There is a stretch of the calendar when half the boat ramp goes quiet and the fishing quietly gets good. Late autumn on Port Phillip Bay is exactly that window, and a FishingMad session — run with mate Fads from Gutsel Fishing Charters in flat, glassy conditions — made the case better than any forecast.
"We're in late autumn now and a lot of people are starting to put their boats away," the host said. "But I reckon the fishing can be absolutely fantastic this time of year."
Proof came fast. Drifting Shimano Flash Boost squid jigs in about three metres of water, the pair barely had to lift a rod — the jigs did the work on the drift, producing doubles and triples and around 13 or 14 squid inside the first quarter of an hour. The host admitted jig colour is often "more for the anglers than the squid," but on the day the proof was in the catches.
Moving to deeper water for King George whiting, the approach stayed deliberately simple: a basic paternoster on 16-pound leader, hook on the bottom, a 40-centimetre dropper and a loop for the sinker, baited with pippies and squid. The whiting came steadily and grew as the run-out tide built — "winter's coming and they're getting bigger," the host said, with several in the high 30s and low 40s. Flathead, Australian salmon, slimy mackerel and a leather jacket rounded out a genuine mixed bag, and a 55mm Nomad Squid Trek soft vibe on tiny assist hooks even tricked a few whiting. The honest verdict, though, was that bait was outfishing the lures.
The host didn't gloss over the hard side either, noting it is "pretty tough going for charter operators these days, and a lot of other businesses, with rising costs." When a front rolled in with rain and freshening wind, the crew pulled the pin with a bucket of squid, whiting and flathead — and a simple lesson: the local fishing can be brilliant in late autumn, if you bother to go.