Crackdown on fishing offenses

When it comes to caring for our fisheries and ensuring they’re in great shape for future generations, we can all do our bit. That’s exactly what one person did recently when they called the 13FISH offence reporting service about suspicious activity in the intertidal zone at Walkerville North.

Fisheries Officers were on patrol nearby and responded, watching the two people for a short time before they left the reef platform and headed for their car. The pair were intercepted by officers and allegedly found with 75 blacklip abalone. One of the people allegedly had more than 10 times the daily bag limit of five abalone in their possession.

Officers were able to return all the abalone to the water alive following the apprehension, and the duo will be charged on summons with a variety of offences.

Local Fisheries Officer Steph said the call to 13FISH made all the difference,

Also, some excellent ‘chooks’ weighing well over 1kg have been caught on trolled lures close to shore, along with plenty of smaller specimens to 1kg.

The big news is the sheer size of the tiger trout in the lake at present. Fat as a well-fed pig, and pulling the scales down to well over 2kg, the tigers are what anglers are really concentrating on, closely followed by the Chinooks. Trolling in around 8m depth or static bait fishing in 20m of water using pilchard baits has been successful for many.

Lake Purrumbete has seen a few trophy browns averaging between 8-9lb caught on minnow lures cast towards the weed beds, with dusk being the prime time to cast a line. Schools of redfin have been found holding around 8-10m, but they have been finicky at best. Some of occasions, catching them on soft plastics, small hardbodied lures and Bent Minnows. Pete said he has been mainly fishing along the wall, finding clear pockets of water in amongst the weeds. He actually had to walk away from some areas, as the small redfin were smashing the lures or plastics every cast, and the bigger ones didn’t get a chance. One session, the little guys were smashing the lure every cast. Peter found that if he cast out further, that’s where the bigger ones were, and they ate the lures or plastics before the little guys were able to.

Tullaroop Reservoir is still nearly full, and there have been plenty of anglers chasing both redfin and a feed of yabbies. The redfin appear to not be in the deeper water; 3-5m has boaters have been getting a feed or two of mostly small fish, whilst other anglers have been struggling to catch anything. Suspending a live minnow just above the bottom weed growth has been the best approach, as jigging can result in many lures or jigs coming up with attached weed. been the best depth. Guys have been sounding the redfin up, then targeting them with plastics, vibes and bobbers. If you are able to find the schools, it’s a matter of weeding the little guys out to allow for the bigger models to then eat your lure. because they would not have otherwise spotted the two people given the reef’s unusual topography at low tide.

The Mount Emu Creek has had some good browns to 900g taking surface and sub surface minnow lures, whilst some bait anglers have been scoring some excellent golden perch in excess of 2kg. Now these are, of course, introduced fish that have either escaped from farm dams during flood times, or escaped from an initial release from Lake Bolac back in the 1990s, down an overflow creek and into the upper Hopkins. Who knows? But they are there to stay.

Anglers who have been chasing a feed of yabbies have been having mixed results, a bit like the fishing. I’ve been told Fisheries officers have been checking that anglers’ pots have been marked with their names and addresses, and also that they are complying with the bag limits. If you don’t know all the rules and regulations, they can be found on the Victorian Fishing Authority website at www.vfa.vic.gov.au.

We know the Ovens River is one of Victoria’s best for Murray cod, and that most anglers do the right thing so it stays that way for future generations. However, last month Fisheries Officers were disappointed to find a man with five undersize cod measuring between 40-48cm downstream of Wangaratta near Peechelba. The daily bag limit for cod in rivers is one, and the minimum size is 55cm (maximum size 75cm).

Officers seized the fish and the man will receive fines totalling more than $1000 for taking undersize fish and more than the catch limit.

If you see or suspect illegal fishing, call 13FISH (133474). You can speak directly to a Fisheries Officer and remain anonymous if you wish.

For more information on bag limits and other regulations, visit vfa. vic.gov.au. – Victoria. Fisheries Authority