Victorian Fishing Monthly – July 2006
Fishermen are a pretty resilient bunch and with the cold depths of winter, that has become apparent as even as the icy winds blow across the Alps and on to our coastline fishermen can still be found searching for a bit of action.
Those that have braved the elements have had mixed results off shore with some days hardly worth the effort and others that make you wonder why the waters are not busier .
Victoria’s West Coast is having a bumper surf fishing season with quality salmon available on most recognised beaches and these captures have been reflected in good numbers of salmon available to boat anglers.
Large schools of salmon have been surface feeding offshore from Barwon Heads and Point Lonsdale as well as further west.
The huge amount of bait offshore must be a contributing factor, as not only are the salmon abundant but as are barracouta, something that is not all that common in the depths of winter.
On certain days the depth sounder is showing a mass of bait extending 20 meters from the bottom and laterally for hundreds of meters.
This concentration of bait has not only kept the pelagic fin fish active but also may be a contributing factor in the large number of whales that have graced our waters of late.
Right whales, Humpback and even Killer whales or Orcas have all been sighted off Port Phillip Heads in the depth of winter, certainly not a common occurrence but as each year pass not and un common one as well.
Bait fishermen have been getting rewards for effort when chasing the resident snapper on the deeper reefs with nice fish to 2kg being the best of them, gummy sharks as usual are also quite common catch. Sweep and Short fin pike continue to be taken from the more prominent reef systems with a steady burley trail an essential ingredient.
Winter is also a great time for those not so keen on braving the elements to ready their craft for the coming season , I have to ready my craft for its annual survey and apart from the obvious checks such as fire extinguisher, flares, batteries etc. a few things that can easily slip the mind are the contents of your first aid kit.
Items such as out of date ointments and antiseptic creams should be replaced, bandages checked for moisture ingress and information pamphlets updated. As a charter skipper I am required to have a current first aid certificate and this is something that all offshore boaters, especially should consider .Courses are run by various groups and organizations and you can find out where by contacting your local St Johns Ambulance centre.
Something of interest in regards to first aid is the constant revision and changes to the C.P.R procedure, C.P.R. is probably the most important thing a boater should know as we are in a environment where it is commonly called upon.
Every time I have re sat my certificate the breath to compression ratio has changed and is currently recommended to be 30 chest compressions to two breaths. Its these little changes that can make the difference to wether you save someone’s life and making yourself aware is the very first step toward a desired result should your training be called upon. – John Joubert