Feeding frenzy at waterfront

Jiles and Rory with a pair of barrels. (supplied)

Windy conditions this past week have caused a bit of a feeding frenzy inside the Geelong waterfront with a large variety of species on the chew.

Anglers fishing either landbased or from a boat have been getting stuck into snapper, salmon, flathead, trevally, tailor and snotty nose trevally.

Soft plastics yet again are proving to be the most effective technique with Berkley Powerbait Grubs and Nemesis being the standouts. Anglers fishing with bait have also been having some great success with pipis on a running sinker rig proving irresistible.

King George whiting remain on the chew right across the peninsula. Grassy Point has been having some good reports coming in with anglers finding bags of fish up to 40cm.

Around the corner St Leonards and Queenscliff have again been the standout locations if you’re chasing a feed of whiting.

Calamari reports have started to come in for the big ones inside the Queenscliff bight, still not quite the time of year we typically see them come in with big numbers but it’s great to see some fish starting to show up there.

Size 3.5 jigs are the must have and in faster moving tide, an additional jig weight is a handy piece of tackle to have on you.

Silver whiting on a squid spike is an old but very proven method to land the big ones, probably the best. Taking a variety of jigs and baits is a great habit to be in when fishing spring time for big calamari in the bight.

If you are landbased, then casting off Bell Reef behind the football field is a great spot to fish.

Lake Bullen Merri has been a hotspot for land based anglers this past week with the east side of the lake holding fantastic numbers of tiger trout, rainbow trout and chinook salmon. Fishos casting long distance lures such as spoons and Tassie devils have proved lethal over the past few week. Bait fishing has also been getting plenty of bites with glassies and powerbait doing well, the ultimate is live minnow caught from the lake.

The west coast barrel bite has still been going strong with plenty of reports from right across the coast from Apollo Bay right through to Port Mac. Trolling 8-10” skirts have been doing most of the damage with live bait and divers picking up fish also.