Whiting flock to Stingaree Bay

Matt Vanjek with a haul of whiting. (supplied)

The inner harbour has been offering some good fishing again this week with Stingaree Bay proving to be a standout for a variety of species, especially King George whiting.

Anglers fishing in this area in depths from 2 to 4 metres have been finding good numbers of whiting on the chew.

Although not quite the size and quality as Clifton Springs they certainly are in great numbers. Burley goes a long way in here or pilchard cubes in a metal pot of pellets thrown into the water, they both really help.

It’s well worth having some bigger baits out as there has also been good numbers of flathead, salmon and pinky snapper cruising about the whiting grounds at the moment. Further inside Corio Bay, Australian salmon have been holding in good numbers around the Corio Quay area.

Typically sitting a bit below the surface all the way to the bottom but at some particular times they can be seen busting the surface attacking small baitfish.

The outer harbour has continued to offer some exceptional King George whiting fishing with reports showing no sign of slowing down with anglers reporting daily with bag limits being landed.

Anywhere from Point Henry all the way to Portarlington in that 3.5 to 4 metre range has been amongst some hot action with fish to over 40cm being thrown into the mix. Again burley helps with the best baits being pipis and squid. Calamari remain a viable fishing option with these suckers still holding in good numbers amongst the shallows. 3.0 size jigs in both natural and bright colours are working well.

Swan Bay has still got some good garfish reports coming through to anglers fishing either the pier or in a boat. A steady and consistent burley trail is key to chasing these guys with just a tiny piece of bait suspended under a pencil float. Pipis, pilchard and prawn are great baits.

Being Swan Bay it definitely pays to put some other baits out for other fish as just about every fish that lives in the bay lurks in here.

When the weather permits there is still some great fishing offshore Barwon Heads with pinky snapper and gummy sharks all in great numbers. Fishing with fresh blood baits like salmon or trevally are always a hot favourite and so too is squid. Can expect to also encounter a variety of other cool species in the grounds where the gummies are at the moment like swallow tail, nannygai

and big flathead.