Australian Salmon are
a prolific schooling fish in the southern parts of Port Phillip
Bay and coastal areas of Bass Strait. From Mid August until late
May Salmon can be found almost everyday on our regular hunts by
trolling and during the winter months bait fishing close to the
surf can produce results with the best baits being pilchard or
white bait and the use of a burley trail. The most commonly used
method to catch these hard fighting and exiting fish is trolling
.
A spread of 4 or
more lures is set behind the boat and trolled at 4.5knts. Many
types of lures work on Salmon from hard bodied bibbed minnow
type lures to the ever reliable rubber ‘occy’ type skirts with
tinsel inserts. Some anglers troll slug type lures such as
Lazers but for trolling these tend to twist the line more
frequently and this cost anglers time when untangling. Lures
should be set close to the boat (max 15m) and all lures running
at the same length, which helps represent a school of bait fish
and thus increases the likely hood of multiple hook ups. With
multiple hook ups the norm rather than the exception, Salmon
fishing can be fast and frantic and with fish as big as 4kg.
Many anglers see this as the ultimate in light tackle sport
fishing in Port Phillip Bay.
The Australian
Salmon is also the number one prime species if you want to
tackle ‘Saltwater Fly Fishing’. Whether it be drifting close to
boiling schools or trolling teasers for deep fish ,Australian
Salmon are a real buzz on fly gear and the perfect introductory
species for the budding fly fisherman. Many people disregard
these fish for eating but when bled and cleaned correctly they
are very nice indeed.
