Reel Life | The joys of fishing at Dartmouth

After breakfast, just before it gets light, we start up the outboard of my boat and feed out the lines, trolling a baited Ford Fender in the hunt for an early morning trout.

By the time the sun has risen, and with luck on our side, we could have bagged several nice fish, then it is time to head back to camp for a morning tea, a snack (fishing makes you peckish), then it’s back on the water for more fishing until it is time for lunch, followed by an afternoon catnap.

By mid-afternoon, we build up the fire and let it burn into plenty of coals — we load up a camp oven with whatever we have for tea. Then back to fishing until it’s ready. It is just great — a nice way to spend a few days at Dartmouth.

After cleaning up after dinner, stoke up the fire for a relaxing period of sitting around and yarning before it’s time to climb into the sleeping bag for a good night’s sleep — and then start all over the next day.

Now, if camping is not your thing, there is a variety of accommodation at the Dartmouth township, including a caravan park with cabins you can rent, a motel and a number of houses also for rent. There is a burger shop, groceries and a hotel that serves cold beers and great restaurant-style meals. All in all, it is a great spot to spend time fishing.

Now is the best time of year to fish Dartmouth, as the breeding season is drawing to a close and the brown and rainbow trout begin feeding up to regain the condition and energy they used to breed. Nobody said breeding was easy!

I have found trolling a Ford Fender, which trails a bunch of worms, mudeye or other bait, or lure, is the best way to fish the dam. But if you prefer a more relaxing method, you can sit by the bank and angle a bait, either weightless or under a float, and wait for the fish to come to you.

Dartmouth also has a population of the endangered Macquarie perch; the bag and size of a ‘Macca’ is strongly policed to just one fish, so make sure you are legal when fishing. Apart from tuna fishing, Dartmouth is one of the most policed waterways in the state, and fisheries inspectors regularly check for licences and legal fish, so be warned. The same method of fishing works at Eildon for trout, as well as the Hume. You can also catch redfin, as well as cod and yellowbelly, at those two impoundments.

The reports from around our region say that apart from Victoria Park Lake, in the middle of Shepp, where trout have been stocked, the Waranga Basin is also worth fishing — it is full, and redfin are on the bite.

When trolling a lure in the basin, make sure you are bumping it along the bottom, as it attracts more bites. The best colours are a redfin pattern, purple or red.

When fishing Victoria Park Lake, it is best to cast into the weed-free patches and have your sinker on the bottom with a baited hook about eight to 10 inches above the sinker.

Now, back to saltwater fishing. Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff said he was still bagging pinky-size snapper on the reefs from Point Lonsdale, Ocean Grove and off the bluff at Barwon Heads.

Rod also fishes the reefs around the heads, then further up the bay to Mornington. He said it was still too soon for the bigger snapper, but maybe in another month or so. They should then move up the bay as far north as Altona.

Rod said he was also catching squid, flathead, silver trevally and snook. At Western Port Bay, there were also snapper and flathead along the rubble beds lining the shipping lanes from Hastings to the submarines off Cribb Point. Rod said he was also bagging leatherjacket and gummy shark in the deep water off Phillip Island and San Remo.

North of the border at Eden, John Liddell said the boys from Freedom Charters were catching good-sized snapper, morwong and other reef fish on the inshore reefs between Boyd’s Lookout and Green Cape near the Victorian border. Boat skipper Mark said he was also bagging good-sized flathead on the patches of sand between the reefs. He said there were some flathead that were nearly a metre in length. He said these were mainly in the deep water, almost 30m down. Mark said he was also catching kingfish when he could locate a school of them.

The fishing further north along the coast at Narooma is about the same as Eden, according to Graham Cowley. He said that when it was calm enough to go off shore, the fishing around Montague Island was giving anglers bigger-than-average snapper, as well as morwong and other table fish, including flathead, from the sandy bottom between the reefs on both sides of Montague.

Graham said kingfish were scarce but when they could be found there were some good-size fish to be had. Graham said when it was too rough to go off shore, you could also fish for bream and flathead around the oyster leases and other structures.

Well, that’s another week gone, so let me wish you good fishing — and stay safe.