HOTTEST bite this week is in Western Port, where the annual run of large female gummy sharks is migrating into the bay.
Anglers have been catching them up to 33kg, with 14kg a good average size for some.
Rod Mackenzie reports Kangaroo Lake near Swan Hill has small Murray cod and redfin to 450g being caught on shrimp, worms and yabbies.
The Murray River at Swan Hill is producing Murray cod to 70cm on lures. The Wakool River has cod to 65cm taking bait and lures, and in the Edward River, Murray cod to 80cm are taking bait. Mildura has yellowbelly to 1.5kg being caught on small lures and shrimp.
At Eildon, Gary Constantine reports that yellowbelly to 2.2kg and redfin to 750g are being caught on yabbies in Lake Eildon.
Most of the yellas are coming from Wilsons Inlet; the redfin are concentrated around dead timber.
The Big River is fishing well for small rainbow trout and redfin on Celta lures and Red Tag flies. Eildon Pondage is slow for rainbow trout to 1kg on Powerbait.
In the Western District, Doug Lucas says Lake Purrumbete is producing good catches of redfin to about 900g.
However, the trout fishing is slow with small numbers of brown and rainbow trout to 1.5kg being caught downrigger trolling Nos. 60 and 61 Lofty lures. Lake Wurdiboluc is consistently producing redfin to 1kg and brown trout to 2kg.
The trout are being caught along the southern shore on Black Woolly Bugger flies fished at sunset. The Gellibrand River is producing brown trout to 3kg on small, hard body lures.
Southern bluefin tuna from 25kg to 40kg are being caught offshore from Portland to Port MacDonnell. Doug reports that Aire River, Princetown and Clifton beaches are steady for salmon to 1kg and pinkies to 40cm.
Gummy sharks to 1.1m are being caught at Princetown. Bream to 42cm and yelloweye mullet are taking peeled prawns and garden worms in the Aire River. Along the Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay, anglers are catching mako sharks offshore, and King George whiting to 900g over the inshore reefs.
In Port Phillip Bay, Brett Terossi says King George whiting from 32 to 40cm are being caught in many areas including Clifton Springs, Point Wilson, Point Cook, Mt Eliza and Mt Martha. Mussel, squid and pipi the best baits. Calamari squid are back on the bite on the south side of Mornington. Mick Kaksa reports snapper to 3kg are being caught off Williamstown and Altona.
In South Gippsland, Brendan Wing from Think Big Charters reports gummy sharks to 33kg are being caught in Western Port in about 21m of water along the Western Channel. During the past week, 21 gummy sharks from 14kg to 33kg have been caught and released by Think Big.
Baits include salmon, squid and eel. King George whiting to 45cm are taking mussel, pipi and squid baits in many areas.
In the Gippsland Lakes, the Mitchell, Tambo and Nicholson Rivers are producing flathead and bream on local prawns and soft plastic lures.
Lakes Entrance has bream, flathead, mullet and garfish being caught. Lake Tyers is producing bream on peeled prawn and pilchard, flathead on lures and luderick on weed.
At Marlo, the estuary has luderick, bream estuary perch, silver trevally and mullet biting on local prawns.
The surf beaches are producing a mixed bag that includes tailor, mullet, silver trevally, flathead, salmon and gummy sharks. At Mallacoota Inlet, bream are biting in the Top Lake and Genoa River on prawns.
