Tough conditions have not been making it easy for anglers to venture out in search of a fish as of late but for those making the most of the small windows of opportunity, there have been some impressive captures being reported.
Inside the bay, flathead stood out this week with some impressive numbers.
Anglers drifting with baits such as pilchard fillets and strips of squids have been doing well pretty much anywhere in the bay between 5 to 8 metres of water. You can anchor up and burley however drifting is a great way to cover ground.
Alcoa Pier has still been offering some consistent fishing as of late with Australian salmon, pinkie snapper and flathead.
Casting soft plastics along the structure has been by far the most effective method for success but you will still pick up some nice fish on bait also.
Moving more into the outer harbour and the seafood basket of variety continues for anglers fishing the south part of the bay with King George whiting, flathead, snapper, pike, salmon and calamari all still fishing very well. The spoil grounds (either one) has been holding good numbers of all species
mentioned, again soft plastics and baits have both been very effective. Fishing in 6 metres of water seems to be the sweet spot as of late. Calamari have been hanging in a bit shallower along the Curlewis bank in 3 metres of water with natural colour jigs proving to be the standout.
King George whiting have been on the chew between St Leonards and Queenscliff with better tides over the past week. Bag limit captures have been on offer with fish averaging mid to high 30s with a good percentage of fish in the 40s being landed. Gone Fishing Charters has been right in the thick of the action lately getting their customers on some nice fish.
The rip has continued to offer some sensational kingfish action this past week with both knife jigs and live baits dominating reports. Fishing the start of tides seems to be the most productive times of success with fish over a metre being landed. When jigging it does pay to have a variety of weights handy to accommodate the flow of the tides.