Fishing Reports – Melbourne Spring 2020

Reports include adult Snapper and Juveniles – aka Pinky Snapper.

The most sought after saltwater fish species, by recreational anglers, in Victoria.

For good reason!  Larger specimens are fantastic fighting fish.  While smaller specimen over the legal size (currently 28cm) makes a succulent table fish.

_{Snapper Season: May be fished all year round. More abundant between October and March}

Murray Cod fishing reports largely come from regional Victoria & NSW. 

Places near to the Murray River.  The Ovens and Goulburn Rivers. 

Lake Eildon and Lake Nagambie.

While Murray Cod can be found in waters like the Yarra River (upstream from Eltham) these catches are not as common.

_{Murray Cod Season: Closed – 1 September to 30 November inclusive. Lake Eildon and the waters south of the Great Dividing Range are open year round, except the Yarra River.}

While very timid bream can be a fantastic fighting fish.

As a panfish, the flesh is very tasty.

Bream are caught on a wide variety of baits, hardbody lures and soft plastics.

Bream are sensitive to environmental conditions.  They also seem to be sensitive to what fishos have on their hands.

Some claim bream, for example, can detect odour on your fingers ranging from petro-chemicals to nicotine from cigarettes.  Allegedly smokers find it harder to catch bream.

To my knowledge, this has never been scientifically verified.

_{Bream Season: All year round in Victoria.}

Squid are not only abundant they are fantastic to eat. 

Reasonably easy to catch – with some experimentation.

Plus they make fantastic bait for many Victorian saltwater species.  Including snapper and gummy sharks.

_{Calamari (Squid) Season: All year round in Victoria}

King George Whiting are one of Victorias most popular saltwater fish.

They can be finicky feeders and are very shy. 

So stealth is important. As a table fish, their flesh is superb.

_{Whiting Season: All year round in Victoria. More prolific during the November to March.}

Flathead is a surprisingly popular species in Victoria. 

While flathead catches in Port Phillip Bay were more common in years gone by. 

They are certainly there, but for many a little harder to catch. Deeper dredging of the bay has had an impact in my opinion.

_{Flathead Season: All year round in Victoria. More active during warmer months.}

While Trout are an introduced species in Australia it is not believed they cause the kind of damage seen with species like European Carp or even Redfin.

As such they are actively farmed and every year the Fisheries Department releases Trout in Victorian streams.

Usually, Trout Season is closed between June and September. The actual dates vary and you can check on the Fisheries website by clicking here.  

_{Trout Season: closed between June and September. The actual dates vary and you can check on the Fisheries website by clicking here.}

European Carp are an invasive pest species in Australia.  They cause massive destruction to the waterways. Clouding up the water making it unsuitable to native species.  Basically changing the environment to suit themselves.

However, they are plentiful, pretty easy to catch – and the more folks out there catching them the healthier our waterways will be!

What can I say – catch them – catch them all!!

I’d rather see fisherfolk out there catching Carp on mass than see the government introduce a Carp specific virus to get rid of them.  That’s been proposed – I’m not kidding!

Catch them, dispatch them, eat them, use them as fertiliser on the veggies (like I do.)

Note – By Law:  European Carp, no matter the size, are not to be returned to waterways.  They must be humanely dispatched immediately.  What you choose to do with them after that is up to you.  Here’s my suggestions on catching European Carp.  

_{European Carp Season: All year round in Victoria}

Known as Redfin in Australia, sometimes as English Perch and in some countries simply “Perch.”

While they are an introduced species – and somewhat of a pest in some waterways – they are nowhere near as destructive as European Carp.  They also taste better and require a little more skill to catch.

I love catching Redfin – and it’s common for me to target them regularly.

_{Redfin Season : All year round in Victoria}

Great tasting fish and often in good numbers in Victorian saltwater bays, beaches and estuaries.

People who have never caught them before are often shocked to find a small louse inside the fishing mouth.  This creature actually eats the fishes tongue, then sites where the tongue used to be and collects free meals as the fish eats.  Pretty gross!

However – the louse is not a threat to humans and fish with the louse present when caught can be safely eaten.

Given they are pretty tasty this is good news.  Right?

_{Silver Trevally Season :  All year round in Victoria: Min Size: 20cm. A combined total limit of 20 for one or more species of trevally}

Mullet often tend to be a by-catch rather than a targeted species in Victoria.  This is a shame as they are in plentiful numbers and pretty easy to catch.

Generally, a lighter tackle is used.  They make an excellent beginner species and are ideal for getting kids started in fishing.

_{Mullet :  All year round in Victoria. No size limit. A bag limit of 40 composed of all or any species of mullet.}