If you were fortunate, you could join up with someone who knew how to fish. In my early days, that person was my father. I don’t know where his skills came from, but what he did have was passion, not only fishing knowledge. And I, too, had a desire to fish.
This was eventually reinforced when I met and learnt from a fellow named Bob Darley, a man who not only fished but was one of the finest makers of fishing rods. I have rods suitable for trout and smaller fish, a fine cod rod, a two-piece surf rod, several snapper rods and one game rod. I have fished with a number of brands over the years, but without a doubt, I prefer using my Mako rods and my Bob Darley creations. Bob also taught me how to match the rods to reels and lines.
In most cases, he recommended braid, but he would use monofilament on other occasions. Both lines have different characteristics — braid does not stretch and is best for deep-water fishing, while mono is stretchy, and I use it for cod fishing and most shallow freshwater fishing. I also use heavy mono as a loader, and braid if it is bitten or dragged on rocks and other hard structures, but when fishing deep, its sensitivity transmits a bit to the angler. I like to set the drag on the reel at a third of the line-breaking strain; this puts enough weight on the fish to tire it during the fight but saves your rod and line from breaking under the weight and strength of the fish.
I also like to rinse my gear in clean, fresh water, but sometimes I use a solution of dishwashing liquid if I have been fishing in salt water, then air dry the equipment afterwards. While it has been some time since Bob passed, his teachings remain with me, so now I can pass his knowledge on to future anglers and hope they can gain as much from his words as I have.
Fishing in and around our region is improving as river levels return to normal summer levels and flow. This being the case, the fishery has seen anglers hooking up with more regularity. There are plenty of cod, but primarily juvenile fish; some keepers are reported among the catch, but remember size and bag limits.
The Goulburn between Seymour and Nagambie has been fishing well, with both baits and lures gaining good results — the usual baits: worms, shrimp, yabbies and grubs. Among the traditional baits are cheese and chicken, which are worth a try. In the Goulburn, frog pattern diving lures in dark green and black with spinner baits and surface lures are worth a try, too.
It is a similar story in the Murray River, the Ulupna Island area, Thompsons Beach at Cobram, Broken River and Broken Creek. Fish lure and bait around the snags for the best results. Cod are also on the bite at Eildon; fish the river arms with surface lures at dusk and use large deep-diving lures in front of the wall.
What do you say to a feed of redfin? It’s that time of year to fish for redfin again, and Waranga Basin is one of the top spots. Redfin like a moving bait, so drifting a bait will be one of the better methods. Shrimp, yabbies and worms work well, as do lures and soft plastics.
You will do better from a boat, but you can fish from the banks; it is slower, but you can still catch fish.
Lake Hume is worth fishing for redfin, as is among the trees at Eildon.
The rivers and streams in the north-east are the spots to fish for trout, along with Dartmouth Dam, where the best time is early morning and dusk.
It is time to go saltwater fishing, and at Queenscliff, Rod Lawn has hit the action big time. Last week, I mentioned there were signs of kingfish. This past week, Rod boated plenty of kingfish — and big ones at that. They have been providing anglers with some of the best kingfish fishing for a number of years.
Called hoodlums, kingfish pound for pound are among the toughest fish and will fight all the way to the boat. Kingfish are also great table fish and are great for eating.
Rod was catching pinky snapper, salmon, flathead, whiting and couta. Offshore, there are tuna, but only when they are in the mood to go on the bite, along with mako sharks and blue sharks. There are also gummy sharks among the dive sites off Ocean Grove and the bluff of the mouth of Barwon River.
Rod says apart from the kingfish, the fishing in Western Port Bay is producing snapper, flathead, whiting and gummy sharks in the deeper waters off Cowes.
North of the border at Eden, John Liddell says the fishing was mainly along the inshore reefs from Boyd’s Lookout to Green Cape, while offshore, there are tuna and some marlin when the water temperature is suitable.
Graham Cowley at Narooma says it was a similar story off Montague Island. When it was too rough to go outside, there were bream and large flathead around the oyster lease with luderick (known as blackfish) along the rocky walls.
James Luddington, at Flinders Island in the Bass Strait, reported good hauls of flathead, gummy sharks, salmon and kingfish.
Now that school is back and most of the holidays are over, most people have returned to work. You must be vigilant on the roads and with COVID-19, sun protection, snakes and blue-green algae, but otherwise, it will be fine.
Have a good time — and enjoy fishing.
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