Welcome to the first 'Off the Spool', a column devoted totally to the fishing scene in Victoria. From fishing reports to location reviews, news, views and interviews, hopefully readers will get a snapshot of what's happening around Melbourne and Victoria.

Melbourne Fishing Report

August is typically one of the most difficult months of the year to get amongst the piscatorial action. Apart from the uncomfortable cold mornings and evenings the fish are often sluggish and not in good numbers. However for those willing to brave the cold the fishing around Melbourne can be surprisingly good.

Chris Burbidge with a lure caught bream from the Docklands.

The warm water outlet of the Newport Power Station is a traditional winter home for many land based anglers. This year the tailor have been a little quiet and often patchy with fish to 1kg caught. Spinning with silver wobblers or Lazer lures is the best method. There is no apparent reason for the lack of fish as the Power Station has been running consistently, the tailor simply haven't turned up in numbers like previous years.

There have been some small mulloway around, but the better action has been in a boat under the West Gate Bridge where anglers using live baits of mullet or fresh squid (caught off the reefs of Williamstown or Altona) and have been attacked by unstoppable big mulloway (jewfish). The best time is late at night in the vicinity of the bridge pylons. During the day, large minnow style lures such as the Rapala CD 13 or larger will possibly get some action but you need to put in the hours.

The Dockland and lower Yarra River have been fishing well throughout July for bream to 40cm plus. Minnow and soft plastic lures are effective. The bream are in good numbers along with a surprising number of 'pinky' snapper. The best snapper was a specimen of 4.3kg caught near the Bolte Bridge only a few weeks ago. Yes that's right, snapper in winter in the Lower Yarra River. Much like the winter snapper fishing in Corio bay, the lower Yarra/Docklands is producing fish to anglers bold enough to give it a go.

Port Phillip Bay has been generally quiet except for the abundance of calamari squid on the shallow reefs from Altona through to Black Rock. The squid are up to 2kg and will take prawn imitation jigs. Pinky snapper around 40cm are present around the reefs from Black Rock to Sandringham. Although not in big numbers the average fish are usually bigger than those encountered in the warmer months.

Thanks to Rudi Holzfend at the Compleat Angler in Melbourne for his contribution to this report. Future reports will also include more reports from around Victoria. I have heard though that the Ninety Mile Beach has been quiet at times with only the odd salmon being caught.

In Profile: Kraig Dixon

"Our worst nightmare" (Photo courtesy: Kraig Dixon)

Kraig Dixon is the Victorian Advocate of the Federal Branch of the Fishing Party. Kraig was reluctant to put himself into the spotlight but as I explained to him, anglers will be keen to know all the players behind the newly formed Victorian branch of the Fishing Party.

Born: Arizona, USA

Lives: Pakenham, Melbourne.

Occupation: Corporate Arbitrator

Local fishing hole: Phillip Island chasing flathead and calamari squid off the beach.

Favourite Victorian fishing hole: Lakes Entrance fishing for bream and Australian salmon.

Best fish: Chinook salmon of 7.5 pound caught in Canada.

Best fishing experience: Casting lures to mahi mahi (dolphin fish) off Hawaii.

Why the Fishing party?: "To create a sensible voice to contradict some of the misinformation spread by green groups and the Victorian labour and liberal political parties".

Opinion on VRFish: "I respect the task and see the difficulties and obstacles faced to challenge the marine parks on legislative basis. The Fishing Party is set to augment and support them in their role."

Number one thing to change : "achieve a sensible balance to sustainable fishing"

In 5 years where will fishing be if nothing changes?: "I don't want to contemplate that, but fear there will be fewer kids catching even fewer fish"

Fishing Party (Victoria) contacts:

Chairman: John Willis john@beachmarine.com.au	Treasurer: Andy Moore bucaneer@bigpond.net.au
Secretary: Angelo Koucoulis tfpvic-secretary@netspace.net.au	Advocate: Kraig Dixon tfpvic.advocate@bigpond.com
Postal Address: P.O. Box 125 Patterson Lakes, Vic. 3197 (03) 5940 1420	Website: http://www.thefishingparty.info/

The next meeting is set for 7:30pm 12 August 2004 at the club rooms of the Sandringham Angling Club, all interested anglers welcome.

Continued...

Dredging the Bay

The State Government has welcomed a Environmental Effects Statement (EES) report which clears the way for two years of dredging to deepen shipping channels in Port Phillip Bay. The dredging will continue almost unabated for two years, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Dirty water floods down from the Yarra River via the Shipping Channel into Hobson Bay and the bay generally after heavy rain. You can only imagine the colour and clarity of the whole bay if dredging occurs on the scale envisaged.

The dredging will impact on both the northern and southern sections of the bay area. One of the major benefits of the demise of scallop dredgers in Port Phillip Bay (PPB) was the vast improvement in water clarity. In recent times it was not unusual on calm days to be able to see the bottom at depths of 20 feet and more. I remember one sunny day a mate and I just drifted in my boat for 20 minutes just observing the bottom, a quick check of the sounder revealed it was 23 feet deep. We had great fun dropping soft plastics down to the sand flathead and watched as they were mesmerised by the wiggly tail of the lure rising off the bottom to eventually attack our artificial.

The impact on water clarity will be significant perhaps even catastrophic, not even the 'experts' can predict the results. Marine fauna and flora will suffer according to the EES report but dredging will be halted only if the dredge plume reduces light to the extent, that vital tiny organisms living in the benthos (bottom) of PPB begin to die. These organisms filter the sand of excess nutrients that settles on the bay floor. This all sounds like a highly delicate juggling act where man yet again attempts to 'manage' nature.

One way or another, if the economics demand the channel is deepened then the surplus sand/mud/rock must be transported out of the bay and not allowed to be pumped into other parts of the bay resulting in turbid particle clouded water for years to come.

For more information: http://www.portofmelbourne.com.au/portdev/channeldeep/

Melbourne Boat Show

The 2004 Melbourne Boat Show was held in early July at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre (it's still Jeff's Shed to me). Many people dispute winter as a time to hold a boat show, but I disagree. It is at these times that an indoor show is a great place to spend a day just eye balling some of the most beautiful boats available. Nautical eye candy if you will!

There were plenty of boats to keep you amused at the recent Melbourne Boat Show

I always enjoy the innovations from advanced fold up style trailerable dingies to DIY mobile landing jetties. Big boats and monster outboards amaze.

I'm blown away by the size of the some of the four strokes on the market. The Mercury 275hp for example stands at over 7 feet tall and looks like a prop from the movie Alien!

There was of course a strong fishing theme with all of the major trailer boat retailers in attendance with plenty of fishing boats on display in the 4 to 6 metre range. Sportfish's very own Steve Starling and Leeann Payne were there to talk fishing also on a range of topics from using soft plastics to fishing in Weipa.

Continued...

Futurefish Foundation gains reprieve

A five year funding deal for the Rex Hunt Futurefish Foundation, originally set up under the Kennett government, then cautiously backed by the Bracks Government complete with additional strings, came to an end recently. With little indication from the State Government on a new funding agreement, Rex Hunt took matters into his own hands and spoke directly to Victorian Premier Steve Bracks who promptly agreed to an additional 12 month temporary funding agreement.

Futurefish and its board of dedicated people are fighting the good fight in Victoria by providing fishing opportunities for disabled communities and supplementing stocking efforts. The Foundation has often demonstrated an ability to effectively negotiate with the State Government and can take most of the credit for the recent 'Recreational Fishing Only' zones created in many of the estuaries on the state's eastern coast, as well as work on artificial reefs and other initiatives. Research is almost complete on a major issue that seriously impacts on Victoria's marine environment and recreational fishing, stay tuned for more news on that front soon.

Victorian Lake Water Levels

As with our Melbourne metropolitan water levels, the lakes and impoundments in rural areas are in serious trouble. Angling opportunities in many of the once great inland fisheries have been severely curtailed for almost three years now, as the drought continues.

Water Storage levels as at end July 2004

Blue Rock 74%
Cairn Curran 6%
Dartmouth 49%
Eildon 24%
Eppalock 5%
Fyans 24%
Glenmaggie 40%
Hume 12%
Pykes Creek 10%
Newlyns 38%
Mulwala 99%
Malmsbury 13%
Rocklands 3%
Toolondo 0%
Wartook 72%

The trout season for fishing in all Victorian rivers and boat fishing in Lakes Purrumbete and Wendouree is closed for the month of August. All other impoundments are open to trout fishing.

Holiday Hotspot: Bemm River - from the river to the sea

Bemm River in far eastern Victoria is one of the State's icon recreational fisheries. Protected from commercial netting pressure since the mid 1930s, 'The Bemm' has thrived as a regular producer of big bream.

Magnificent Sydenham Inlet, the estuarine lake of Bemm River, at sunset.

The Bemm River itself winds it way across the Princes highway between Orbost and Cann River before meandering downstream to form Sydenham Inlet. The inlet is approximately 2 kilometres wide and long and narrows again to a form the entrance channel, which when open, empties into the Tasman Sea. When anglers talk of the 'Bemm' they can mean the river, Sydenham Inlet, entrance channel or the magnificent wilderness surf beaches.

As a year round fishing option, Bemm offers some of its best fishing in the winter months particularly for bream in the inlet and the entrance channel. Estuary perch are another popular target and these fine fighting fish are found in the river and throughout the inlet. The surf beaches produce Australian salmon, silver trevally, flathead and gummy shark.

Bait or lures are highly effective on the bream population. I've found that when the entrance is closed and the inlet or lake level rises, so do the opportunities, especially around the recently flooded margins. Live prawn is the best bait whilst minnow lures and soft plastics the prime artificials.

Don Cunningham of Cozy Nook apartments and the operator of the General Store has the best advice on what's biting and where to go. Bait and tackle supplies are also available at the store.

Fast Facts - Bemm River is 440 kilometres from Melbourne via the Princes Highway and Sydenham Inlet Road. There are several caravan parks and holiday units. No fuel for motor vehicles is available at Bemm River. The boat ramp is suitable for boats up to 5.5 metres. If the entrance is open then shallow draft vessels are advisable, with boats from 3 to 4.5 metres length the usual maximum.

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