SALMON

Once again plenty of Australian Salmon on the bite this week. I found a massive school near the boat ramp at Queenscliff and also got stuck into a huge school opposite the footy oval at Williamstown. The pumps haven’t been on this past week and even the OpenNEM website was down so only a few getting about at the warmies after our crazy couple of weeks on them.

Areas to focus on should include.

• Warmies along the rocks
• Williamstown Clock Tower
• 13th beach
• Gunnamatta
• Lorne Pier
• Artillery Rocks
• Fairhaven Beach
• Jump Rocks
• 90-mile beach

MULLOWAY REPORT

It’s never easy to catch these elusive fish but this week would be a great time to try being it is a few days after the full moon. It’s prime Mulloway fishing time and we have started to see some great catches around the Yarra, Patterson and Maribyrnong rivers at the entrances just of Port Phillip. The warmies had the pumps running for almost 2 weeks straight and this has brought many mullet and yakkas on which the mulloway are actively feeding.

You can target mulloway with fresh baits and ideally live baits. For fresh bait I will use large squid strips of tentacles of squid caught that day rigged in a pair of 3/0 or 4/0 snelled hooks however most catches have been using live yakkas and live mullet pinned carefully in the back or nose, so it pays to fish the morning and get your live bait and keep them alive using a livewll or portable aerator. You can catch live bait by taking very small hooks, small pieces of bait like prawn, raw chicken or pilchards on the lightest running sinker rig or suspended for a float. Berley hard and fish that isolated area. Sometimes it can take some time for that berley trail to work. I often do this around the warmies or Flemington. Sometimes I will chase them at times with 2.5-inch grubz and 2.5-inch paddle tails lathered in s-factor or the ever reliable 4-inch turtleback worm on a 1/16 or 1/12 jig head in the smallest hook gauge size.

Finally, we had our first catches of Mullway around Melbourne with some soapies between 60 and 70cm caught at the Yarra near Port Melbourne and the entrance of the warmies. All taken on squid strips, over live bait which is surprising yet pleasing. Tackle Tactics/Zman recently sent me some of the new Mulletrons to try out and I must admit they look great. Especially the ones in the bad shad colour. So I will be dedicating some time to Mulloway over the coming month. I will venture up to the Nelson River later this month and will spend some time trying to get stuck into these fish. Spending some time targeting Bream and other time targeting Mulloway.

Areas to focus on should include.

• Nelson River
• Hopkins River
• Barwon River
• Warmies
• Yarra River
• Maribyrnong River
• Anderson inlet

Snapper/Pinkies

In my opinion, it’s still too early on in the season to target snapper with any level of consistency just yet. We are seeing a few being caught here and there however in 3-4 weeks when the water temperature starts to rise is usually when we will see the early season reds slowly come on the bite. Thepinkies that were firing only a few weeks back have also gone quiet. I managed to catch my fair share of them in the shallow reefs around Altona and Williamstown but most were on the smaller side. Soft plastics have been the standout choice here. I have been using 2.5-inch and 3-inch paddle tails rigged on 1/12 and 1/8 jig heads with success. I’ve been using quite a bit of scent and working the plastics very slowly while the bite is still inconsistent. With some patience and work, you will no doubt get a few. I’ve also managed quite a few mullet and bay trout as bycatch. As mentioned above this will only get better and better over the coming weeks and after quite a slow fishing in our estuary systems across Melbourne over winter the bite will soon greatly improve.

It’s a really fun time of year when the pinkies come into our estuaries and you can catch them consistently on light spinning gear. I love targeting them with my bream gear a 1-3, 1-4, or 2-4 kilo rod paired with a 2000-size reel. It turns targeting fish under 50 cm into a fun and enjoyable sport. Trust me a 40cm pinkie will give you a decent battekly on light spin gear. Pinkies have only just started moving into our estuaries and this will only get better and better as the water temperature rises. We usually get them in big volumes around the entrances in Dec through to March.

Areas to focus on should include.

• Lake Tyers Entrance
• Limeburners Lagoon
• Webb Dock
• Werribee Rockwall
• Yarra near the West Gate Bridge
• Sandringham Breakwater
• Portland Harbour
• Apollo Bay

TAILOR

Much quieter this week for Tailor as the pumps didn’t run much due to the spike in warm weather so the overflow wasn’t required. The OpenNEM website was down this week but you can still follow it to see if the pumps are running.

Productive areas to concentrate your time on include.

• The Warmies
• Barwon River entrance

FLATHEAD REPORT

As mentioned earlier I had a few good days at Lake Tyers catching big flathead. I caught several right at the entrance opposite the Caravan park, some a tad further down right in front of the main boat ramp and some around the old glasshouse. I also caught a few on the flats around Mill Point and even further heading towards the Nowa Naowa arm. Small cranks slow rolled were the top performers, and so were minnows such as double clutches and blades like TT switch prawns. Baits were also outstanding including a pilchard tail on a basic running sinker rig.

Flathead is back on the bite and Bemm River, Marlo entrance, Tanboon inlet and others around lake entrance and hugging the coast towards Mallacoota have produced some big lizards. Locally closer to Melbourne were also see flathead numbers really pick up in the bay too and even in the entrances such as the Yarra. The good news is that flathead fishing will get better and better from here. I usually consider peak flathead fishing to be between late December and March however this past year they stayed strong on the bite until about May. Flathead are one of the easiest fish to target which love baits, plastics and lures. Who doesn’t love catching a few flattues to take home for a feed?

If you are on a boat, jet ski, or kayak then the best way to catch flathead in these areas is to drift. ( if your land based on plastics good idea to keep walking and covering ground ). If you fish with baits the best method is using a paternoster rig with a very small sinker, so you don’t get snagged as your drifting. I’ve been using pipis a lot lately targeting whiting and always pick up some good flatties as bycatch with pipis. I got so many double hookups of flathead doing this the past few weeks, so this simple technique works so well. For soft plastics, it’s also best to drift and rig a 3-inch or 4-inch paddle tail, curtail, or worm imitations. My standout soft plastics have been the ever-reliable 4-inch turtleback worm in camo colour, 4-inch Keitech easy shiner in silver flash colour, and 3-inch z-man grubs in watermelon. In areas where the big lizards are then large swim baits work amazing so do blades and vibes too.

Areas to focus on should include.

• Lake Tyers
• Bemm River
• Mallacoota
• Bemm River
• Marlo entrance
• Tanboon Inlet

Australian Bass and Estuary Perch

I consider the bass and EP fishing to be at its best during the warmest water temperature months and this is generally January through to March so we’re slowly moving away from this prime setting. I fished several balmy evenings over the last week locally and was happy to see a lot of surface action but only managed to transition that into a handful of catches using surface lures and sub-surface plastics and vibes. I’m still targeting them with a variety of soft plastics, vibes and blades worked slowly but I will solely fish with surface soon. Well once that water temp rises a tad. Pulling out some favourites like Jackall Micro Tappys, Tiemco Cicada, Storm Gomoku Popper, Shimano BT Bait Bantam, Savage Gear 3D Cicada, Jackall Micro Pompadour and OSP bent minnows and Daiwa Slippery Dogs. This form of fishing requires patience, covering ground and looking for visible snags. Remember they will be most active at sunrise and sundown when they are actively feeding on bugs on the water surface.

The bass and EP fishing will only get better and better. I’m now part of the VFA Vic Rec Fishers board and am amazed by the numbers and investment in these fish to local and remote waters. Our 2023 bass and estuary perch stocking season has finished up with 32 lakes and rivers sharing in 721,000 fingerlings to improve fishing opportunities and bolster wild populations. 5 million bass and perch have been stocked over the last decade. This year included Lake Glenmaggie (50,000) Blue Rock (52,000), Bullen Merri (10,000), Elingamite (10,000), Traralgon Creek (10,000), Mitchell (100,000), Snowy (60,000), Cann (40,000), Timbarra (20,000), Macalister (22,000), Latrobe (20,000), Avon (10,000), Tambo (10,000) and Thomson (5,000), Gippsland Lakes (98,000), Lake Tyers (10,000), Lakers Cutting (15,000), Barwon (45,000), Werribee (20,000), Bemm (10,000), Snowy (10,000), Upper Stony Creek Reservoir ( 24,000), and Devilbend Reservoir ( 9,000 ).

I’ve been getting some good fish in the quieter areas up high on the Werribee River beyond Eynesbury and will focus some time locally around Werribee. Now be careful these remote areas have plenty of snakes. So do wear boots and even gaitor protective pads on the higher reaches of your legs.

Hot spots that are fishing well include

• Patterson River for EPs near the entrance bridge pylons
• DevilBend Res in the shallow weedy edges
• Werribee River
• Blue rock dam
• Rocklands Reservoir

Garfish 

The Garfish at Lake Tyers was exceptional. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Gars were jumping out of the water on every cast and following your lures and soft plastic on every cast. I also managed to catch about 10 gars on lures which was a first for me as I was targeting bream and flathead. They are excellent sizes too. If you enjoy eating gars then there is no better spot right now, especially near the entrance where the estuary meets the ocean.

When you think of estuary fishing you typically think of species like bream. However, in many of our estuary channels that feed off the bay, we are seeing excellent fishing of garfish. Much of this will be close to the entrances where there is a good volume of saltwater. This is the time of year when the garfish come on strong and can be caught in big numbers consistently. Stand-out places from an estuary standpoint have included Patterson Lakes on the rock wall between the bridge and the entrance to PPB. Corio Bay between St Helens and Limeburners, the Yarra entrance between Williamstown and Port Melbourne.

The key with Gars is berley. You need to berley consistently to an isolated area every 10 to 15 minutes. You can buy premade garfish berley or make your own using simple ingredients like breadcrumbs, aniseed oil, pilchards, and chook pellets made into a fine grain. Get your baits ideally maggots, silverfish, small pieces of prawn, or pilchard on a very small hook and float. Like all fish species, you will have moments of quiet periods and moments of chaos but when the gars come on strong the fishing is generally a lot of fun. Also, make sure you are using the right gear which should be super finesse. 1-3 kilo rod, 1000-2500 size reel, and very light line and leaders. I generally try and fish either 3 or 4 lb. You won’t need any heavier for gars.

Wrapping Up

I genuinely hope these detailed reports help get you onto some cracking fish. Don’t forget to follow our podcast, tutorials, catch-of-the-month competitions & giveaways. Thanks for being a treasured FishingMad Member and don’t hesitate to reach out to me at alan@fishingmad.com.au with any questions and suggestions. Take care and good fishing, everyone.