Welcome to the third ‘Off the Spool' a journal totally devoted to fishing Victoria.

Melbourne Fishing Report

The weather continues to be patchy and reports have accordingly been quiet, however a few big snapper have reportedly been caught. By mid to late October there should be very good reason to be out on the water chasing big red.

Port Philip Bay

Pinky snapper to 2kg are falling to well presented soft plastics around the reefs at Black Rock. Berkeley Bass Minnows in ‘pearl' colours and the Finniss Fish plastics in natural colours, salt & pepper, etc have accounted for most fish. 3 to 4 inch work best with the 4 inch believed to be attracting better pinkies.

There are big schools of baitfish in Port Phillip Bay. The northern section of the bay from Black Rock to Altona has seen schools of barracouta to around 40cm. Tailor have been caught around Hobson Bay near Princes and Station Piers and schools of salmon have been busting up off Williamstown.

Barracouta are plentiful in the bay at the moment. They make great bait for snapper and as a bonus are fun to catch on lures.

The Mornington pier continues to produce barracouta on lures and unweighted baits and squid on small jigs known as ‘drop shot jigs'. Further south at Rosebud there have been good squid to 1.4kg caught using prawn imitation jigs.

The Docklands has been very quiet again. Typical spring weather has seen the rain has come and gone very few days or so and just done enough to keep the water dirty with maintain a high concentration of fresh. A week or so of dry weather should see the bream get back on the chew.

The Maribyrnong River has suffered a similar fate with the rain shutting down the fish, however one angler managed a bag of 22 bream to 32cm all on soft plastics before the fresh moved in. Anglers can look forward to an improving outlook on the Maribyrnong as October and November should be prime month for bream in the river.

Western Port

Despite it being still a bit early for the snapper to be at full steam, Paul Worsteling reports that there have been three 20 pound snapper caught already this season in Western Port! One of these fish was caught recently in the North Arm between Stony Pt and Crawfish Rock. There have also been solid snapper in the 3 to 6kg range at various spots including Eagle Rock. The flood tide leading to the top of the tide is best.

Around the Eastern Entrance, southern calamari squid are in good numbers around the old Woolamai boat ramp and the San Remo Pier. The San Remo Bridge has seen bag limit of catches of king george whiting to 40 cm, afternoon has been the best time.

Offshore from the punchbowl a group of Cranbourne Fishing Tackle customers managed a seven gill shark of 47kg which took a whole stripey in 14m of water. They also missed three much bigger fish in the same session.

Thanks to Rudi of the Compleat Angler Melbourne Ph 9620 3320 and Paul Worsteling of Cranbourne Fishing Tackle Ph 5996 6500 who supplied much of the information in this report.

National 4x4 Show and Fishing Show & Outdoor Expo

Melbourne Exhibition Centre 21-24 October

The fishing and 4WD show is on again in October at Jeff's Shed. The show has been a regular on the calendar for over a decade and is always worth a look whether it be for boats, fishing tackle, 4WD or camping equipment it is an ideal way to spend some time browsing around getting ideas. There will also be a range of presenters talking about lures, destinations and of course how to catch big red.

Show hours:

Thursday 4-10pm

Friday 10am-10pm

Saturday 10am-10pm

Sunday 10am-6pm

Melb Fishing show : http://www.fishingshow.com.au/

Continued...

In Profile – Paul Worsteling

Particularly for a young bloke Paul Worsteling has achieved a great deal. He owns and runs two tackle stores; Cranbourne Fishing Tackle and Shimano World (Berwick), is the author of Fishing Westernport , has written many articles for magazines such as Modern Fishing and Saltwater Sport Fishing and for the past few years has been one of the presenters on the TV series Rex Hunt Fishing Adventures .

Here's a bit about Paul,

Born: Dandenong, Melbourne.

Lives: Berwick, Melbourne.

Current Occupation: Tackle Shop owner, fishing photojournalist & TV presenter.

Local fishing hole: Westernport, particularly the top end from Warneet to Land Lang. Good gummies, snapper and whiting, fillets of trevally and striped tuna the ideal bait.

Paul Worsteling with a thumping snapper he caught at Western Port.

Favourite Victorian fishing hole : Westernport again, “purely due to the variety of species, I have a 90% chance of catching up to ten different species and getting a feed”

First fish: Sand flathead of 25cm caught on a charter boat off Rye in Port Phillip Bay age 12.

Best fish: 275 pound mako shark caught on 25 pound line off Cape Woolamai using a trace of 100 pound line baited with two pilchards.

Best fishing experience: Rowley Shoals off the northern Western Australian coast. Paul and wife Christi caught 42 sailfish ranging from 20 to 70kg over a five hour period. The sails took both skip baits and lures, including a bibbed minnow. Christi landed one of the sailfish that ate a bare circle hook as the bait had been previously ripped off!

Favourite rod and reel set-up: Ian Miller Beast Buster rod and Shimano Stellar 400 reel spooled with 10 pound Fireline. This is Paul's choice due to its versatility.

First boat: 5.9m Seafarer with a Yamaha 140hp motor (bought from Rex Hunt). The very first boat he fished out of was his Dad's 585 Streaker.

Current boat: 580 Haines Hunter Breeze coupled with a Honda 135hp outboard.

How did you start Cranbourne Fishing Tackle?: “My part time job at school was at K-mart in the Garden section which I hated, after selling a fishing rod to my boss I got transferred to the sporting section. At 16 I was approached to help a friend Greg Duncan open a tackle shop ‘Cranbourne Bait & Tackle' and worked there unpaid for 12 months whilst still keeping the Kmart job. In the end I flicked Kmart and worked through the end of High school and then Uni where I was studying to be a PE teacher when I eventually was offered to buy the business. My parents mortgaged their house, for which I am forever grateful, and I established ‘Cranbourne Fishing Tackle' to where it is today”

What has been the greatest lesson from working on TV?: “I think I learnt that anything goes in fishing at times. I can recall being annoyed at catching an archer fish whilst fishing in the Top End, I hastily retrieved the fish only to have it devoured by a 20 pound groper right before my eyes. Also, I think filming for TV slows you down and makes you think about your fishing.”

Will you stay in TV post the end of Rex Hunt Fishing Adventures in 2004?: “Possibly, we are hoping to get a show off the ground with the TV network at the moment. Whilst Rex won't be involved he has thrown his full support behind us”

What is your opinion on VRFish?: “Don't have an opinion, not on the radar with me”.

Number one thing to change about the Victorian fishery?: “Can I have three; 1) remove professional fisherman from our estuaries, 2) introduce a no-take season for snapper whilst in spawning mode and 3) stock Hazelwood Pondage with barramundi, the water temp is around 27 degrees!”.

Cranbourne Fishing Tackle : www.ifish.com.au

270 South Gippsland Highway, Cranbourne, PH 03 5996 6500.

Shimano World : www.shimanoworld.com.au

New World Honda Centre , 518-552 Princes Hwy, Berwick. Ph 03 9704 2200.

Continued...

Victorian Water Storage levels 30 Sept 2004

Blue Rock 82%
Cairn Curran 22%
Dartmouth 50%
Eildon 40%
Eppalock 11%
Fyans 31%
Glenmaggie 99%
Hume 45%
Pykes Creek 26%
Newlyns 91%
Mulwala 97%
Malmsbury 21%
Rocklands 12%
Toolondo 0%
Wartook 95%

Holiday Hotspot: Lake Hume, the freshwater mixer

One of the largest man-made impoundments in Australia, Lake Hume was formed by the damming of the Murray River in 1936. Fed by the Murray and Mitta Mitta rivers, that are often boosted by snow melt in late spring, the lake covers some 18,645 hectares. Lake Hume is the recreational playground of the twin border towns of Albury (NSW) and Wodonga (VIC). You've got the lot at Hume with both introduced and natives species. This is something to please the zealouts of both sides of the argument between the two factions that often rages on internet sites.

‘X' marks the spot. That's fairly close to the truth as the sunken trees scattered throughout Lake Hume are prime spots to try for Murray cod, redfin and golden perch.

The introduced species include trout, redfin and carp. The trout are mostly browns and one of the best methods is to troll Tassie Devils (pink and blue works for me) in the deeper sections of the lake during winter and early spring. The higher the lakes level the better. Redfin are caught on bait (yabbies near the trees) but can also be trolled using ultra deep diving lures that literally plough the bottom stirring up mud which attracts the reddies. The best depth is around 20 to 25 feet with some excellent fish on offer around the 1kg mark. The much maligned European carp is abundant in Lake Hume, but don't despair, if you're a budding fly fishing enthusiast then there is no better target than a hungry carp to teach you the art of hooking a fish on fly.

In recent years, Hume has become renown for big golden perch with some specimens weighing in at a hefty 9kg, this is the result of many years of successful stocking. Whilst the traditional method is to tie up to a tree and drop live yabbies down to the fish, many anglers troll deep diving lures around the lake's margins, particularly around rocky points that shelve into very deep water. Murray cod are on the increase in Hume, you'll know when if you've hooked a cod when a big yabby gets devoured at the base of a tree and you become ‘snagged'!

From 1 September 2004, Lake Hume has been designated a Victorian water. After years of confusion as anglers tried to work out if they are on the NSW or Victorian side to ensure a valid fishing licence, the two state governments got together and worked out a compromise. Hume is governed by Victoria and Lake Mulwala further west along the Murray River by NSW.

Fast Facts – Lake Hume is approximately 300km from Melbourne via the Hume Highway. There is ample accommodation available at Albury or Wodonga, plus a host of excellent caravan and camping parks and resorts right on the lake's shores. Boat ramps cover most areas of the lake, but check to ensure lake levels are sufficient to launch a boat, especially without a 4WD. Bluey Williams of Blueys Bait & Tackle is the local man in the know, his tackle store is in Thomas Mitchell Drive, Wodonga Ph 0260 561 259.

Bend a rod

Reidy

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