AS the nights begin to cool and the days get shorter coming into late autumn, many anglers will put away their boats or fishing gear and stay inside the warmth of home as the bay fishing cools off. For others though there is an alternative in Surf fishing.
Winter sees some lovely still days filled with sunshine and with the predominant winds being from the NW also allowing for comfortable, but cool conditions to enjoy fishing from local surf beaches.
Apart from some fun and productive fishing for the main two species found locally around Melbourne, fishing the surf has a special attraction not matched by any other form of fishing. Standing on a beach listening to the waves crashing in and the squawks of the seagulls as the water surges around your legs, is truly one of the great ways to remove all the worries of the world and unwind.
I have been surf fishing for over 35 years, and it has changed over the years in terms of how it is approached. I used to use a heavy solid glass rod, matched with a heavy reel and mono line. I would heave out a heavy star sinker in the hope that it would be able to hold in the strong side drifts that I often tried to fish. I would then place it in a rod holder and wait for a fish to bite. The results were not great, and I may catch a few fish, but not as many as I could, as I did not understand how to fish productively in those days.
Over the years my style of fishing changed with the advent of graphite rods that probably weigh a third of my old glass one. Reels have improved are lighter and more corrosion resistant. The biggest change though is the use of Gel spun line and its thin diameter and bite sensitivity. This completely revolutionised the way I fished and allowed me to reduce weight in all areas. The great benefit of this is that I was able to fish with rod in hand most of the time, allowing me to feel bites more easily and know where the fish were schooling.
With all the reduction in weight it also allowed for greater mobility and being able to find fish rather than attracting fish to your location. So, if one hole does not produce, you can move easily to the next.
Other things that have changed include the use of artificial flies and lures in the surf to catch fish. When I first started out it was all pipis and salted blue bait (pilchards). This then changed to using a surf popper which certainly works when using a traditional paternoster rig. The other thing that has really caught on in recent years is the use of lures only cast way out into the surf and retrieved back. A real minimalist approach and a successful one, particularly once a school of fish is found. The joy of this method is that it is a highly mobile one and easy one to do, as it only requires a rod, reel and a few lures.
We are lucky in Melbourne in that we have numerous options close by to go surf fishing. From Venus bay and Kilcunda in the east, the surf beaches of Phillip Island, in particular Woolamai, the peninsula beaches such as Gunnamatta, Rye and Portsea back beaches, as well as the West coast beaches such as Fairhaven and Moggs beach. These locations can be reached within two and a half hours of Melbourne CBD, with some of the closer ones being an hour and forty minutes travel. Depending on where you live it may only be an hour’s drive. The beaches vary from shallow sloping such as Venus Bay to very steep beaches such as Kilcunda, Gunnamatta and Woolamai. They all carry similar species but targeting them can sometimes be different depending on the beach.
A shallower beach such as Venus bay will have very distinct holes/gutters that I enjoy fishing at the bottom of the tide as the fish tend to be concentrated in these holes and use these to access the surrounding shallower waters as the tide rises and covers these areas. As these are shallow waters fishing for salmon seems to really peak in the last hour of the tide, as the schools move in close to shore before the tide begins to recede again. The holes are great as putting a berley bag in them at low tide will see a concentration of fish in your area with yellow eye mullet being particularly abundant at low tide.
The deeper beaches can fish well during the incoming tide, but the peak time tends to be the last two hours of the flood tide for me. These beaches also tend to be the ones I favour for lure fishing as the deeper water and larger holes hold the schools of fish. It is also easier for fish to see the lure as the water tends to be cleaner.
The two main species that will be encountered from local surf beaches will be Australian salmon and yellow eye mullet. Other species that may be encountered include silver trevally and flathead. If fishing at night you are a good chance of encountering gummy sharks. If the surf beach being fished has areas of reef the chances of getting snapper and other reef dwelling species is also high.
For your best chances of catching fish, it is best to target the salmon and mullet. These fish require different techniques and I tend to use different gear when targeting each species.
The mullet feed better at the start of a rising tide as they can be more concentrated at this stage of the tide. Once the tide rises, they have more area to feed and although still being able to be caught they don’t tend to be as easy.
Salmon are at the opposite end of the spectrum and tend to feed better at the end of the high tide. They tend to move in schools and if a school is in your location multiple hook ups can be the order of the day.
The above habits of both fish can allow you to target specific stages of the tide if your time is limited or plan your fishing based on what your best chance is at the that stage of the tide.
If fishing a whole tide with bait my plan would be as follows: Trip would start at low tide and I would look from an elevated position at the holes and gutters on the beach. These will show up as unbroken water and this is where you want to start your fishing from. Once I get down to the chosen spot, I would put a berley bag in the water containing Crushed pilchards, Bread and tuna oil before doing anything else. This will allow the berley to work its magic and concentrate the fish very quickly in the area chosen to fish.
I would then prepare all my gear, so I am ready to fish whilst standing in the water. This involves having all my bait ready to go in a bait box on my belt. Having a rag to hold the fish with and having some spare hooks, sinkers and line cutters around my neck.
I would be using a mullet rig and rod at this stage, so I am fishing with the highest chance of catching a fish. The rig would consist of a double paternoster with size 6 long shank hooks as mullet have small mouths and a 1 oz bomb sinker. The bait used is small pieces of pipi about the size of a small fingernail. The key to catching mullet is to cast close to shore, as the fish are often in very shallow water as they move in and out with the waves. Casting around the berley bag will usually see some action. If not retrieving the bait slowly can help to get them to bite. If there are any mullet in the area you will soon get a few as they tend to move in schools and the berley will hold them in that area.
As the tide rises and the mullet bite tapers off, I will begin to fish for salmon. This involves using a heavier rod and replacing the lighter mullet rig with a heavier leader of about 9 kg, 3 to 4 oz bomb sinker and upgrading the hooks. One dropper will have a Surf popper on it tipped with pipi and the other will have a 3/0 hook with a half pilchard on it. You could also use white bait or blue bait, but my preference is the pilchards due to the scent it puts out. As opposed to the shallow cast for the mullet, I will try and put this out as far as possible as the fish will tend to hang out deeper earlier in the tide before coming in shallower in the last two hours. Where possible put it in deep water in front of a sandbar, there will be white water where the fish will hunt baitfish and have cover. If you have a rip that is taking the water back out to sea it can also be worth letting your rig be taken out to sea, as salmon will sit on the edges picking off food as it is washed out into the deeper water. Salmon will hit hard and it’s a great feeling when they just engulf the bait, and the rod goes over and stays that way till they are brought in.
If I was going to choose to fish lures for salmon, it becomes an easier trip with a few lures in a box in a shoulder bag and you are off. Look for the holes and decide which way you will head on the beach. You can then work your way from hole to hole, spending maybe 10 casts per hole. If the fish are there 10 casts should see you get a hook up, if not time to move. Once you have found a school it should be a fish a cast till they move on.
To make the day more pleasurable ensure you have a good quality set of waders to keep you dry and allow you to increase your casting distance by standing further in the water. Another handy item is a pair of polarised sunglasses as it will allow you to see fish in the water and give you confidence there are fish. It also helps eye strain as the reflection off the water is strong. A rod holder is also good for allowing you to keep your gear out of the sand when re rigging or having a break. It also doubles as a good stake for your berley bag. A fish esky is also a good idea as it allows you to keep your catch in a prime condition.One trap that catches a lot of people out is leaving their gear to close to the water and with a rising tide washing their gear away. Make sure you keep your gear above the high tide line, which is where the soft sand is and where flotsam has accumulated.
Rods and reels do not need to be expensive and for mullet a light spin outfit is all that is required. For salmon look for a rod capable of handling sinkers up to about 4 oz and that can also cast lures. Look for a long rod to be able to keep your line above the waves when bait fishing. Make sure you clean and maintain it as the surf can be a harsh environment.
Surf fishing is a lot of fun, simple and is a nice way to get your fishing fix in the cooler months.
