Working out Welshpool

by Jarrod Day on 1 Oct 2011 To some, Port Welshpool is a mile away from nowhere. Though it may be a three hour drive south east of Melbourne, Port Welshpool boasts some truly amazing fishing. Nestled on the shores of Corner Inlet and surrounding Wilson’s Promontory National Park, The waters surrounding Port Welshpool are teaming with a variety of fish species.

Follow the South Gippsland Highway, through lush green rolling hills past Leongatha, Foster and Toora until you come to the Welshpool Township. Turn right at the sign post to Port Welshpool and you'll find it at the end of the main road.

Once a commercial shipping town, this sleepy little fishing village begs to be explored. From whiting to snapper, sharks and kingfish you’ll find it all on offer in this untapped little fishery.

Species and techniques:
Port Welshpool is like one big estuary surrounded by the mainland and a few Islands separating it from ocean swells.
Inside, boats under 5.5 meters can fish with ease. Shallow banks supporting an abundance of whiting, flathead and calamari are all within reach of the launching ramp. The main channel running adjacent to the ramp is quite deep with shallow banks on either side. Anglers can find weed beds on either side of the channel just by looking from the boat ramp. Calamari aren’t known for growing huge around here but the largest is usually around a kilo in weight. The most effective method is to repeatedly cast and retrieve artificial jigs while drifting. Baited jigs will also work but you’ll need to be at anchor for this to work effectively.

King-George whiting are also highly prized in season. Whiting are available year round but more in abundance from September until February. Whiting are found amongst the weed beds and sand patches. The ideal depth when targeting whiting is in two to five meters of water with the fish responding well to baits and berley two hours either side of a tide change.

A seven foot rod with 2500 or smaller size reel is an ideal outfit used for catching whiting. While whiting aren’t known for blistering runs, light tackle is the best approach. Four pound braid is more than adequate but you might want to step up the leader to at least 10 or 15lb. It is not uncommon to hook silver trevally and pinkie snapper also. Black Magic KL size 1/0 hooks will do the damage and prevent you losing a fish during battle.

Berley will also be necessary aiding in attracting the fish to you. A berley pot filled with tuna oil and pellets is all that is required. This can be placed on the bottom allowing the current to disperse the blend.

Flathead will also move in on Berley trails and it is during the warmer months that the flatties can be of exceptional size. Flathead also like sandy weed beds in which to stalk prey. While whiting fishing it isn’t uncommon to catch a myriad of flathead, a welcomed by-catch.

From late September until January, snapper are highly prized. Similar to that of Western Port, the tidal system attracts hoards of snapper by the thousands.

The entrance into Corner Inlet, known as Singapore Deep is known for its classic catches of two figure fish. When the reds arrive they filter throughout the system into the upper reaches of Corner Inlet. A popular location to fish for the reds is the Franklin Channel which seems to support them in good numbers until Late January. Of course fishing them will be no easy task unless you have a good depth sounder. Sounding the edges of the channels and under water reef systems is the key to finding where the fish will be holding.

Smaller gummy sharks ranging four to eight kilo’s are also on offer throughout the year but it is during the winter months that the larger versions are in abundance. A running sinker rig is best offered but make sure the trace that the hooks are tied to is at least 80lb. This will prevent a gummy from wearing through the leader during a prolonged battle. Again, the deep water of Singapore Deep is where the larger fish can be found.

Also during the warmer months, yellow tail kingfish enter the system. Rounding up schools of baitfish, kings are often found busting the surface in the Lewis channel and right up near the boat ramp around the Long Jetty. They don’t tend to stay in one location too long, constantly swimming between the Long Jetty and channel markers to the south.

Kings can be caught by lead lining, a series of barrel sinkers threaded onto a length of 200lb mono with long shank hook at the end. A whole squid or squid strip is pinned onto the hooks and sent out the back to be trolled at a certain depth. This olden day technique is mostly favoured by the pros, but few local rec anglers still find it the most effective technique.

If the kings are on the surface, surface popper and stick baits are worthy of tossing into the schools. Kingfish do fight very hard and considering you’re adjacent to the pier and channel markers you don’t want your tackle too light. A seven foot graphite rod rated to at least 10kg’s with 4000 series reel should do the job. Due to the fact you have to put hurt on the kings from the moment of impact; you will need a minimum of 20lb braid and 40lb leader. At least this will give you a bit of fighting power to keep them away from the obstacles.

The chosen soft plastics are unweighted nine inch sluggo’s, 145mm Squidgy flick baits in the pacific pearl and pillie colours. These should have a worm hook in the 9/0 or 11/0 sizes threaded through them.

The favoured technique is to see the fish busting or swirling the top, then cast over the top of them and rip the plastic as fast as you can back. This fires up the kings and they will chase the plastic back to the boat. Do this a few times then on the last retrieve, half way back to the boat stop winding dead. The twenty or so kings chasing the plastic down will engulf it without thinking. Surface poppers are also a very effective technique. Being a noisy lure when blooped across the surface, the noise brings the fish up. Again, a few bloops and they’ll be on it in no time.

There is still plenty more to Port Welshpool than meets the eye and will take a few fishing session to work it out. Providing you have some time up your sleeve, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what this secluded location can deliver throughout the year.