MORNINGTON NEWS scoreboard
Drop a line inshore and offshore ON THE LINE By Paul “Tracker” Pingiaro WITH the recent great weather, we have seen the fishing really heat up. While snapper remains king, whiting, squid, gummy shark and other species are making their presence felt. Snapper will continue to get better over the next couple of weeks and then squid, whiting and gummy shark will start to dominate inshore, while offshore anglers will start to land mako and blue sharks. We are very lucky to have such great fisheries so close to a major capital city. Our future is in our hands and it’s up to us not to ruin it. Matt Hunt of Matthew Hunt Fishing Services (0419 760 510) reports: Snapper 2012 is in full swing and best baits are pilchard, silver whiting and squid so far this year with bigger fish often taking a liking to a whole gar or scad cast way out back. The fish are packed tight when feeding hard and quite often are up in the water column. This is when adjusting technique and bait type and size can make the difference between a couple of bites and not being able to keep a rod in the water. The fish are widespread and different schools in different areas are feeding at different times for different reasons. Fishermen I know have bagged at Black Rock in 8m, Ricketts Point 15m, 19m and 21m, Mordi 10m and 17m, Edithvale 13m and 15m, outer artificial reef, Aeroplane and Mt Eliza in 16m and 18m, Ansetts 17m and Mornington 21m.
Ready to snack: Paul Pingiaro Snr with a lovely snapper caught in Western Port. Picture: Paul Pingiaro Jnr
The hard shallow reefs 6m to 12m have been producing some great numbers of quality fish as well. Port Melbourne to Ricketts Point, and Frankston to Mt Martha have been
good. When fishing these areas, be mindful of kayaks and small tinnies as their lack of height and or light can make them very hard to see. Soft plastics have started working
well at times. The best we have found is nuclear chicken or pilchard imitation but the way they are feeding has made them a challenge to work out some days. For those venturing out in the kayaks for a bit of a “yak attack”, Fishermans Beach (Mornington), Kilburn Reef (Mt Martha), Sunnyside (Mt Eliza), Rickets Point and Rye have been some of the hotspots with anglers catching snapper, squid, salmon and flathead. Best results are on soft plastics. From the ramps: Anglers fishing Sorrento-Rye are doing well, taking squid, whiting and gummy shark. While the whiting and squid are in close on the shallow reefs and seagrass beds, the gummies are in the deeper water on the channel edges. Safety Beach to Mt Martha has seen good catches of flathead and a few good whiting, but the snapper and the squid have been a little inconsistent; they will only get better over the next few weeks. Mornington to Melbourne it’s all about the snapper; there are massive schools of fish and while not feeding all the time, they are providing some awesome fishing. While flathead, squid, whiting and gummy shark have been caught for most it’s all about the red fish. Beno Hallpike of Beno’s Fishing Adventures (youtube.com/user/Benos Fishing/featured) fished 9 metres off Sunnyside on Tuesday and caught 20 Australian salmon while casting a metal slice. Benno found the salmon by noticing garfish jumping out of the water.
Mornington Boat Hire customers have been chasing snapper, and as a result they have dominated the catch. While squid, flathead, salmon, whiting and gummy shark have been caught, most anglers have not targeted them. Best results have come in the early morning using pilchards, squid and burley. The best snapper fishing for Mornington and Mt Martha areas is still a week or two away. Jonny of Yaringa Boat Hire (0428 001 286) reports Western Port is fishing very well with snapper, gummy shark, whiting and salmon all happy to take baits. For snapper and gummy sharks Lysaghts, Eagle Rock and Joes Island have produced good results, especially on an outgoing tide and using burley, pilchards, squid and silver whiting. For whiting, Tyabb and Quail banks, Middle Spit and Watsons Inlet have been fishing well. A good mix of burley with mussel and pippie baits has been the best combination. Other fish about and on the chew have been leatherjacket, barracouta and pike. Tight lines and calm seas. Paul “Tracker” Pingiaro has been fishing since he could hold a rod and stay in the boat. He has boat hire businesses in Mornington and Yaringa Boat Harbour in Somerville. He has been a fishing writer for magazines and brings his knowledge to MP News Group for season 201213. Details: www.fishingmornington. com or www.western portboathire. com.au Email spbh@bigpond.com or 5975 5479.
CARS OF THE WEEK MITSUBISHI TRITON GL-R
$36,990 DRIVE AWAY
Log book service All mechanical repairs 4x4 service & repairs Quali¿ed mechanic Loan car available
Limited Edition GL-R pack includes... Driving lights, Towbar and nudge bar. 3 Tonne towing capacity.
MITSUBISHI LANCER ES WAS $24,990 NOW
$20,990 includes: Leather Wrapped 3TEERING 7HEEL s !"3 s #RUISE #ONTROL s !IRBAGS s !CTIVE 3TABILITY #ONTROL s !IR CONDITIONING s &ULL ELECTRICS s !UTO
$99 Minor service special!
5975.5229
323 MAIN STREET, MORNINGTON (Next to Safeway Service Station) PAGE 58
Mornington News 13 November 2012
(ABN Holders only, Excludes Govt & rental buyers. Manual, optional premium paint $495 extra)
Mornington Mitsubishi
J oin us on::
Including Capped Price Servicing
41 Tyabb Road, Mornington. | PHONE: 5975 5188 A/H (Simon) 0415 864 695 | www.morningtonmitsubishi.com.au