Whats Biting Reports

Welcome to the What’s Biting now in-depth fishing reports where we showcase what’s biting all around Melbourne and Victoria. Giving detailed insight into where we have been fishing, what we’re targeting and how were catching them.

Ensure you scroll down to read reports by our local experts including ( Alan Bonnici | Melbourne & Port Phillip Bay ) – ( Darren Adams | Port Phillip Bay South & Western Port ) – ( Steve Vessey | Werribee & Geelong ) – ( Russell Elton – Portland, Rocklands & Hopkins ) Stay tuned as we have more report writers on the way!!.

Family Fishing Lakes around Melbourne has welcomed a combined 1000 ‘stonker’ size rainbow trout for the coming school holiday break. These trout weigh up to 5kg each. Eildon Pondage and Goulburn River between Eildon and Molesworth have also been stocked with 2000 stonkers for trout opening and the September school holidays. A daily bag limit of 5 trout applies to Family Fishing Lakes, of which only 2 trout can exceed 35cm.

Social media has gone crazy with photos of huge trout being caught all around Melbourne and Victoria. Due to Covid restrictions, many have missed out, hopefully, next year the VFA will do the same again so we can all get in on the action.

With COVID restrictions the fishing has been limited. I have fished in my kayak around Altona beach on several occasions. Those sessions can be seen on the FishingMad youtube channel. Launching from Millers road I have been heading to roughly 5 meters deep and moving around staring at the sounder looking for schools of pinkies. The water temp is still quite cool and finding the fish has been quite inconsistent. However, my 2 most recent sessions were very productive marking big schools of pinkies all over the place. Areas between 4 and 6 meters being very productive. I was just using a light Savage Gear 1DRF rod paired with a brand new SG6 reel which is yet to hit the market. Using 3-inch Zman slim swim in bad shad colour and 4-inch turtleback worms in camo accounted for many pinkies between 25 and 40cm. Working the plastic slow was key as the conditions are still sitting under 12 degrees and the bite is very timid

Well, it sure has been a challenging time for anglers around Melbourne and Victoria. The painful combination of COVID lockdowns and poor weather has made fishing extremely challenging. State Government rules in place as I write this article is that fishing is permitted as a form of exercise as long as it’s only for 2 hours, only with a maximum of one other person, within 5 kilometres of home and not at a busy facility like a pier or boat ramp. We also have curfews in place from 5 am to 9 pm daily. Regional Victoria is governed by the same rules that being said there are whispers that these rules will be lifted for regional next week. Let’s hope that’s the case as many of us are well and truly fed up with the state governments direction of simply locking up everyone.

The water temperature currently for Port Phillip Bay and Western Port are sitting around 11.5 degrees which means that this is usually one of the most challenging fishing calendar months of the year. You can still catch bread and butter species like pinkies, flathead and whiting but the catches are inconsistent and the bites are very timid. Patience is very much required right now but does stay positive as were mere months away from some warmer weather and the start of snapper season which should be very productive considering significantly less fishing pressure due to covid restrictions over the past 24 months.

I’ve already noticed that the outside temperature is already gradually rising and days getting longer, so it’s only a matter of time before the water temperature rises as well and we see fish in good numbers. We welcome Spring but in a short time, it’s still a good idea to focus some energies on targeting species like garfish, salmon, squid and gummy sharks.

SQUID

This is a great time of year to target squid. They will come on strong particularly on days calm days with clear waters. You can still catch them in good numbers if you’re willing to put in some extra time on them. You will want to focus your energies on the start and end of tides.

Drifting has been the preferred technique and using the plotter to mark productive spots on your sounder when going over a patch is a technique that will help greatly. This allows you to continually re-drift over an area that’s productive, opposed to drifting in hope and luck. If your fishing high tidal areas that using an electric motor or even anchoring in a productive spot can help, but you will have the best results drifting if you can. This is also a time of year where you can catch good size squid in many areas around Port Phillip Bay and Western Port.

In Port Phillip Bay the usual areas are continuing to be very productive. This includes Point Cook outside of the marine park, Indented heads all the way through to St Leonard’s. The shallows between 2-5 meters deep have been very productive. Clifton spring directly out from the boat ramp and the right of the ramp in the shallow weedy areas are consistently producing squid. So is Sorrento and Rye from the shores all the way out to 6 meters deep. There are some great areas to drift around here from the markers near Blairgowrie all the way through to the south channel and mud island. Again, by drifting around these areas and using your sounder properly you can really hone in on spots that are producing. You can see some GPS suggestions on our GPS marks page for starting points.

“Did you know that squid, octopus, and cephalopods are colour blind? They only see shades of black and white, yet their pupils allow them to mimic different colours. Squid sure are fascinating creatures. This does pose the question thought is squid jigs in different colours are designed to lure the squid or lure the angler who is buying them. Let us know your thoughts here is an interesting topic”.

GARFISH

The garfish phenomenon this year gets better and better. In fact, I can’t remember a season where garfish have fished so well and so consistently. I have spent a lot of time targeting Gars around the greater Geelong area and had many bag out sessions using pencil floats, and maggots, silverfish, bread, dough and banana prawns as bait. St Helens continues to be one of the most productive spots as does areas near the Waterfront and the Grammar school. There are also masses of bay trout and mullet in these areas and I have seen several times in the last 2 months swarms of dolphins rounding them up and feasting.

The piers and jetties all around the Mornington peninsula area continue to fish very well garfish. Several members have reported regular bag out sessions at Frankston, Mordialloc, Beaumaris, Hampton Rocks, Blairgowrie Pier and Mornington Pier.

On the western side, we are also catching good volumes of garfish at Williamstown in the shallows opposite the footy ground and rock wall opposite the rotunda of the main beach.

There are some great how-to guides on how to catch garfish on our YouTube channel so do make sure you check those out.

GUMMY SHARKS

This is prime time to be targeting gummy sharks in both Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. Gummies love the cold-water temperatures, and the volume of pest species tends to be lower during these times.

I have spent a lot of time in recent months running through gummy shark rigs and setups so do ensure you check out those videos on the YouTube channel or PM me if you have any questions. The most productive baits have included salmon chunks and mackerel. We haven’t had quite as much luck with squid and pilchards.

We also found areas with a good volume of tidal flow and gutters are consistently the most productive. This is where an Ezi rig setup, strong line and shock leaders can play a big role in catching consistency. It also allows you to quickly change sinkers depending on the strength of the current and the time of the tide.

Areas that will fish well include South Channel, Portarlington, Swan Island, St Leonards, West Channel and Mud island. Around Western Port, shark fishing is in its own and undoubtedly irresistible. Areas consistently producing a good volume of gummies include Grantville, Tooradin, Stoney Point and Somers.

Land-based anglers are also certainly catching their fair share of gumbos from Land Lang, Corinella, Tenby Point, Balnarring rocks and Stockyards.

You will also catch a few decent 7-gill sharks at this time of year which can also be a lot of fun to catch.

WHITING

Whiting fishing has been very inconsistent that’s for sure, that is very typical of the winter period. I have historically fished areas around Wedge Spit, Corio Bay, Sy Leonards and Clifton Springs and always found the bite very slow and inconsistent during August.

The good news again is that things from here will slowly improve. We have found that the whiting sessions have been better on days with poor water clarity so days after high winds or high swells should produce the goods as the water temperature rises.

In terms of setup, it’s difficult to go past a light 2-4 kilo rod and 2500 size reel and light line. I generally make my own whiting rigs which will consist of either a paternoster rig, single hook rig or running sinker rig. They all work in their own right and sometimes using one or two baits has advantages over different days and conditions.

Areas locally around Werribee is fishing quite poor so we would recommend concentrating your time on whiting fishing around Corio Bay, St Leonards and Clifton Springs.

PINKIES / SNAPPER

It’s still a bit too early on in the season to be seeing snapper in our bays just yet. There are some early season reds being caught in Western Port around Eagle Rock and Bagge Harbour.

Plenty of pinkies are still being caught in the shallows all along the Mornington peninsula and around Williamstown opposite the footy ground in the shallow reefs. I have found the catches of pinkies in my kayak around Altona to be very hit and miss. One day they are schooling up in big numbers in the shallows between the 4 and 6-meter mark and eagerly taking soft plastics and the next day nowhere to be seen. This is expecting at this time of the year as water temperatures still hover under 12 degrees. Fishing for Pinkies will only get better and better as we head into spring so some patience is required for now.

MULLOWAY

Mulloway continues to fish well in stretches along the Yarra River. With catches from our members noted in Richmond opposite the botanic gardens, near the Richmond rowing club and opposite the warmies. Live mullet and bay trout as well as large strips of squid continue to be excellent choices. You can also target these elusive fish using 4 inch and 5-inch soft plastics but do be prepared to put in many hours as only the truly dedicated will be rewarded. We have also noted some decent Mulloway being caught along the Barwon river entrance and further upstream in Lake Connewarre.

FLATHEAD

Flathead will be caught all around the bay, but the numbers will be quite low to what we usually expect. Inshore many of the flathead have moved away from the shallow waters because of the cold-water temperature and will seek deeper water to reside. We have been catching our fair share in water depths between 8 and 12 meters deep. Drifting around with a paternoster rig and some chunks of pilchard or squid tentacles is usually our favourite method as well as flicking 2.5 to 4-inch soft plastics with a 1/6 jig head. The old Berkley turtleback worm continues to be a favourite choice of ours.

BREAM

This is a great time of year to be targeting bream. Spawning periods are just starting, and this is when we see some decent size bream. With the colder temperatures, we will find that bream have moved off the edges and are seeking shelter in deeper waters. So, this is a great time for land-based exploring or fishing from a kayak, casting into open waters with soft plastics, hard body lures, cranks and blades. Also, don’t be afraid to give the trusty cranka crab a go, these are wonderful options that are extremely successful once you get the hang of the technique. Concentrating your time on structures such as bridge pylons and jetties should see you land a few bream, just remember to work the crabs very slowly.

We tend to resort to a slower retrieve during this time of year. All around the bream are fishing quite well. Close to Melbourne, the Maribyrnong river around Essendon and the Yarra River around Richmond are producing good volumes of bream and decent sized ones. Moving towards the east excellent options include Patterson lakes and if you are lucky enough there are so many good options around the greater East Gippsland area.

There have been some very cool new bream lures introduced onto the market this past month, so that will give me a great excuse to go down to some of the local waters and target some bream. Particularly looking forward to getting my hands on a few of the new smaller size double clutches and tournament spikes.

FRESHWATER

During Covid, we have seen a massive increase in local Carp fishing. Local anglers getting creative and staying within their 5-kilometre zones has seen a lot of urban lakes hardly fished now having some serious fishing pressure. I too have found myself doing this. Lakes that I have walked around for many years and never thought to fish have surprisingly produced a lot of carp and excitement during the lockdown. Areas that are fishing well for carp include Albert Park Lake, Werribee River, Barwon River and Lake Burumbeet.

Many of our family-friendly lakes received a top-up of stocked trout as part of the state government target of 10 million by 2022. Use this link to see the latest stocking locations See Waters Last Stocking Map – VFA. If you are new to fishing or have a few kids that you are keen to get onto some fish then these stocked trout locations are the perfect opportunity to catch a few rainbow trout.

Pyke’s creek has been fishing well for trout in recent times. Either by land casting shallow diving hard body lures or via a small boat trolling slow diving lures at a slow pace.

Until next time good fishing everyone. Please let us know if you would like any further details added to these reports. Also, make sure you share your catches with us by sending through some photos and details to reports@fishingmad.com.au this will also put you into the run of going into our Catch of the Month honours board voted on by other members.

Darren has been fishing Port Phillip Bay and Western Port for almost 30 years and is a wealth of knowledge on a whole range of local fish species. You’ll often see Darren cruising around in both waterways on his Stabicraft 1850 Supercab targeting gummy sharks, snapper, whiting and squid. If you have any questions feel free to contact Darren directly at dazzler22021975@gmail.com

Spring has sprung! September started with three consecutive days of mid 20’s temperatures. And we’ve had a few more 20+ degree days since. The wattle and flowers are in bloom, the sun is getting up earlier and going to bed later, and the fish are starting to bite. Springtime in Melbourne and surrounding areas, means that the fishing is about to get a whole lot better. After the cold winter months where most species disappear from the bays or go into hibernation, everything comes alive, it seems, when spring comes along.

SOUTHERN MORNINGTON PENINSULA – PORT PHILLIP BAY

Unfortunately, due to the 5km and 2 hour restrictions imposed by the government due to Covid-19, reports have been few and far between. However, the local fisho’s down here on the southern Mornington peninsula, have been getting out for their fishing fix.

Squid are a staple down here, and these days, the southern calamari are a year-round proposition. I’ve caught squid in every month of the year down here. But having said that, spring time is the time when the big breeders come to life and get hungry and active. The sand and weed beds from Portsea to Dromana come alive with squid, and can be targeted on the drift with all manner of squid jigs. So many different brands of squid jigs are available these days. I remember when I had just four very plain Yo-Zuri jigs. One green, one blue, one pink and one red. That was it! But these days, as is the case with soft plastics, there are a myriad of different brands and styles. On a good day, any jig will do, but it’s wise to experiment to find out which jigs work best in a particular area. My favourite jigs that I use in the Sorrento, Blairgowrie and Rye squid zones are the pink Yamashita LIVE EGI “Warm Jacket” “Naeba,” and the plain old white Shimano Egixile jig. 3.0 is my favourite size. But of course, the size of the jig you use depends on the speed of your drift.

King George whiting are another species which become a more prevalent catch in the spring. Like squid, they like the sand and weed beds and the shallow reefs. The locals from Rye to Rosebud have been doing well on the whiting this winter. Catches of 20 or more whiting haven’t been uncommon, with fresh squid being the best and most natural bait. Of course, the old reliable mussels and pipis have also caught their share of whiting. These fish will really fire up now with the warmer weather, and can be targeted in the shallows in all of the above-mentioned areas from Portsea to Dromana.

There are also many pier fishing options down here. The piers at Portsea, Sorrento, Blairgowrie, Rye, Rosebud and Dromana are all good fishing platforms where you can fish for a number of different species. Squid are a great land-based option. Especially Portsea, Sorrento and Blairgowrie piers. Over the winter months, I have also witnessed some great garfish catches from the piers at Mornington and Olivers Hill boat ramp in Frankston. They were plentiful and small pieces of silverfish and pilchards worked very well. Night fishing from Mornington pier, using a light to attract fish, produced plenty of Yakka’s and Slimy Mackeral. The technique was to use an illuminated float to keep the bait off the bottom, and of course, using plenty of burley to keep the fish around.  Small salmon were another common catch from the piers during the colder months. These fish should continue to be a good land based option for the pier fisho’s through the spring. And as the weather warms up, flathead and whiting will be another option for those that like to fish for those species.

WESTERN PORT

The lockdown has made it very difficult for people from Melbourne to fish Western Port. Unless you live close to the western shoreline, you wouldn’t have been able to legally fish this wonderful bay during the lockdown. This is unfortunate, as Western Port still produces good fishing through the winter months. What I usually do during the winter is stock up on bait for the upcoming snapper season. With the use of burley, there are plenty of barracouta, yakka’s, slimy mackerel, trevally, mullet and salmon available. But as Western Port is such a tidal waterway, the tide changes are the time to fish. Especially the top of the High tide. Using soft plastics is a very enjoyable way to catch these species, or if you like using bait, the multi-hook sabiki rigs are a fun and effective way to target these fish. Having three or more fish on at the same time is fun!

Of course, squid are always an option in Western Port too. All through winter, but especially in spring. And Western Port squid are big! I target squid in winter and spring on Western Port, but I do it a different way. As I said, Western Port is a bay with very fast tidal flow. To target big squid in Western Port, I anchor up, just out from the dropoff from the sandbanks, arriving about two hours before the low tide. You can then burley up as the tide slackens and either cast jigs, or fish with whole baits under a float. Silver whiting, pilchards and grass whiting are the baits to use. A whole fish on a metal prong under a float is a fun way to target these big Western Port squid. Of course, you can also cast and retrieve jigs. And on top of the shallow banks, when the water level is high enough, you can drift along with the tide, and target squid that way. The western shoreline is the best place to start looking for them. From Flinders, up past Balnarring, Stony Point, Hastings and up to Yaringa is all good territory for targeting oversize squid. And on the French Island side, Tankerton has some shallow sand and weed areas where you can drift from North to South, (or vice-versa depending on the tide,) and throw jigs. A friend of mine who is a Western Port guru sent me a great report today. He was anchored just out from a bank up the top end of Western Port, fishing the last of the ebb tide. He was anchored and just had jigs sitting out there. He caught 7 squid, with three of them going close to 2kg, with hood sizes of 42-44cm. He also had a great day last week, landing 6. Only one was a monster last week. These big squid will be caught in greater numbers throughout the spring in Western Port.

King George whiting are another species that will fire up in the next month or two. They will move up the bay from the entrances and start to be caught in good numbers on the shallow banks of the western and northern parts of the bay. There aren’t too many reports from winter, but as lockdown restrictions ease and the weather warms up, more and more reports of whiting captures will filter through.

And of course, snapper will be the #1 fish that Western Port anglers will target during the spring. As in Port Phillip Bay, snapper start pouring into the bay in September, making their way to the outer regions of Western Port. And these faraway areas are the places where they are first caught. Pilchards are always a bait to take out snapper fishing, along with squid, barracouta, yakka’s, slimy’s and salmon. And the beauty of that is, you can catch almost all of those yourself and have plenty of fresh bait. Water temperature is also a factor. Once the water temperature hits 16 degrees, the snapper really starts to wake up. There are also other things to consider like barometer, wind direction, tide strength and tide heights. There are already reports of some very big snapper being caught from the port, and once again, these will increase as spring progresses. Early season snapper fishing in Western Port is different to later in spring and early summer. You may only catch one or two fish in September and early October, but they are likely to be of a very good size. Most fish caught in early spring are 5kg or more. Whilst later in October, November and December, you can catch bigger numbers of school fish in that 1-3kg range, along with the odd bigger fish.

Gummy sharks will also become a more common catch in spring and can be caught in all areas of the port and in all depths of water. You can catch them fishing for snapper in 20 metres of water, and you can catch them fishing for whiting in three metres. They take all the same baits as snapper, with trevally and snook being great baits for the gummy shark too.

Let’s hope that we can all fish a lot more soon. And the waters of Western Port and the southern peninsula should be very productive areas.

Stephen Vessey is a local angler who lives, eats and breaths fishing in the greater Werribee and Geelong area. Steve is often found cruising around the local river and bay in his Hobie Outback kayak. Targeting everything from snapper through to estuary perch. Steve runs his own YouTube channel and Facebook pages and is a wonderful contributor to all things fishing in Western Victoria. 

Port Phillip Bay – Werribee

With lockdowns still in effect in metro victoria, Fishing has been really tough of late, with spring starting to show its glorious form, the wind has hit us hard so the kayak has been put away and I am out and about for a bit of landbased fishing. Werribee south Rockwall has been fishing reasonably well, the few people I have spoken to have reported catches of salmon up to 40cms mostly on Soft plastic grubs and Munroe’s paddle tails. I have also heard reports from a few people that the snapper are starting to show up with some specimens caught around the 35-50cm mark. These fish have been caught using a standard paternoster rig with pilchard tails as the mainstay.

Port Phillip Bay – Campbells Cove to Point Cook

Not having any land-based options for this area makes it hard to fish unless you can cast over 150mtrs just to get your baits deep enough, but if you have a boat or kayak you all set. With only 2 chances to get out with a break in the weather, I dragged the yak out and got onto a few fish, October is good in this area, the water is starting to warm up and if your chasing a feed of squid or flathead this is the area for you, Squid are here all year round and through October you should be targeting the edges of the weed beds with red or green coloured jigs from 2-4 meters of water. Flathead are prevalent through the Campbells cove area and targeting these guys in October with soft plastics is the best method of going home with a feed, My go-to is the 8cm savage gear pro grub in UV pink on a 1/8 – 1/6 TT jig head, paired up with a light 2-4kg rod and I like to use 8lb leader. 99% of all the flathead you get out here will be of legal size and the best method for chasing them is to drift the bay with 2 rods, 1 that you are actively using and with the other sitting in the rod holder bouncing along the bottom.

Werribee River – Freshwater

Thanks to all the rain we have had through September the river has been a dirty chocolate milk colour when it’s like this it is very hard to fish, But a few fish have still been caught by local anglers willing to brave the elements, with most fish being caught on worms, I would recommend using a 6-8lb leader very lightly weighted if any weight at all with a size 2 bait holder or long shank hook and hold in tight to the bank, the fish will be holding tight to the snags more so with all this water going through the system. As October approaches and the weather starts to warm up as long as the rain stays away the river will start to clear up and the Estuary perch will begin to fire up, If this happens I recommend using the 60mm double clutch in laser wakasagi, but you have to be willing to lose the odd lure as the old saying goes if your not in the snags your not going to catch the fish, the soft plastic of choice would be the Munroe’s 2.5in grub in Blekmat UV or the 2.5 grub in Caviar with a 1/12 – 1/8 jig head on a Jig spinner slow-rolled along the bottom will entice most fish

Corio Bay

Where to start, Corio Bay has been firing with multiple species being caught around the entire bay,

Avalon beach – Salmon have been firing in this area which has been a great source of bait for the avid angler heading out to Wilson spit chasing the mighty snapper. The idea here is to sound around until you find schooling fish, then fresh salmon fillets or if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some fresh garfish, using a size 6/0 hook and small ball sinker cast out on an incoming tide and hang on. Fish have been caught ranging from 4-7kgs using this method over the past few weeks.

Alcoa has been producing bag limits of KGW, best baits have been fresh squid strips on a lightly weighted running sinker rig with a size 2 KL hook

Geelong Waterfront is a firecracker at the moment, it is going off. The big snapper have come in to shelter in the yacht club and a few lucky anglers have been reaping the rewards, One of my good friends Jesse Baron has been getting amongst these good-sized fish with his latest going over the 70cm mark and all from the bank, So it goes to show you that you don’t need a boat or kayak to get onto these awesome fish. The best way to target these fish throughout October will be unweighted pilchards on double snelled 4/0 – 6/0 hooks Or what I will be using is the Munroes Ripplebug (which represents a small squid) in swarf colour on a 1/8 – 1/16 weedless jighead cast amongst the yachts which the snapper can not resist, I will be using 10-15lb leader and all you have to do is cast out and let it slowly sink to the bottom, 9 out of 10 fish will take your plastic on the drop, so make sure you are watching your line for the slightest hit.

As the weather warms up throughout October the fishing should start to fire up, If you are lucky enough to be able to get out for a fish, good luck and tight lines.

Russell Elton is a passionate fisherman who lives in Hamilton within the greater Warrnambool area. He loves fishing for fun and a good feed and targets everything from redfin in lakes to chasing game fish in the sea either on his Hobie Passport, by land or boat. Russell is the administrator of the Hamilton fishing page on Facebook and Co run the Southwest Kayak fishing page and loves sharing reports so others can enjoy the success of catching a few fish. Russell will share great insight into Rocklands, Hamilton lake and connecting Grange burn and Wannon river, Nelson, and the Merri, Hopkins and Fitzroy Rivers.

Portland Last week I caught 4 snook and a tailor trolling hard body lures between 7 and 12 cm off the nth shore at Portland in the depth on 3 to 6 meters. There was a lot of bait activity in the water but not that many predators after them. I did come across a big school of couta but I tried my best to avoid them. The water was too murky for squid since the high winds have been blowing hard any other fishing has been a struggle. The local Charters are reporting large gummy sharks and the occasional Tuna.

Nelson Last week I was shown sonar pictures of lots of mulloway schooling up but they were not feeding these pictures were taken between the bridge and the mouth. Before a Big lot of rain, Some mulloway had been caught on live mullet and fresh squid baits. The key to catching these have been patients and allowing the fish to run freely on the take before trying to set the hook. Fresh mackerel baits have also produced some nice fish. Bream have been caught in good size and numbers also between the bridge and the mouth on crab, crab plastics and other variations of soft plastics mainly darker colours in the dirty water.

Rocklands Some reports of Golden perch up to 33 cm caught on live yabbies and spinners.  Carp are being caught from the banks in the shallows as usual. The redfin has slowed down as in most lakes and resi. The cod is slowly getting bigger I see the occasional picture and they look very healthy and happy.

Hamilton Lake Hamilton was on fire a couple of months ago with redfin schooling up in good size and large numbers but in recent weeks the reddies are spread out in smaller patches but they are sitting on the bottom and not feeding. Active schools of small fish can be found but the bigger ones are inactive. Trout are being caught in really good numbers in the Grange burn and Wannon River. The Grange burn is producing trout from the spillway in Hamilton right through to the junction at Wannon river. They are being caught on fly mainly woolly bugger variations or Mrs Simpsons and plastics. Some big redfin is also being caught in these areas by simply drifting an unweighted worm down with the current.

Merri River The Merri river had been producing Brown trout in good size and numbers trolling hard body lures and flicking soft plastics. In the last few weeks, the river has been swollen with floodwater and has been a bit dirty.

Hopkins River The Hopkins had been producing some Mulloway just over the size limit and some bream up to 40cm but the fishing has been a lot tougher since the rain and reports have almost dried up since the lockdown

Fitzroy River/Surf beach The last report I read from the Fitzy was that it was open and people were catching Mulloway up to 70cm on live salmon or squid. Some Ep had been caught also on double clutch lures between 30 and 35 cm. In the past, Gummy shark numbers increase around the beach when the mouth is open and with Gummies being caught in Portland recently It could be a good time to get one-night fishing off the beach a couple of hundred meters from the mouth if you can find a nice gutter and have the right conditions for surf fishing.

Thanks for reading if you have any questions about techniques or equipment, I use you can Message me directly through Facebook.

I recommend joining Hamilton Vic Fishing and Southwest Kayak Fishing on FB even if you’re not from the area but you would like to stay updated about what is being caught and we are always happy for reports from other areas from group members. I answer all questions posted in the comments so don’t be afraid to ask!!

Stay Safe and Happy Fishing.