Around the Bay - Tuesday, May 24, 2022

With Jim’s Bait and Tackle

LAST week didn’t start at all that fresh; there were some easterlies, it rained on and off and there was not a big window of fishing - not to mention the piercing cold.

But then came Thursday and from there the weather was turned right up to perfect. Although the new shop doesn’t have the view of the water anymore and we can’t see up the bay, the trees opposite the new shop only moved when a bird landed on the branches. The sky was clear all weekend, there was barely a ripple on the water and our customers flocked to their fishing gear too in hopes of finding a fish, and most did!

There was a good number of whiting throughout the week, a lot from the deeper waters at the top of the bay. Traditionally, the winter whiting we see this time of year are nice, fat and generally a bit bigger in size. The majority of those who went out fishing did bag out and within a smaller amount of time with little moving around and bait swaps, the average whiting size for the week was around 45cm with a few bigger 50cm ones from Silverleaves.

The reports for the tuna have still been coming in the last couple of weeks with two, one just under and the other just over the 100kg mark towards the windmills. There has been a good, decent hand full of reports of smaller tuna (under 20kg) more towards Cape Schanck. The sighting has been in good numbers and there have also been some nice images coming through from people’s sounders. But they’re on the bottom and those who have tried later in the week have not had huge amounts of success drawing them up.

Salmon still remain the main species alongside the whiting for catches of the month. The good number and the decent sizes continue to be caught daily from both land and in the boats. Those big 4kg-5kg Aussie Salmon have returned in more consistent number in the boat this week, off of Newhaven Jetty and now moving down the coast the Inlet at Inverloch. Currently, there is no favourable lure/rig, magic bait or size, the salmon are hungry, and they will just about take whatever you throw in front of them.

I don’t like to complain, but this has happened way too many times this week to not make mention of it. When you go to the mechanic, you drop your car off, tell them about that noise it makes and then leave. What you don’t do is ask the mechanic what grease they use, or what brand socket they use. You take your car to the mechanic to get fixed. We own a tackle shop, no we didn’t have to study to work here but we have had the shop for almost two decades now, why do people think that we are any less qualified to offer them advice than a mechanic about a car? Sadly, multiple times this week I have had customers come in, ignore my offer of assistance and then go and ask my customers for help. This not only makes me look incompetent to other customers but makes you feel like just another salesperson; I even had one customer come in, ask me if “the man” was working and then leave when I said no. And for my customers that say “ask them mate, they work here”, I appreciate it!

In case you haven’t been on our Facebook page lately, we have resumed our off-season auctions that we do. Traditionally, every Monday and Tuesday we offer some products that people on our social media bid against each other, majority of the time scoring a great bargain. The auctions are generally focussed on current species and trends, they start at 6.30pm and go through to 9pm. Drop in next Monday and check it out (Facebook only).

Just a reminder to everyone, whale season has officially started now they are here; if driving around near the entrance or out the front in the boat, knock back a few knots and slow down. There is going to be a lot of people, and the wildlife boats on the water looking for them and they do have a habit of just popping up at random times, and that’s not something you want to hit going fast.