Around the Bay - Tuesday, March 1, 2022

With Jim’s Bait and Tackle

THE reports this week have been scattered to say the least.

But this is almost expected for this time of the year and more to do with fewer people fishing that all have their favourite spots.

The other thing that contributes to this is by now, the end of February, the kids are all back in school, most people who took time off after Christmas have now gone back and settled into the routine of working during the week and fishing weekends.

As we always say, the absence of fishing reports does not equate to an absence of fish - it usually means no one fishing. We find this time of the year very targeted fishing as most of the reports come from locals that will fish certain areas and tides and generally not for very long and if they can’t find the species they are looking for generally don’t go chasing something else but simply head home until next time.

As always, someone is visiting or on holidays and these people tend to spend a whole day on the water looking for anything they can find.
While spending all day on the water isn’t for everyone, those who do usually find a feed in the form of a mixed bag of species.

Tuna was a little quieter this week but nothing much to do with the fish itself but those chasing them. As I mentioned earlier, most are back at work so fewer people chasing them but probably the main reason this week was the weather which was less than ideal for the majority of the week and especially over the weekend.

Somebody turned on the easterly tap again and it just made it too messy offshore to put any time into trawling around. There were a couple of customers that found that window and said they didn’t have too many problems finding the tuna; getting them to take lures was a little more difficult and they resorted to casting all sorts of poppers, stick baits and even 3” white soft plastics.

The other report from them was nothing has changed, and they are in close and along the coast from the entrance to Cape Paterson.
Whiting were the main targets of the bay fishermen this week. While not everyone was successful, those who did report catches had some quality fish and good numbers as well.

This is where the scattered reports came from, with whiting coming from all corners of the bay. We had reports from the deep, shallow, boats and kayaks so a bit of everywhere and from everyone.

The weather dictated most of the time and if you wanted to fish it wasn’t always in the spot you were planning.

Generally, you can find somewhere to hide out of the wind in the bay to fish for whiting and one place to keep in mind is Boys Home Channel. The area is often overlooked but on a windy day and a low tide it’s a good place to hide to fish the last of the run out and the start of the run in.
Calamari were a by-catch from those chasing whiting, as they often are, with both living in the same areas. We had several reports from the boats but more from those off the land fishing the jetties and back beaches.

San Remo, Newhaven and Cowes jetties were the best with the Back Beach at Woolamai and Ventnor for the baited jigs so nothing too unusual.
The sizes of the calamari were good, and we haven’t seen too many of the very small ones this season and while they weren’t monsters, no one was complaining.

We are just putting the prize lists together for the Good Friday Appeal Easter Fishing Competition as sponsors come on board and hope to have at least the entry forms available by next weekend. It’s with the help of the sponsors that we are able to donate 100 per cent of the entry money to the Good Friday Appeal.

Shimano has come on board again and will sponsor all of the junior and small fry categories and several of our long-term sponsors will be supplying items for our Junior/Small Fry packs.

Victorian Fisheries have come on board also with Women in Recreational Fishing showbags for our lady entrants. The Westernport Hotel, a long-time sponsor, is going to be supplying vouchers for every one of our hourly draws over the weekend.

Each year we try and improve on the year before and this year we have taken a huge step thanks to the generous support of MR-S1GN in Leongatha.

While details will be announced over the coming weeks, if your boat hull is looking a little dull and could do with a brighten up and you know how to catch tuna or kingfish, this one is for you.

We have more sponsors coming on board daily and will soon be setting up a display in the window of the shop with the entries available soon.

For updates and other information about the weekend, keep an eye on our Facebook page or drop into the shop.