Fishing The Victorian West Coast With Jack Auld

Well what a busy month I’ve had fishing the Victorian West Coast mainly out of Portland on the tuna.

This season is very different and thinking outside the square is needed on a day to day basis. Some days the birds are limited but the fish can still be found by fine tuning your sounder so you can mark up the fish and the bait. We set our range at 80-100m and speeding up the scroll speed up from 1/1 to 4/1 has had the sounder marking up tuna before we get a bite, within seconds of seeing them on the sounder.

Last weekend just gone I had the pleasure of fishing with some good friends, great fishos and even better people, and we caught bluefin tuna, albacore and even stripe tuna all around the 1000m line, near the horseshoe, which is a well-known area. Most fish had 7 inch red rockets inside their stomachs. We have been matching the lure sizes to the size of the bait the fish are eating and it’s paying off, with some huge numbers of fish landed and released on most trips.

Hursty and myself also had a go at working the deck on board Matty Hunt’s charter boat, and with 50 bites and back in by 1pm, it’s fair to say the clients on board were kept busy catching both bluefin and albacore.

Best lures have been green x raps, Illusion and lumo Pakula lures and copper coloured Jack’s tuna bullets. Our tuna spreads have been made up of two deep divers and 6-8 skirted lures. Always run your lures at different lengths and once set right multiple hook ups of up to 10 tuna at a time can be had. It’s a real buzz, with lots of laughs from everyone on board.

Looking ahead, I am really looking forward to fishing the Canberra Yellowfin Tuna comp on the 18th, 19th & 20th of this month at Bermagui. With great prizes from rods and reels to a lucky angler prize of a Haines Hunter 400 Prowler boat, motor and trailer package.

Until next time, happy fishing and boating!