Plenty of anglers hang up the rods once the cold sets in, but a late-autumn session on Port Phillip Bay was a reminder that some of the best fishing of the year happens when the crowds thin out. Fishing in spectacular, glassy conditions alongside his mate Fads from Gutsel Fishing Charters, the host of FishingMad set out to chase squid, King George whiting, flathead and pinky snapper — and to put a pile of gear through its paces.
"We're in late autumn now and a lot of people are starting to put their boats away," he said. "But I reckon the fishing can be absolutely fantastic this time of year."
The day started with a squid drift in about three metres of water, and it was instant. Casting Shimano Flash Boost jigs and simply letting them drift rather than working them, the pair pulled squid after squid — doubles, then triples — racking up something like 13 or 14 in the first 15 minutes. The angler noted the colour of the jig was doing the work even when the other rods went quiet, conceding that jig colour is often "more for the anglers than the squid," before adding that on this day the proof was in the catches.
With a bucket of squid for a feed and fresh bait sorted, the crew moved to slightly deeper water for King George whiting. Here the message was simplicity. The rig was a basic paternoster on 16-pound leader — a hook on the bottom, a 40-centimetre dropper and a simple loop for the sinker — baited with pippies and squid strips. It produced steadily, the fish improving as the run-out tide kicked in. "Winter's coming and they're getting bigger," the host said of the whiting, several pushing into the high 30s and low 40s.
The session also turned up flathead — "we don't get a lot of huge flatties in Port Phillip Bay," the host noted, his best around the low-70s mark — along with Australian salmon, slimy mackerel and a leather jacket. An experiment with a 55mm Nomad Squid Trek soft vibe, rigged with tiny assist hooks, accounted for whiting too, the lure's squid profile playing to a species that loves to eat calamari. Even so, the verdict was honest: the baits were outfishing the lures, comfortably.
With a front bringing rain and rising wind, the crew called it after a few hours, the bucket full of squid, whiting and flathead. The takeaway, as the host put it, was simple: the local fishing can be absolutely awesome even in late autumn — you just have to go.