Corio Bay

Corio Bay is a shallow body of water extending from the Geelong waterfront towards Portarlington. It has an inner and an outer harbour, essentially two round bowls with a combination of reef, seagrass, weed and sand flats around the margins. As a teenager, I spent my summers on the Mornington Peninsula, fishing the salt waters of nearby Port Phillip Bay for a variety of species with my dad.

Having recently settled with my wife to the west of Geelong, Corio Bay presented itself as an enticing local option to do something different for a morning or afternoon session on my days off from trout guiding. I’ve had a blast exploring the saltwater options the bay has to offer, being pleasantly surprised by the variety of species and terrain available for both conventional tackle and fly fishing.

Having only scratched the surface, there is a lot more to learn about the fishery, but early success has captured my attention more than expected. And so I thought I’d share with you what I’ve discovered after a season of exploring the bay.

LIFE IN THE BAY

Corio Bay is well known for its runs of snapper, quality-sized flathead and whiting, and over the past season I’ve also encountered black bream, trevally, Australian salmon, snook and more. I must confess that I started fishing the bay with soft plastics, jerk baits and other lures, as intel was more readily at hand for conventional fishing methods from those who fish it regularly.

After a few trips searching the various terrain and water, I started catching more and more fish up shallow. One calm sunny summer’s afternoon, I was ticking along the flats in Stingaree Bay on the electric motor in a metre of water, when I came across a big school of pinkie snapper mooching amongst sand patches in the seagrass. It was at that moment that the urge to grab the fly rod and feel the pull of a fly line in my hand took over. To my delight, it didn’t take long to get eats on the fly and to even polaroid a few fish successfully!

FINDING THE RIGHT WATER

There is a variety of water to explore around Corio Bay, and I have only had the opportunity to fish a portion of it. The most productive fly water I have found is in the one to three metre zone, ironically not dissimilar to a lot of lake fishing for trout. The shallower water lets you get a fly to the bottom and keep it there. The deeper you fish, the more time you will have your fly in the zone, and you’ll have less current to contend with.

My favourite water to target has been either on the flats or along the many ledges and sloping drop-offs along the margins of the inner and outer harbour. On higher tides, spending time up shallow on the flats has been fruitful. On lower tides, I’ve pushed wider, working along the ledges and channels.

The bottom structure varies throughout the bay, and the clear, sandy edges around reefs, weed and seagrass are productive places to target. You’ll readily find snapper, blue spotted flathead and bream, with the snapper and bream often providing excellent sight fishing opportunities. Generally, the smaller sand holes and depressions around the weed and seagrass are more productive than the large open sand holes.

When the current pushes fish into deeper gutters and eddies, you can target them with a fast-sinking line. Schools of snapper and salmon roll through these areas and can be caught when the tide is running. While this water isn’t as common in the bay, the size of snapper you encounter can be very rewarding.

Along the Geelong city waterfront and in Grammar School Lagoon, you can also target jetties, docks and moored boats, where you will find snapper, trevally and bream holding under them.

Finally, if you see birds, it is always worth a look, as they often indicate schools of salmon feeding on bait.

FLY SELECTION

There’s a wide range of food sources in the bay. Mussels cover all the hard ground, baitfish are abundant, crustaceans roam the sand, and there are a lot of marine worms. On more than one occasion I have had pinkie snapper regurgitate worms whilst unhooking them. I have also netted flathead with small crabs crawling out of their mouths.

A range of different flies have worked, including Crazy Charlies, crab and shrimp patterns, baitfish and even worm imitations. Shrimps have been most successful in orange, pink and tan, with bright orange seeming to induce takes.

I like a fly that is easy to cast, fishes well, and that I have confidence in. It needs just enough weight to touch bottom quickly. With tide changes and fish coming on and off the bite, it is often more productive to fish something consistently well, rather than change flies often. That way, when you come across a catchable fish, you are ready to capitalise.

FISHING THE FLIES

Getting your fly down is the top priority. Most of the food is on the bottom, and that is where the feeding fish are. The water I’m targeting is the 1 to 3 metre zone. Always be ready to make a cast, because you may come across a school of fish at any time.

A clear sinking tip or clear intermediate line is a good option for this water, with a short straight-through 8lb fluorocarbon leader, balancing sink rate with ease of line management.

In targeting very specific patches, we want to keep the fly in that area as long as possible. Carefully fishing the drop and allowing your fly to reach the bottom is critical. Many takes will come when the fly first hits the bottom. Once at depth, mixing up the retrieve with short to medium-length strips and bumps is ideal. Give your fly some movement and life, without pulling it out of the target patch too quickly.

Visualise your shrimp or crab falling to the bottom and the fish’s behaviour. As it falls, the snapper sees it out of the corner of its eye. The fish then slides towards the fly as it hits the bottom. It inspects the fly, the fly twitches, shuffling six inches away like fleeing prey. The fish follows, the fly darts again. As it does, the snapper accelerates and crunches the fly before it escapes into the approaching seagrass cover. That’s the process you’re aiming to emulate.

The pinkies and bream both cruise the flats. They can be in a few different modes. Sometimes cruising with direction, mooching around as a group, or with their noses to the bottom foraging. They are catchable most of the time, but are much easier when they are visibly moving slowly, looking for food on the bottom.

When shallow, you generally see them in bright, clear conditions, and they can be spooky. Ensure you lead the fish by a few metres — if one spooks, often they all do, so don’t land the fly on their heads.

When there is current, approaching up-current and diagonally off to the side is optimal as they mostly face into the current — lead the fish and draw your fly away from them, letting the fish come to the fly.

On a slack tide, the movement of the fish is more erratic and unpredictable as they cruise and move in random directions and often show disinterest. Changing to a fly with more of a trigger can sometimes get them going, but this part of the tide can be frustrating and a great time to grab lunch.

Fishing gutters and channels up to 6 metres in depth, I use a fast-sinking line, such as a type 5 or 7. You’ll be dealing with stronger currents, so get your line and flies down as quickly as possible, efficiently sweeping the zone you are targeting.

Fishing this water is similar to lake fishing with sinking lines — cast and retrieve to cover water and systematically find feeding fish. Fishing the edge of the current is ideal, as this helps drop your fly to depth without the current pulling your line, and the fly up and out of the zone.

I rarely spend lots of time in these areas as the fishing can be hit and miss. If the fish are there and feeding, you will know quickly. I like to drop in on the spots during a running tide to check, and if they aren’t there, I keep moving.

I have loved the accessibility and ease of popping out for a saltwater session so close to home. The opportunity to sight fish for snapper and other species that pull hard is a lot of fun, and catching a few flathead for dinner ensures the leave passes keep coming.