Advice on French Island and Cowes

sturgeon
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Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by sturgeon » Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:27 pm

Hi,

Going to be spending a couple of days on Philip Island staying at Cowes. Have a 4.85m cuddy. Was wondering about the following :

1. Ramp conditions - seems like Rhyll is the better ramp to launch from?
2. Fishing spot - Suggestions? Just want some action for the kids - any suggestions specifically where to go? I generally catch Flathead as they seem to be everywhere. Have never whiting. Have caught a couple of legal size snappers over the last couple of years, but that is about all. So, am not a great or productive fisherman :-).
3. French Island - Can the boat be used to access French Island? Is it worth visiting that island at all? I know there's a ferry but do not want to go there on the ferry.
4. Hazard - looking at google maps, Western Port looks shallow with a lot of muddy areas. Any advice on "danger" spots that are not well marked?
5. Noticed that there is a outlet to the Bass Strait under the bridge of Philip Island Road where the Big 4 Philip Island is. Can this be used to go out of Western Port. There seems to be like a Bay there. Not looking to go far but maybe just within 1-2 NM of the bridge. Or is that a no fishing zone as I see San Remo coastal reserve near it and Philip Island Nature Park at the south end.

Thank you so much in advance.

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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by Kimtown » Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:50 pm

1. Rhyll easiest ramp to navigate on the island, best conditions, most sheltered and 2nd best facilities.
2. Can’t help you much for winter, all of western port sucks in winter. Just go look for some good drop offs for gummies imo. They can be anywhere at any time.
3. Don’t bother going to French island. It’s definitely no tropical pacific Beautiful island. Just a gigantic stretch of land filled with deer and dead beat druggos
4. Very much a dangerous waterway, navigate carefully. Very shallow in areas and massively tidal.
5. This area is known as “Cleeland Bight” and definitely fishable. Head up towards the big sand dune near the green marker (known as the “quarry”), it produces big squid in decent numbers. Also gummie, pinkies and flathead about

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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by cobby » Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:32 pm

1. Rhyll definently. Less exposed although it can have a tricky cross current on higher flows.
2. See next post.
3. What Kimtown said. It ain't flash and there's bugger all there anyway.
4. Follow the GPS. Green means bad. Green means stuck for hours unless it's right on high tide. Stay well away from green and you're good. Only main navigitable channels like those near boat ramps are marked well, the remaining banks either have no markers, or only 1 or 2 along it's length. Make sure you know east, west, north, South and isolated danger markers, especially heading down to around San Remo.
5. There's only 1 marine park in the area around Churchill Island. You can see the area in the next post.

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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by cobby » Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:42 pm

Whiting in the area just southwest of Maggie's shoal, in Cleeland Bight (and big squid), and just off the weedline around reef island. You'll get flatties, leatherjacket, toads, maybe some Salmon pass through fishing anywhere within these locations if you berley up. Fish the drop offs between 3 and 8m of water. Fish deeper (That white area a very short journey north of the rhyll ramp) an hour either side of the tide changes for a crack at a gummy or a stray snapper. Plenty of rays and other unwanted to occupy the kids
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sturgeon
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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by sturgeon » Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:41 am

Thank you all for the advice. Will be very cateful. Guess that means I will prob just stay near Rhyll and not motor around too much. Thanks also for the advice on French island. Saves me the trouble. :-)

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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by rb85 » Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:59 am

sturgeon wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:41 am
Thank you all for the advice. Will be very cateful. Guess that means I will prob just stay near Rhyll and not motor around too much. Thanks also for the advice on French island. Saves me the trouble. :-)
“there are only two types of people that fish on Western Port, those who have run aground and those who will”

What the others have added is on the money. One thing I’ll add is Garfish can be a worthwhile target for light tackle fun.
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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by Kimtown » Sun Jun 28, 2020 7:09 am

sturgeon wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:41 am
Thank you all for the advice. Will be very cateful. Guess that means I will prob just stay near Rhyll and not motor around too much. Thanks also for the advice on French island. Saves me the trouble. :-)
Reef island and cleeland would be the 2 areas I’d work hard for winter whiting and big squid

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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by sturgeon » Sun Jun 28, 2020 8:41 pm

Thanks! Sounds morbid to run aground. Haha.

Is there any advice on going under the bridge to Cleeland? I have seen the navionics maps and there are red and green markers just after the bridge and a green marker near Cleeland which I need to stay on the shore side of. But any chance that the tide would get so low or high that I would not be able to get under the bridge on the way back in? Don't want to be trapped out and not able to come back in.

Thanks!

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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by Kimtown » Mon Jun 29, 2020 4:56 am

sturgeon wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 8:41 pm
Thanks! Sounds morbid to run aground. Haha.

Is there any advice on going under the bridge to Cleeland? I have seen the navionics maps and there are red and green markers just after the bridge and a green marker near Cleeland which I need to stay on the shore side of. But any chance that the tide would get so low or high that I would not be able to get under the bridge on the way back in? Don't want to be trapped out and not able to come back in.

Thanks!
Nah always massive clearance height wise, no problems there at all. Just line up the channel markers either side of the bridge and go through that span (I think their might even be a channel marker on the bridge from memory). The channel almost runs in line it’s the San Remo pier, where all the trawlers are moored, if that makes sense?

Big currents rip through the channel under the bridge. And I mean BIG. Should be no problem though, but on the right wind and ebb it can create some pressure waves

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Re: Advice on French Island and Cowes

Post by Mattblack » Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:52 am

I’m down at the Island at the moment...went out yesterday & loaded up with Flathead & gummy (launched from Rhyll and fished an hour each side of low tide at middle spit)
Today is going to be perfect (tide change at midday)

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