Welcome to the latest addition of the Trolline

As most of you would be well aware the annual run of snapper have arrived in the waters off Torquay. Judging by the number of cars with boat trailers on them at the ramp a couple of Saturdays ago a large number of our members have been out chasing them. A couple of fish over the magical 10kg mark have been landed already but the majority of fish seem to be between 2 and 3.5 kilograms .Still great fish in anyone’s book!!

A reasonable number of Gummy sharks have also been taken recently usually as a by catch whilst snapper fishing . Some of these fish have been quite large with Damian Spokes catching a monster a few weeks ago. His fish will definitely take some beating to claim the brag board honours.

Mixed in with the snapper and gummys have also been a number of school sharks. These seem to average around the 12 to 15 kilogram mark and put up a fantastic fight on snapper gear. As well as providing excellent flake.

On the shark front a number of threshers have been hooked and as is common with these excellent fish the majority of them have been lost. I know of a couple that have been landed but no really large ones yet. As the water warms up we should see the appearance of mako and blue sharks. Last season the makos didn’t really arrive in very large numbers , hopefully they are more plentiful this season.

A Christmas party has beeen planned the details of which r printed else where in this publication. I hope to see as many of you as possible there.

One final note , a big thank you to R Earl and J Martino for all the work they have done recently to get the clubs tractors working well and in good repair.

Tight lines
Al Rushworth

December 2010 Fishing Report

Id like to start off by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As this edition of the trolline goes to print the new boat ramp is nearing completion, as most of you are already aware this is only a movement of our beach access ramp rather than an improvement in launching facilities. Care still needs to b taken when launching and retrieving off the beach.

Recently we have had a couple of severe boggings resulting in damage to vehicles, these incidents could have been easily avoided if a little more care was taken. I would implore all members to ask others for advice and to watch the way regulars launch and retrieve a little information or a question may prevent a disaster. I would also suggest that members put some of the tractor drivers numbers into their mobile phones in case they do get bogged (There is a list of drivers and their numbers on the notice board inside the clubrooms). 

On a fishing front the buzz word seems to be “Snapper” with excellent catches being taken in all the usual places. Good numbers have and are being taken on all the reefy areas from Bells Beach right through to Black Rock. The use of berley seems to be a great help to catching your bag rather than the odd fish. Fish have ranged in size from around the kilogram mark to around the eight kilogram mark. I’m yet to see a fish that has actually broken the eight but I’m sure that one will turn up before the end of the season.

As well as the snapper a fair number of gummy sharks are also being taken. I have recently had the pleasure of weighing two that where around the twelve kilogram mark, great fish by any standard. There have also been a few reports of early sharks showing up at boats while people are snapper fishing. A couple of makos and a few threshers have been sighted, generally by anglers unprepared for their appearance.

Id like to encourage all members to weigh fish in for the club competitions it has been pleasing to see the number of fish being weighed in the skinny snapper competition, but more pleasing is the number of different anglers who have weighed fish. The more the merrier and it makes for a much better competition

Enjoy the holiday season and I hope to see you all at the club Christmas Party!!

Tight lines
Al Rushworth.

June 2010 Fishing Report 

Fishing off Torquay has started to slow a bit, with the drop in water temperature the Makos have once again disappeared. Pinky's have been reasonably abundant but not very large in size and the Whiting have started .

Matty Vass was winning the Frank Mc Cann Whitng comp the last time that I checked with a nice fish a shade over 700 grams. This comp is still running and I would encourage all to have a go at taking out the Prize! The Whiting are currently a bit scarcer than they were at this time last season but the size's seems to have increased.

As we come into Winter the larger Gummy's will also start to make an appearance in the shallower water (ie 50 - 20 mtrs). These fish have a great following amongst Torquay Anglers and I am waiting for a day off with nice tides to try and catch one myself. They are not the easiest fish to catch but are well worth the time and effort!! Please note also that for weighing purposes all Gummys and School sharks must now be weighed gutted.

A number of boats from Torquay have recently ventured down south chasing Southern Bluefin Tuna. Tuna catches have been a little sporadic this season. Port McDonald and Portland have recently produced fair numbers of school sized fish and the odd 100kg monster. Highlight of the tuna season so far has been an aggregation of 100kg plus fish off shore of Port Fairy. A number of Torquay boats have gone down chasing these fish, they seem to be holding in relatively shallow water but are mixed amongst a lot of school sized fish ( ranging in the 15 to 30 kg bracket). To my knowledge the only Torquay boat to have hooked one of these larger fish is the "Flying Dutchman" (Paul and Billy Rebbecci) this hook up ended in heart ache after a short lived adventure which has left them desperate for another attempt.

Whilst on the subject of Game fishing congratulations to the "Flying Dutchman" and in particular Billy for landing their first then second Marlin out of Eden this season. No Shane I won't mention our Marlin trip other than to say 1 / zip (hahaha).

The colder weather also signals the start of Winter trout fishing. Dates for the Ken Wall have been set, this year we will be staying at Lake Purrumbete. All 3 lakes will still be eligible for the competition but due to an unfortunate mix up we are unable to stay at the Camperdown Angling Club lodge on Bullen Merri. Dates for the Ken Wall will be published elsewhere in this Trolline

February 2010 Fishing Report 

Currently off Torquay and all the way to Barwon Heads there are plenty of Stripy Tuna, something that hasn't been seen for years. Col Shepard managed to catch 10 or so recently but many have tried but failed.

There has been plenty of small to medium mako's this year, a few Threshers in recent weeks and Joel McLaughlin caught a cracker Bronze Whaler at 156Kg.

After a great snapper season (Oct - Dec) we now have hordes of little to medium pinkies (28 to 38cm) over all the heavier reef areas.

The whiting are still going as strong as ever, although they have been caught a little bit deeper in recent weeks. The Whiting are up to 50 cm in length. Awesome fish in anyone's language.

Currently there are any amount of Aero Squid in 30 to 60 metres of water.