Portland and surrounding areas have seen an amazing large tuna run in the last couple of months said to rival even the great run of 2006, with the consensus among fishers as the biggest run ever. Generally the tuna season is well and truly over, but there is so much more to catch out there!
The brilliance of this run was in that people had the chance of a lifetime to catch a large tuna. We even saw multiple hook ups for some, with one charter operator achieving a four way hook up. In the battle one was lost, but three were landed, all over 100kg and the lucky fisho was home by lunchtime. Incredible results for most fishers! Others had a real fight on their hands and often found the tuna victorious.
Most people are now looking for great table fish to catch and Portland is certainly the place to find them. With such a diverse area to fish, Portland has options for everyone. From deep water fishing out at the shelf to some great land based areas such as the Lee Breakwater.
Electric reel fishing has been growing in popularity and gives anglers fishing the deep shelf waters opportunity to chase blue eye, pink ling, knife jaw and other interesting deep-water predators.
Around the 130-140m mark has seen good results in trumpeters, snapper, and sharks. Again, some are using electric reels in these areas but others still love the challenge of fighting top quality fish with spin and overhead setups.
Heading towards Bridgewater Bay in the 50-70m you can expect good size flathead, gummy and school sharks. Back towards the lighthouse we should also start seeing makos - a great challenge for sport anglers to tackle.
The bay will have good quality whiting by now as well as flathead, squid, snapper, sharks, salmon and bait fish as the water warms up.
The Lee Breakwater should certainly be firing up with large snapper that draws people from miles away to catch the snapper of a lifetime. Other good table fish should be around such as whiting and squid, salmon, gummy and school sharks.
The beach fishing should be firing up with snapper, sharks, mulloway, whiting, trevally and salmon.
If you are looking for a safe area for the kids to fish, the canal in Portland has a great fishing platform or pull up to the side and away you go. The trawlers wharf is another great option, or you can go out of town a little to either the Surry or Fitzroy rivers and fish for bream, salmon and mullet.
For all your bait and tackle needs on your next fishing adventure in Portland call into Compleat Angler and say g’day to the team. We are located next to the Gordon hotel at 61 Bentick St or call us on 03 55211844.
We can help with fishing tips and weather updates, as well as fishing licences, regulation books, and stickers available in store.
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