Hey everyone,
Sharing quick post on the calamari land-based at St Leonards Pier.
The past few months have proved incredibly challenging chasing the calamari with very limited numbers and inconsistency of the calamari being caught.
Spoken with a few mates who are in the marine bio space & Parks Vic wand they've all suggested it could be due to a large brown algae bloom, which has resulted in increase mussel grown (then die off) around the pier and an decrease in eel grass density. The algae has cleared up now and the eel grass appears to be recovering. The dead mussels have made for some solid snags points.
Fished Friday night, 5.00 - 7.00pm
Windy S wind, clear conditions and run-in / slack tide.
This was pretty tough fishing, managed only three smaller squid.
Fished Saturday 7.00 - 9.00am
Light SE winds, crystal clear water and a run in tide.
Perfect conditions, and hardly any decent squid.
Saw maybe 5-6 tiny squid cruising over the shallows, and only caught one sight castings it over weed.
Few photos from Sat.
Also check out this oldschool 4.5 Yozuri, never been used but has minor corrosion in the swivel.
Found this in my grandfathers tackle box, big jigs = big squid right?
St Leonards Pier - Calamari 10/3/2023 & 11/3/22023
- Andrews
- Rank: Premium Member
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St Leonards Pier - Calamari 10/3/2023 & 11/3/22023
Amateur Fisherman, South West Victoria / - Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/fishingandrew/ Sponsors: Yamashita Australia, Sunline & Gomexus.
https://www.instagram.com/fishingandrew/ Sponsors: Yamashita Australia, Sunline & Gomexus.
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- Bluefin
- Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:21 pm
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Re: St Leonards Pier - Calamari 10/3/2023 & 11/3/22023
Still did alright mate!
Nice find squid slayer
what a beauty.
Cheers![👍🏻](//cdn.jsdelivr.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f44d-1f3fb.png)
Nice find squid slayer
![😃](http://cdn.jsdelivr.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f603.png)
Cheers
![👍🏻](http://cdn.jsdelivr.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f44d-1f3fb.png)
- Tim399
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- Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:05 am
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Re: St Leonards Pier - Calamari 10/3/2023 & 11/3/22023
Interesting insight into the current conditions. I went spearing at Clifton springs last weekend, and noticed a lot of fluffy light brown algae covering large patches of the grass beds and had settled, filling the sand holes. I didn’t swim out too far, but didn’t see any squid around either. I hadn’t dived Clifton springs before, but have kayak fished there a few times, with good results and was surprised not to see squid.Andrews wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 11:26 amHey everyone,
Sharing quick post on the calamari land-based at St Leonards Pier.
The past few months have proved incredibly challenging chasing the calamari with very limited numbers and inconsistency of the calamari being caught.
Spoken with a few mates who are in the marine bio space & Parks Vic wand they've all suggested it could be due to a large brown algae bloom, which has resulted in increase mussel grown (then die off) around the pier and an decrease in eel grass density. The algae has cleared up now and the eel grass appears to be recovering. The dead mussels have made for some solid snags points.
Fished Friday night, 5.00 - 7.00pm
Windy S wind, clear conditions and run-in / slack tide.
This was pretty tough fishing, managed only three smaller squid.
Fished Saturday 7.00 - 9.00am
Light SE winds, crystal clear water and a run in tide.
Perfect conditions, and hardly any decent squid.
Saw maybe 5-6 tiny squid cruising over the shallows, and only caught one sight castings it over weed.
Few photos from Sat.
Also check out this oldschool 4.5 Yozuri, never been used but has minor corrosion in the swivel.
Found this in my grandfathers tackle box, big jigs = big squid right?
02FB73AD-99D5-4B9D-9748-7714F8BECC6B.jpeg
E023DDD8-397E-42DD-9BFA-A0927DD03702.jpeg
IMG_0698.jpeg
IMG_0730.jpg
- Andrews
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2019 2:41 pm
- Location: Bellarine Peninsula
- Has liked: 268 times
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Re: St Leonards Pier - Calamari 10/3/2023 & 11/3/22023
Cheers Lightningx! Always good just being out having a fish haha!
Yeah, that's the brown algae I'm taking about - fondly named 'snot weed' by many due to it's texture!
We had a massive bloom, to the point is was on your jig every time you hit bottom - the mussels are a new addition too. Some of the divers recently took photos showing the new growth of mussels, then this huge death of the shellfish. They were littering the whole bottom at one point.
Still some baitfish around, some nice fat tommies, yakkas and mackerel.
Yeah, that's the brown algae I'm taking about - fondly named 'snot weed' by many due to it's texture!
We had a massive bloom, to the point is was on your jig every time you hit bottom - the mussels are a new addition too. Some of the divers recently took photos showing the new growth of mussels, then this huge death of the shellfish. They were littering the whole bottom at one point.
Still some baitfish around, some nice fat tommies, yakkas and mackerel.
Amateur Fisherman, South West Victoria / - Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/fishingandrew/ Sponsors: Yamashita Australia, Sunline & Gomexus.
https://www.instagram.com/fishingandrew/ Sponsors: Yamashita Australia, Sunline & Gomexus.
- Andrews
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2019 2:41 pm
- Location: Bellarine Peninsula
- Has liked: 268 times
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Re: St Leonards Pier - Calamari 10/3/2023 & 11/3/22023
Caught +3 13/3/2023, two tiny ones, one decent
Amateur Fisherman, South West Victoria / - Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/fishingandrew/ Sponsors: Yamashita Australia, Sunline & Gomexus.
https://www.instagram.com/fishingandrew/ Sponsors: Yamashita Australia, Sunline & Gomexus.
- Andrews
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2019 2:41 pm
- Location: Bellarine Peninsula
- Has liked: 268 times
- Likes received: 766 times
Re: St Leonards Pier - Calamari 10/3/2023 & 11/3/22023
Fished last night 15/3/2022, tons of yakkas (caught 30 or so), one tiny squid. Didn't see much else caught.
Amateur Fisherman, South West Victoria / - Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/fishingandrew/ Sponsors: Yamashita Australia, Sunline & Gomexus.
https://www.instagram.com/fishingandrew/ Sponsors: Yamashita Australia, Sunline & Gomexus.