Melbourne Fishing Reports – Plus Greater Victoria, Autumn 2020

This report from Dave, here at Getfished.

Managed to get out off the Rockwall adjacent to Sandringham Yacht Club.

Conditions were pretty rough, waves above 1 meter.

Despite losing a number of rigs on the sharp rocks (not a problem I have in quieter conditions) I managed only a few small pinkiesPinky Snapper The name “Pinky Snapper” refers to the immature Snapper.  Their skin colour is different from adults (its pinker.)

Adulthood is usually considered on fish greater than 40cm – or in the 1.5 to 2kg – range, with a darker red colouration.. All released safely.

Switching over to the other side of the wall, running very low on rigs and bait, I cast out into the protected and calmer harbour area. Hooking into several undersized, but nice fighting bream. All released safely.

Bait: Chicken fillets soaked with my own marinade. Rig: Jarvis Walker Whiting Rig, paternosterPaternoster Rig style.

Sadly no video or photos available. But I’ve added a nice vid of snapper schooling to this report.

Robbie from robbiefishing headed down to work after a very hot day to cast some surface lures near Wangaratta, 5 minutes from his home.

As is so often the case Robbie produced some good Murray Cod action using Chasebaits Smuggler and Damiki Air Frog surface lures.

Robbie says this of his lifestyle “It is like natures medication for me…” admitting he could probably earn more in the Melbourne, but he wouldn’t swap it.

Gotta agree it looks pretty good!

Fishing Victoria headed out onto Port Phillip targetting Gurnards.

While not targetted by as many fisho’s as snapper, whiting or flathead they are great eating. Though look a tad peculiar.

The guys used soft plasticsSoft Plastic Lure to great effect, as you’ll see in the video.

They also provide a good discussion on hook kind and size and the reasons they are using the tackle they’ve selected.

Robbie of RobbieFishing takes us back to our childhood dangling lumps of meat in a dam, hoping for yabbiesYabby The “yabby” is an Australian freshwater crustacean, similar to the “crawdad” found in the United States.

They are actually very good eating when prepared properly, while making an excellent bait for native and introduced species such as Murray Cod, Yellowbelly, Redfin etc.

The most productive method of catching yabbies is via a net, available from tackle stores.  In recent years the “opera house net” has been banned in some states (including Victoria) due to their design being a drowning trap for turtles and platypus.  Approved nets protect these creatures from becoming trapped while allowing yabbies to remain in the net..

With the exception that Robbie actually catches them – and uses nets (legal nets of course.)

While he’s better known for his Murray Cod catches Robby loves his Yabbies.

Subscribe to his channel and check out his how to catch yabbies, prepare and cook them.

Robbie, for those who haven’t discovered him yet, is a Murray Cod guru from Wangaratta, Victoria. Robbie sense of humour, love of fishing and family never fails to entertain.

Robbie from Robbiefishing out with a friend taking advantage of this years Murray Cod season.

Using a Damiki Brute 70 lure along with his mate using spinnerbaits.

Robbie has a discount offer this week to compliment this Murray code session. The Damiki lure he’s using is the item of tackle. So head over to the page and check the offer out. While you’re there don’t forget to subscribe to his channel.

Wayne o’keeffe demonstrates catching pinkiesPinky Snapper The name “Pinky Snapper” refers to the immature Snapper.  Their skin colour is different from adults (its pinker.)

Adulthood is usually considered on fish greater than 40cm – or in the 1.5 to 2kg – range, with a darker red colouration. and bream off the beach in Port Phillip Bay.

Wayne’s work with small hooks, berleyBerley cages instead of sinkers and patience pays off.

One of the great things about watching Wayne fish is he seems to have a knack for finding quiet, out of the way places that produce consistent fish catches.

Mark Whitford went out on Lake Eildon chasing Golden Perch (Yellow Belly). Despite a bad start when his electric motor died he and his mate ended up having an amazing afternoon’s fishing.

Watch the video – a good number of pretty impressive Golden Perch hauled in. Three Yella’s in a net at once? Yup, seeing is believing. Pays to use a fish finder (sounder) even in the fresh around trees!

Robbie Alexander (a fisho who’s caught his share of Golden Perch) commented:

“This is hands down the best yellowbelly fishing video that I have seen, absolutely outstanding. Well done. I have experienced yellowbelly fishing like this, but not in a lake. I was in a creek that was inundated with fresh water. This is brilliant.”

TEAM BORN2FISH was out on Port Phillip Bay this week and hitting into whiting, yakkas and squid. Conditions on the bay were ideal.

Gotta love the merchanding these guys have put together. Shirts, jackets. Looks like they love their hobby!

Mark Whitford targets Murray Cod in some skinny water around Shepparton while attending the “MurrayCodference”.

Spinning with some classic surface cod lures.

These reports indicate how well cod management has improved cod catches and the sustainability of cod management. For now and into the future, compared to the relatively recent past decades.

A credit to the work of the Vic Fisheries and anglers who embrace the lower and upper bag limits – or Slot LimitsSlot Limit Fishing in Victoria is usually governed by the size of the fish.  Generally, fish under a certain size must be returned to the water unharmed.  This varies from species to species.

Slot Limits are different and apply to species such as Murray Cod, for example, where the 2019 Slot Limit is defined as: “55 to 75 cm slot limit state-wide. Reduction in bag limit from 2 to 1 fish per day in rivers, whilst maintaining the bag limit in lakes and impoundments at 2 fish per day.”

This limits the number of fish you can keep and limits the size so that you must return fish under a certain size and over a certain size.  This helps immature fish to mature and breeding ready fish to breed. – designed to protect this majestic, iconic Australian fish.

Alan Bonnici from Fishingmad is off Clifton Springs this week hauling in some nice squid (calamari).

Clifton Springs is an hour and 10 minutes drive past Geelong. Alan’s out on his new Hobie Pro Angler kayak, picking up some squid dinner while he’s at it.

Weather conditions varied widely, Alan reported, calm one minute and then windy the next. Even experiencing some rain. However, he got his bag limit of squid in around an hour all the same.

Wayne o’keeffe is out catching Mullet, Trevally and PinkiesPinky Snapper The name “Pinky Snapper” refers to the immature Snapper.  Their skin colour is different from adults (its pinker.)

Adulthood is usually considered on fish greater than 40cm – or in the 1.5 to 2kg – range, with a darker red colouration. fishing the Maribyrnong River at Flemington and reports he “had a blast catching a few different species of fish.”

Wayne is a master of light tackle and berleyBerley . His technique really pays off.

Wayne commented “It’s great to see this variety of fish in rivers so close to the city of Melbourne.”

While I’d not recommend eating anything you catch on the Maribyrnong River due to historic and sadly recent pollution, there’s nothing to stop you enjoying catch and release like Wayne.

If you’re a newbie or are just struggling to “catch something” you can’t go wrong subscribing to Wayne’s Youtube channel for tips and techniques that will simply help you catch fish!

Hawkesy Fishing took his kayak out onto the Maribyrnong river. Hooked several smallish bream. A lot of excitement as he managed to spot (and film) a Mulloway.

While he didn’t actually land it just spotting one is more than most anglers manage in the ‘nong. So a very interesting video of the session. Proving these beautiful fish are around, if difficult to catch.

Wayne o’keeffe has been catching PinkiesPinky Snapper The name “Pinky Snapper” refers to the immature Snapper.  Their skin colour is different from adults (its pinker.)

Adulthood is usually considered on fish greater than 40cm – or in the 1.5 to 2kg – range, with a darker red colouration. (immature Snapper) under the Westgate Bridge, Port Melbourne, inside the Yarra estuary.

Wayne relies heavily on BerleyBerley – and that’s a major factor in what produces his results.

Wayne said “It was a great 2 hour session and even though the fish were all small it was great action.”

Reedy’s Rigs heads out onto Port Phillip Bay for some Snapper action.

The guys landed some good size snapper. Their tips and tricks, while they are doing it, are helpful too.

Reedy’s Rigs are a handmade local rig manufacturer who makes some excellent snapper rigs, you can check them out here.