Around the Bay - Tuesday, March 8, 2022

With Jim’s Bait and Tackle

AS CHILDREN, we are taught to ask questions and not necessarily just follow like sheep but become our own person and think.
It would appear that many adult fishermen forget these values and just become sheep.

While it doesn’t really apply to land-based fishing, when you own a boat you need to know more than how to turn the key. Apart from the obvious needing to know how to launch and retrieve, and all the rules on the waterways, especially in Western Port, you need to understand when it is and when it isn’t safe to venture out.

Compared to many places, Western Port can be very safe even in moderate winds if you are fishing in the correct place. Wind and tide are what you need to learn and while many reading this will know what to do, it’s the influx of visitors we will have over the next month that might find some help with this.

Without going into pages of text, wind with tide flattens the wave, wind against tide makes it stand up. Learn your tide, wind and where you can fish will become obvious once you look at a map; just remember the tide will turn and might make that spot dangerous.

While the weather forecasters get it right at least once a week, check the forecast and then open the window and have a look - speak to a local, too. If still unsure, don’t venture too far from the ramp; there are dozens of fishing spots close to the Island’s ramps.

The excitement of the possible catch and the need to justify your drive to get to the water aren’t really a good reason for putting yourself or others in danger. We are finding this situation at the moment with the bluefin tuna that have been around for the last couple of months. It’s an old one, but if I had a dollar for every time I have been told, “never fished here, but we have fished for tuna plenty of times at Portland and Bermagui - we know what we are doing offshore”, I wouldn’t have to work.

There are hundreds of boats heading offshore weekly at the moment with the large majority having never ventured offshore before. This part of Bass Strait is a very unique waterway and a 10knot wind, in a certain direction offshore can be equivalent to a 30knot plus wind in the bay.

Again, without going into pages of text, we don’t have any depth to the water here. Not much over 70m all the way to Tasmania so we don’t get those long rolling swell that are spaced out twice as far as they are tall. We get a very short, sharp swell that can be taller than the spacing between them. Many also forget, like the bay, the entrances and the first few kms offshore are heavily influenced by the tides.

Both the bay and offshore can be very safely fished and the rewards can be a feed of fish for the next few weeks - it just needs to be done at the right times. We can help with when and where if you are new to either but prefer to have that conversation in the shop and not on the phone where we can show you on a map.

The other part of this is courtesy which I mention often and is probably the biggest complaint to the shop. It starts at the boat ramp but doesn’t stop there. Offshore, it is a big problem with lures being run over, fish cut off and people following so close you need to bring your lure in a bit closer so you don’t lose them.

Just a couple of things to help a heated situation: give boats plenty of room, don’t trawl through the middle of the school of fish, skirt the edges or stop and cast into it. If someone is fighting a fish, they don’t need to have a conversation with you or have you trawl 5m away from them and I could go on forever.

The bay is no different. Just because you see a boat stopped, doesn’t mean he knows where the fish are, it just means that’s where he wants to fish so they don’t need you parked 2m off their bow or stern.

It simply goes back to my opening lines: don’t be sheep, research and think for yourself. I had been asked by several customers, to mention the above, who are very concerned with what they are seeing on the waterways at the moment, fearing a situation where someone might not go home to their loved ones for the sake of a fish.

The weather didn’t allow for a lot of fishing this week but the tuna have gone a little crazy again and the hype that was starting to phase out has been ignited again and droves of people hit the water, especially Friday, majority finding plenty of schools of fish.

Again, most that got out of bed early before the rest of the crowds on sunrise were the ones who seemed to do the best. Most of the captures we saw were all between 12kg and 30kg with a variety of lures and methods again.

Fishing is considered a recreational past time but to be more successful it’s almost like a sport - put in the work and you will be rewarded. Good catches of flathead offshore and the salmon are some of the biggest we have seen and more like northeast coast ones. A couple of gummies and pinkies with one customer hooking up twice on freight train kings they just couldn’t land.

Those who stayed back in the bay didn’t have a lot of trouble finding whiting or pinkies, they just had problems finding ant type of consistency. The quality of both was good, it’s just the frustration of catching your bag one day then struggling to find six fish the next - that’s just fishing I guess and if it was all too easy we would get tired of it and do something else.

Entries are now open for our Good Friday Easter fishing competition. Joining is easy. You can call the shop, email the shop, send us a message on Facebook or Instagram or just come in store to sign up.

Fishing for a cause this Easter

THE 6th Annual San Remo Easter Fishing Competition, hosted by Jim’s Bait & Tackle, is back this year over the Easter long weekend.

From Good Friday to Easter Monday, entrants drop the pik and compete across three age categories: small frys, junior and adult.

A new adult sub-category of tuna and kingfish has been added this year, too.

With 100 per cent of entry fees going towards the Good Friday Appeal, whether fishing is a hobby or side thought, it’s worth getting around this worthwhile cause.

A family fun weekend for all, there is a fantastic selection of door prizes - donated by local businesses - up for grabs, with the major prize a Phillip Island Helicopter Flight for Two.

Local restaurant vouchers and fishing and tackle packs are also amongst the mix.

Plus, for the first time, in conjunction with Women in Recreational Fishing (WIRF), the first 50 women to register will receive a WIRF show bag; kids don’t miss out either, with the first 50 kids also receiving a show bag.

Last year saw 200-plus competitors from around Victoria compete and more than 50 per cent of those were kids.

So, it’s anyone’s game with fishing from boats, kayaks, jetties and beaches all fair game.

Individuals and family tickets are available over the phone or at Jim’s Bait & Tackle’s new abode at 90 Back Beach Rd, San Remo.

Keep an eye on Jim’s Bait & Tackle Australia socials for up-to-date details.

Grab your rod and don’t be a doughnut this Easter!