Wye River and Ocean Grove regions, locations and targets

General offshore yakking discussion.
Post Reply
ontic
Posts: 3
Joined: 09 Feb 2016, 18:57
kayak: K-Largo
Real Name: Hans

Wye River and Ocean Grove regions, locations and targets

Post by ontic »

Hi guys,
thought I should put the word out for some advice seeking to improve my kayak fishing a bit.
I have two locations (in-law family beach houses) I base from, the main one is Wye River, the other potential one Ocean Grove.
I've yak fished Wye River a bit and recently Apollo Bay with better success than rock fishing these regions, but would like to gather a bit more specific advice for these areas to do better.

I am interested in a few things,
- some good locations not too far offshore to target, (primarily around Wye River- give or take 30 mins drive, secondly Ocean Grove, the same), the closer to my two locations the better.
- maybe a suggestion of where one finds any good charts or online maps/resources to show what reefs/structures are around this coastal region
- suggestions of good target species and even some rigs and set ups that work well for people yak fishing this area.
- the potential of catching bait fish and using them live or in strips

My details,
I have a K-largo which seems a decent yak but like most of its kinds I suppose is pretty sensitive to wind, and not great in surf, so in these areas I don't like to push too far offshore in this kayak as the weather shifts around so much and it is such a pain to paddle in decent wind- and I am still gathering experience. I also have a brother in law with a similar sized yak and a larger two person thing that we take out together. All are sensitive to wind.

At heart I am a North NSW coastal boy who got stranded in Melbourne for way too long. I spent most of my first 20 years in the ocean surfing and have always loved fishing, do it every holiday, but I've never been all that technical about specific rigs and targeting specific species and am trying to change this a bit. I am very confident and adept in the water, though the Vic coast isn't in my blood and intuition like the NSW coast is, and a fairly novice kayaker overall with probably a touch too much confidence.

I lust for a Stealth Profisha 525, and watch RoKKiT KiT's youtubes and get homesick for that sort of coast, climate, waves and fishing again, but... although I suspect I will try to get a profisha in the next year or two, I am trying to enjoy the ocean and yak I have...

I tend more towards bait fishing than lures and plastics, purely because of my success rate with bait, but love the idea of not buying bait, using plastics or lures that actually work, and really like the idea of catching bait.

I don't fish for sport, I fish to eat, cook, feed the family, and enjoy the process of it.
I am trying to de-clutter and simplify my approach out on the water- taking less stuff.

I could ramble on for ever, but probably best to just put this out there let more questions come out in the conversation that hopefully develops.

Cheers.
User avatar
shane
Vyak Addict
Posts: 7340
Joined: 07 Sep 2011, 20:54
kayak: Hobie AI, PA14, Quest and an ebay tandem
Real Name: Shane
Location: Moonee Ponds

Re: Wye River and Ocean Grove regions, locations and targets

Post by shane »

Welcome Hans. You've got a great bit of coast to fish there. However you may find there aren't many that fish the area often as it tends to get bypassed for Warnambool/Portland etc. Some people like Cruiser have fished the area a bit and could give some more specific advice.

Regarding marine charts, check out Navionics (https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#b ... hjlkFaummZ). This will give you the best detail available but may not show all reefs, which would be more about local knowledge.

Heading offshore you should be able to pick up couta, slimies, pike etc by trolling small hard bodies and plastics. Otherwise having a sounder and looking for bait balls or bait on the bottom to drop a sabiki rig into would be the way to go for fresh bait. You should be able to catch gummies and snapper on the bottom with fresh bait and at times there will be kingfish and tuna about, but more likely further out. A glass yak would be a bonus given the surf launches and will expand your horizons significantly. Please check out the safety section of the forum and have a good look around as there is a lot of information here that will help you greatly. :up:
0408 565 763
ontic
Posts: 3
Joined: 09 Feb 2016, 18:57
kayak: K-Largo
Real Name: Hans

Re: Wye River and Ocean Grove regions, locations and targets

Post by ontic »

Hi Shane,
thanks for the welcome.
I've done a fair bit of reading here over the years and the other yak forums but haven't posted up much yet. I've searched many a time for any information on yak fishing these areas and aside from Cruiser's posts have found very little information, which is surprising given how nice of a coastline it is.
I have a pretty good handle on the basic safety stuff, but always have more to learn and improve.

Navionics site looks good, thanks. I am hoping to find something with some higher resolution with small reefs etc, but I suppose that is hard to come by. I'm always on the lookout for some decent high resolution arial photos of these areas on a clear water day, as they can reveal a lot, but they are hard to find.

With some burley in Apollo Bay we couldn't help getting heaps of couta, some salmon and a few flat heads, mostly on pilchards. Along with the others, the couta we actually ate and aside from the bones it was great when fresh (no worms). I've been trying to ponder ways to make the bones issue less of a problem as despite the poor reputation amongst australians for the this 'bait' most of us found the flavour quite nice. I tried a bit of one as bait but it took no hits. Great fun to catch for a while, they were going crazy, jumping out of water to strike sinkers and suspended bait and hook themselves.

We were targeting snapper and whiting but found none. Good to know the couta can make decent bait for snapper as they seemed relatively easy to get, and if soft plastics or hardbodies can get them or slimeys then that is great as it would be nice to not have to take frozen bait out (or at least only take a little). I've got quite a collection of soft plastic and hard lures but always feel like I am wasting my time with them so switch to bait very quickly. I've also got some sabiki rigs in the tackle box but haven't played with them much

Kingfish or Tuna would be a dream but I was under the impression that they would be out far and deep (such as the reports I have read of people paddling off Portland etc).

So I guess then it mainly just snapper and gummy that is the main good targets?

Thanks again,
ontic
Posts: 3
Joined: 09 Feb 2016, 18:57
kayak: K-Largo
Real Name: Hans

Re: Wye River and Ocean Grove regions, locations and targets

Post by ontic »

Just a bump with an example of what would be beautiful data to have of some spots... check the detail on the ocean floor here within the marine park only-
http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets ... -_0114.pdf
peatop
PHD in Yakology.
Posts: 2846
Joined: 17 Sep 2017, 18:34
kayak: dune PA14
Real Name: Peter
Location: Clifton springs

Re: Wye River and Ocean Grove regions, locations and targets

Post by peatop »

Im not aware of the charts outside port phillip bay, however i have a chart of my local area that details everything on and under the water, if there are charts produced of the areas you want you can get hard or electronic versions, try Google to search if available ;)
Mob no: 0401580668
Yak PBs kingfish (about this big <>>><), squid 39 cm, king george 42 cm, snapper 72 cm, gummy 122 cm, 71cm flatty (estimated ) Cobia 133cm
User avatar
cruiser
PHD in Yakology.
Posts: 2611
Joined: 27 Jan 2010, 18:37
kayak: AI
Real Name: Geoff
Location: Inverleigh

Re: Wye River and Ocean Grove regions, locations and targets

Post by cruiser »

Hi Hans and welcome to vyak ,yes I do not know any one who fishes from a yak down along the great ocean road on a regular basis,maybe its a hard to get to place for a lot of yakkers
Lorne is not a bad place to launch from if you are in that area , there,s a good little launch spot just behind the co op just watch the point on the right when heading out

Kennet river would be my favorite spot buts its not an easy launch,you have to pick the right day as in low swell from 1 metre and below ,a north wind is good too,there are heaps of reefs right along this coastline so the choice is yours
Dont be afraid to use soft plastics especially this time of year ,anything with a wobbly tail will attract fish with my go too berkly turtle back worm in pumkinseed accounting for many fish
Good luck I might see you down there one day
mob 0423 492 759
Post Reply