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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
Make no doubts about it, Melbournes Winter has arrived with a 'bang' this year. Good rainfall has seen pretty much every Victorian based waterway climb steadily. The ongoing flow of passing weather fronts has been delivering plenty of precious & valued water to our storages.
Trying to time some fair weather inbetween these deluges has been the trickiest part so far this Winter !! When we have received stable weather, We've seen some very reliable fishing for our beloved Western Port Great Grey Submarines the Gummy Shark. Many sessions have produced high numbers of good quality Gummy Shark from 7kg up to 12kg on average.
We've also had some bigger girls turn up, sometimes when we've least expected it!! These trophy sized Gummy Shark have given 17kg a nudge & have provided not only a fantastic thrill for our clients but also these oversized Gummys are often clients Personal Best's for that species weight wise.
Many times recently we've had very satisfied clients who, upon landing a Gummy Shark & inbetween smiles say "Yes!! thats my personal best Gummy". With School holidays on we have also had some charters with younger clients aboard with their parents. This has made for some real funtimes when seeing younger anglers do battle with a hot running Gummy Shark!!
It's a great feeling as a skipper to hear people say this as you can see they are genuinely elated with their success!!
Here's a few pics from recent trips out on our premier Melbourne based Charter vessel 'Think BIG!'
Long time friend from way back during 'school days' Scott Quirk holds a nice 7kg Gummy landed during an afternoon session with Fruits a few weeks back. This turned out to be an action packed few hours with 4 landed all up. 2 were kept for the table & 2 released.
Nice when you can wear a T-shirt during Winter.
The results from a frantic 15 mins of having 3 rods go off within seconds of each other. This trio of grey hounds came through & caused a lot of laughs & fun for reg client Dr Khalid Raffoul & a pair of other clients recently one evening.
Regular Think Big! clients Kurt Emmerson & Gordon hold a very pregnant female Gummy of better than 17kg's taken during a daylight arvo session. This big girl absolutley nailed the fresh Yakka chunk bait it found in the current & screamed off into the tide. It was released very quickly after a few pics were fired off. Too precious to catch & kill for a feed at this size & with an advanced belly full of young Gummys inside her, it just makes sense to release quickly.
Herman who is another reg client holds a typical sized male Gummy Shark of 6kg landed while fishing on a wind swept afternoon. These male Gummys often hit & run very quickly and often change their direction many times during the fight, makes for a lot of fun keeping up with them running back towards the boat against the tide.
Big Bait Benny lives up to his name again and found this 50kg or so 7-Gill a bit of a handfull & had to rope in the help of Scott Quirk & Kurt Emmerson to hold it for a pic. Ben was pretty much stuffed by the time we had it boatside & secured it via a tailrope. Fight time was over 20mins for this despite a serious amount of drag presssure. Everytime I hear people say they don't fight, It's experiences like the one above & many others I've seen that beg me to differ. On typical Gummy fishing tackle, 7-Gills can produce a fairly good fight that is often overlooked by many anglers.
No sooner had the 7-Gill ordeal finished & Ben was on again, this time to a nice 8kg Gummy that performed well in the fading light of the day.
Kurt Emmerson has been active lately in between a few health scares that have since been attended to. He's also fallen in love with Western Port Gummys & has done a few trips recently & had some great action on Gummys to 12kg. Kurt also reports on some commercial catches on Gummy Shark from the Bass Strait region off Lakes Entrance.
Where there has been quite a few occasions lately of commercial shark boats returning to port a few days after leaving as gummy quotas have been filled easily. This is an obvious sign that there is good stocks present in Bass Strait at the time of writing. This can only be positive for our inshore fishery as many of these Gummys will eventually find their way into Western Port. Ongoing Strict quotas put in place by the commercial sector of Aust Fisherys should see this very important species at a sustainable level for both commerical & recreational sectors if it continues to be managed properly.
Get Well Soon Kurt!! from all of the Team at Think Big!
Matt 'Squiddy' Stewart also had some good action on Gummy Sharks & holds a nice 7kg model.
My good brother Danny, with another nice size daytime Gummy landed on a fresh chunk bait while out with us on a fairly good weather day recently.
Jarred Evans along with his good mate Michael Duclos recently learnt a whole lot more on Western Port with a well rounded out charter that first started with the gathering of prime fresh bait, then moving on to an area to sit for some gummy action. Wasn't too long in the waiting before familiar bounces of a rodtip began.
Here's Michael ' Ducky' displaying a lovely 10kg plus Grey sub that was a real highlight for his Gummy efforts recently in Western Port, Well done Michael, they'll come easier & easier with time.
Ian added Gummy Sharks to his preferred list of targetable species in Western Port recently
Young Cade who turned 14 the week of this charter celebrated it out on Western Port along with his father Jason. With a good bunch of Squid during the early part of the charter, we also secured some good fresh bait in the form of yakka's enroute to some Gummy areas. Cade was pretty stoked to land a nice Gummy first trip out, but I think his father was even more happier & proud, well done guys.
Daniel is quietly brimming with joy, even though its barely noticeable here in this pic. He moved West a few years ago, way west all the way to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, where he is an electrician within mining operations. Although a Melbourne based fisho, he had yet to lock horns with a sizeable Gummy Shark, so for his birthday he organised a charter with mates & family. This very well proportioned male Gummy Shark easily over 10kg was a definate highlight in amongst some other Gummys landed that evening.
Here's a good size Gummy boatside with a very visible couta chunk bait on the side of its jawline. I never tire of seeing them come sliding up through the darkness to be seen at the surface, all of their markings vivid in the torch light, beautiful...
'Pecker', funny name, great bloke, holds a nice eating size Gummy landed that evening also.
Yes, average pic I know, Iphones at night aren't the best...Now this is young Wade from Healesville who recently stayed at the Somers Holiday Village with his parents & just happened to have a charter organised by his parents. Well we had a great time showing them how to obtain bait & soon turned this into a good pair of Gummys for the clients.
93 Camphill RoadSomers VIC 3927(03) 5983 5538
Is a great family orientated resort that is very well situated with around 40mins travel time from most Melb areas. They have many different types of affordable accomodation & are willing to cater for many of peoples needs during their stay. Recently Jason has had many Bali Style units built & with more planned it will be a very special place to stay at or perhaps indulge in a weekend with that special partner. It would be unfair of me if I didn't also mention the fantastic food Jason often puts on for the guests of a weekend including BBQ'S & Spit Roasts. With a large games/community hall located centrally in the park it really is a well designed & friendly atmosphere to be a part of.
You can also organise a Think Big! Charter through Jason & you'll receive a special rate (ph for details)
Here's the 5 star inside comforts of one of the Bali Style Units currently being built for this upcoming Summer, Great way to unwind & relax from the working week.
For more information please give Jason Ferguson a call on the above ph number for more details.
Here's young Gummy Hunter Leah, with her father David, at first wrestling an active Gummy Shark that just wouldn't sit still for a quick pic...Before it settles brielfy for a bit better pic.
Leah is just 12 years old, yet could name many species of common angling targets, knew a lot on baits & tackle also. Both Leah & Dad are huge fans of YOUFISH TV & will be back soon by all reports.
With a 10% discount on peak season rates, it makes sense to save a bit where possible. Once September is halfway through we expect bookings will be filling many favoured dates. So don't miss out. Book Now!!
Until the next report, Stay Safe, be positive & enjoy life.
Cheers, TBC
This Fishing Report was submitted on 11/2/2012 4:21:40 PM by Seamus and last updated on 11/2/2012 4:21:40 PM.
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