Port Phillip Bay & other locations
1 March 2010
Fishing Report With Paul Pingiaro from:
Mornington Boat Hire, and
Track Air Adventures
Summer is officially over and now as the leaves start to change so does the fishing.
March is a time for whiting, squid, sharks and the return of snapper.
Last week I fished out of Stony Point with some clients and we managed to land gummy sharks to 7kg and snapper to 1.5kg. We found the best bait was garfish and squid. Whiting in Western Port Bay have been very good with bag limit catches very common, the best bait has been mussels and squid. The best locations have been Hastings, Tyabb and Stony Point.
In Bass Straight anglers can expect to catch mako, blue, gummy and school sharks as well as flathead and squid. The best place to start is in 50 meters of water and work out to 70 meters.
Port Phillip Bay is alive at this time of year. Gummy sharks, snapper, squid, whiting, salmon, garfish and even kingfish are regular captures this time of year. This week I saw all of these species landed except kingfish, but with the addition of silver trevally, leather jackets and flathead.
Gummy sharks in Port Phillip bay are best targeted over the snapper grounds and channel edges. The best times are change of tide and the best baits are Squid, Garfish and Salmon.
Snapper at this time of year are found in locations like Morrisons Reef (Mt Martha), The Spoil Ground (Mt Martha), 4 kilometres out off Fishermans Beach Mornington, and 19 meters of water out from Schnapper Point Mornington. The best baits are squid, pilchards, silver whiting and Garfish. Burley is essential and the best times are the change of tide in the morning or evening.
Whiting are very common this time of year and bagging a brace in Port Phillip Bay is as simple as anchoring over a weed bed or reef edge. The best rig is a running sinker model sporting a size 4 or 6 longshank or 6 to 8 wide gape hook. The best baits are Mussels, Squid, Pippies and sand worms. Places to try include Safety beach (near the Mussel Farm), Mt Martha (Bird Rock), Mornington (Mills Beach) and Mt Eliza (Sunny Side Beach).
Squid are very common at the moment. Reefs that lay in 2-6 meters of water should be holding these cephalopods. Mt Eliza, Mornington and Mt Martha are all experiencing a good run. The best jig size has been in the 1.5 – 2.5 range and the best colours have been red, blue, rust and pink.
Mornington pier has also been fishing well with Snapper to 2kg, squid, whiting, garfish, trevally and red mullet all common captures. Best times have been early mornings and late afternoons.
Till next week Tight lines and Calm Seas
Paul
www.trackairadventures.com -Track Air Adventures
www.fishingmornington.com - Mornington Boat Hire, Bait and Tackle
www.trackairadventures.com -Depart on your ultimate adventure
Mobile: 0417 551 373
See previous Pingiaro report here. |
