Big snapper back on the bite

THEY''RE BA CK: Jovica ''John Uzur'' with his 10.58kg snapper from Corio Bay''s inner-harbour.

All the talk over the past week has centred on the big winter snapper biting in Corio Bay.

Jovica ‘John’ Uzur ventured out under the cover of dark to try his luck in the inner-harbour and was rewarded with four winter reds ranging in size from around 6kg to a whopping 10.58kg.

Anglers hoping to try their luck should fishing after dark over a tide change with very light or even unweighted rigs with baits like silver whiting, pilchard and squid strips.

King George whiting also appeared in good numbers throughout the inner-harbour, especially at Stingaree Bay. Pippies on light paternoster rigs helped some anglers take a dozen or so fish pushing 40cm.

Squid were caught off over the weed beds in 3m to 5m of water off St Leonards. Size 3 to 3.5 jigs in colours like pilchard, King George whiting and plain white all worked.

Trevally were caught in the Queenscliff Harbour cut on soft plastics around slack water. The Gulp turtleback worm and Z-man grubs were productive on fish close to 50cm.

The salmon fishing along the coast was good, with fish around 1.5kg taken from rock platforms and beach gutters. Casting 30g to 60g metal lures worked well anywhere from Moggs Creek to Marengo beach.

The Glenelg River fired at Nelson for mulloway up to 85cm. Both lures and bait worked, with Cody Carruthers catching several fish while fishing squid baits well upstream through the dark.

Other anglers also report fantastic sessions, catching mulloway, bream and estuary perch while casting lures toward the river’s edge from kayaks.