Bait balls at St leonards..

Post Reply
User avatar
hornet
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 7:55 am
Location: Melbourne
Has liked: 123 times
Likes received: 258 times

Bait balls at St leonards..

Post by hornet » Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:36 pm

I went for a fish at St leonards Wednesday night, the pilchard balls were in less than 2 foot of water, two large schools just circling, would not move into deeper water, I walked out onto the pier and looked over, it became apparent why the bait schools would not move, I saw schools of salmon cruising out deep, I estimate these fish ranged from 2 to 4 kilo, I'm judging the size compared to my fair share of salmon I've caught off the beaches, some guys nailed some to 500 gram fish but the big boys just weren't interested in lures, they just cruised around un-phased, I think they are full to the gills or the lure guys would have caught some, these were serious fish with black backs ( as they get when they grow over the 2 kilo mark ) as a side note all I managed was two squid for the trip, no whiting this time. I took pictures of the Big salmon but they didn't show in the pictures due to much water reflection so didn't bother posting them.
Attachments
WP_20180117_004.jpg
WP_20180117_003.jpg
WP_20180117_002.jpg
WP_20180117_001.jpg
He who has the most fishing rods WINS ! :ts:

Redhunter
Rank: Bream
Rank: Bream
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:19 am
Has liked: 138 times
Likes received: 140 times

Re: Bait balls at St leonards..

Post by Redhunter » Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:43 pm

Would have been a cool sight to see! Seems the pillies arent getting netted in PPB nowadays, hopefully we can get the benefits from the prey that chase them. Did any of those big salmon have yellow tails? Wouldnt be surprised if a few kingies were lurking nearby also.

User avatar
hornet
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 7:55 am
Location: Melbourne
Has liked: 123 times
Likes received: 258 times

Re: Bait balls at St leonards..

Post by hornet » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:38 pm

Redhunter wrote:Would have been a cool sight to see! Seems the pillies arent getting netted in PPB nowadays, hopefully we can get the benefits from the prey that chase them. Did any of those big salmon have yellow tails? Wouldnt be surprised if a few kingies were lurking nearby also.
I wouldn't be surprised if there were Kingies mixed in with the salmon, it was getting just on dark and getting harder to see them in the water, the positive id I made was whilst still in daylight. It was a cool sight seeing the huge salmon so close to the pier.
He who has the most fishing rods WINS ! :ts:

Lightningx
Bluefin
Bluefin
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:21 pm
Has liked: 72 times
Likes received: 976 times

Re: Bait balls at St leonards..

Post by Lightningx » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:52 pm

Definitely an awesome sight!
Only if those big boys were willing to play. Would have been great fun with lures.

cobby
Rank: Murray Cod
Rank: Murray Cod
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:39 pm
Has liked: 136 times
Likes received: 324 times

Re: Bait balls at St leonards..

Post by cobby » Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:33 pm

Redhunter wrote:Would have been a cool sight to see! Seems the pillies arent getting netted in PPB nowadays, hopefully we can get the benefits from the prey that chase them. Did any of those big salmon have yellow tails? Wouldnt be surprised if a few kingies were lurking nearby also.
They still are at the same rate they always have been.... And given the biomass of pilchards in and around the bay, it's VERY VERY sustainable.

Little ironic the sheer refusal to allow the bait fishery to remain in port phillip, yet make a big song and dance about expanding the Lakes Entrance bait fishery. Probably not enough cash under the table or union backslapping like usual

smile0784
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:16 pm
Has liked: 39 times
Likes received: 356 times

Re: Bait balls at St leonards..

Post by smile0784 » Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:54 am

Awsome sight to see

User avatar
Trumpeter
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2015 9:37 pm
Location: Bellarine Peninsula
Has liked: 71 times
Likes received: 68 times

Re: Bait balls at St leonards..

Post by Trumpeter » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:33 am

That's pretty amazing, there's also plenty of Slimey's and Scad around St Leonards atm.

Post Reply

Return to “Geelong, The Great Ocean Road and the Bellarine Peninsula Fishing Reports”