REPORTS of anglers catching Australian salmon to 2kg from Artillery Rocks on the Great Ocean Rd are a reminder of the joys of shore-based fishing.
On a summer's day, when the swell is down and the wind slight or offshore, shore-based anglers will be found fishing from rock ledges right along the coast.
Rock fishing is a double-edged adventure, encompassing the experience of being there, and the fishing.
At first glance, oceans appear as barren expanses of green water, rising and falling incessantly. On sunny days the surface mirrors the seabed: dark patches indicate reef and weed; lighter opaque water suggests sand.
The constant gazing required when fishing might seem monotonous to some but it brings moments of special reward - seeing salmon schools churning the surface to froth, a shark's dorsal fin silently slicing through the water or the noisy exhalation of a broaching whale.
For most Victorian anglers, the target species are bread and butter fish such as salmon, yelloweye mullet, silver trevally, sweep, garfish, King George whiting, barracouta and snapper. Also expect to encounter leatherjackets, wrasse, stingrays and an occasional shark.
Methods vary with species. Early morning and late afternoon are prime times for spinning for salmon or barracouta. In the case of the latter, and they have passed their peak in terms of numbers, you will need a short length of wire trace.
Salmon do not require a trace, and all you need is a 4-6kg spin outfit. My preference is for a fast action rod about three metres and metal lures like chrome slices, Twisties or Lazers starting from 56g to 80g.
If bait fishing is your preference, 7kg to 9kg outfits are about average. The rod should be about 3.5m long and capable of casting sinker weights up to 100 grams. Balance the outfit with a threadline reel about 7000 in size. Threadline or spinning reels are less troublesome than overhead reels.
A good bottom fishing rig is the fixed paternoster. This rig consists of a couple of leaders running off a main line that in turn is tied directly to a sinker. To avoid leader tangles on the main line use a single leader.
Hook size and shape varies to suit bait being used. If using pilchard pieces you will need a hook of about 3/0 to 4/0 in a Suicide pattern. But for baits like pipi or whitebait, hook size is reduced to No. 2 to 2/0. Use a medium length, straight shank hook pattern.
To avoid snagging, aim to put your bait in sand holes close to reef. On bright days these holes are easy to spot; on overcast days when the light is poor you will find a pair of polarising sunglasses with yellow lenses a boon.
Float fishing can account for almost every species except perhaps whiting. Your catch will depend on where you put your bait and your choice of bait.
Mussel or pipi under a float, kept in close to the wash, will attract sweep and garfish; fish fillets cast further out and set deep might attract snapper. Large bait such as a whole squid put beneath a balloon and allowed to drift offshore is most likely to attract a shark.
An effective method for catching many species including snapper, salmon, sweep and trevally is to free float baits into a wash spiced with berley. The system is basic: make up a berley of pilchard pieces, chook pellets and tuna oil and ladle the berley into the wash at intervals.
The action of the waves distributes the berley, which then attracts fish into the wash. Then it is simply a matter of feeding your bait down.
For both float fishing and free drifting baits the outfits should be lighter, suited to casting lighter weights than the outfit mentioned earlier. A medium action rod of 2.3-3m in length is fine. Because the rigs are much lighter you can use lighter lines.
