Around the Bay - Wednesday, March 16, 2022

With Jim’s Bait and Tackle

WE ARE starting to get plenty of entry forms back for our Good Friday Appeal Easter Fishing Competition and a quick add up over the weekend shows that just over half of the kids’ show bags are gone already, so be quick so your kids don’t miss out as we only have 50 kids bags.

Another sponsor that has come on board this year is the Women in Rec Fishing Network (WIRF) who are supplying 50 show bags for the first 50 adult ladies that enter. Even if you are not fishing, it’s worth entering just to receive one of these show bags. Don’t forget the hourly giveaway random draws as well, which everyone that enters is included in - fishing or not.

So, if you were going to donate to the Good Friday Appeal, why not enter to go into the draws? The giveaways are not all fishing tackle with local businesses like The Westernport Hotel, San Remo Co-op, the Vietnam Vets all donating vouchers for these draws and not forgetting the major prize draw donated by Phillip Island Helicopters.

For those who haven’t been a part of the competition before, we try to design it around the family just having a bit of fun over the weekend while giving to a cause that helped plenty of local families. There are categories for adults, juniors and small fries for heaviest of nominated species as well as a mystery weight so everyone gets to weigh something in. Thanks to Jason from Mr S1gns, we can also add the category of heaviest tuna or kingfish with the prize a boat wrap to the value of $1800.

It was described as a convoy of boats by several customers on Sunday morning all heading offshore to chase tuna, something we have seen a bit over the last couple of months. Although there was a lot of boats out there chasing them over the weekend, there were few frames at the boat ramp. It was just bad luck with the timing of the moon over the long weekend which wasn’t ideal for those wanting to land a tuna or two. I don’t think there’s any need to panic just yet. Reading my diaries from last year, we were still getting tuna reports well into April.

Having said that, tuna are that species of fish that are here one minute and gone the next, so if you are still wanting to chase one I would consider looking at late next week into next weekend which will be your best chance. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, and we did get several tuna reports over the last week with everyone saying they had to use every bit of their experience to get them to bite.

Gummies, flathead, couta, pinkies and monster salmon were also reported from offshore with the flathead still continuing their trend of being a bit deeper than usual - 40m to 50m the best depth and between the eastern entrance and Kilcunda bridge the best area.

Sizes have been good and quantity ok at times but a little moving needed back over a school to get your bag. The pinkies and gummies were reported from the reefs around Kilcunda, Powlett and Coal Point with the couta and salmon to almost 4kg travelling with the schools of bait and tuna.

Reports from in the bay are difficult at the moment with everyone offshore chasing tuna and not as many as normal fishing in the bay. Those who are fishing in the bay however are finding some quality fish and seems plenty of them. The main species in the bay are calamari, whiting, snapper (pinkies) and gummies and while gummies are a little quieter the rest have been very good.

What we are finding from the reports is everyone telling us that sizes are all over the place and very mixed, especially the whiting. Pinkies are always that way but as several customers have told us it’s just a little more noticeable; one minute you catch one that is barely 10cm long then a 45cm one jumps on. It makes for an interesting day’s fishing but shows the health of the bay at the minute with so many nursery fish around.

The best for the pinkies are around the corals in all corners and both deep or shallow. A simple paternoster rig, size 2/0 to 4/0 hook and squid or pilchard for bait with enough lead to get to the bottom but be ready they will often hit it on the way down and if you don’t see it, you will be fishing with baitless hooks wondering why you aren’t getting any bites.

Whiting haven’t been as easy as the pinkies but a bit of moving and you will finish up with a feed for the day. From the reports, I would start in the shallows for the middle of the tides and head to the deep for the changes. While that wasn’t the case for every day, more often than not it was the reports we were getting.

The whiting have also been very mixed in size and we are not getting the reports of a dozen or so high 30cm ones in a session anymore. While several over 40cm showed up, the same bag contained them as small as low 30cm and everything in between.

If you are heading out for a fish in the bay, just remember the Rhyll boat ramp is closed until September so things are a little busy at Newhaven and patience is needed.

While you are heading to your favourite spot, don’t forget to travel a bit slower, drop a lure or two in the water and you just don’t know what you might pick up for bait. We have had plenty of couta and salmon reported with the salmon reaching over 2.5kg.

With so many tuna and kingfish around, mostly offshore, there has been a few reports of them spotted in the bay and even caught towards the entrances inside the bay as well so while you have your salmon lures out, drop a skirt or hard body in also.