THE late season run of snapper in Port Phillip Bay has been a beauty.

Reports continue to come in of fish from 3kg to 8kg being hooked from Carrum to Mt Martha in about 19-20 metres.

Good catches have been had off St Leonards and in Corio Bay.

However, as so often happens when there is a good run of fish, there has been an increase in the number of anglers who cannot help themselves – or should that be help themselves to more than they are allowed?

Fisheries Victoria officers say more anglers have been catching more than the legal limit of snapper and hiding them.

Fisheries Victoria director of field services Michael Hodder said two boats were discovered with illegal catches hidden aboard during an Easter blitz.

“One of those involved 35 fish and in the other the angler suffered the embarrassment of having his illegal cache unveiled in front of spectators at Sandringham,” he said.

In early May, another two boats were caught in similar circumstances.

“At Black Rock we found a man had hidden snapper under trays of his tackle box and another boat at Mordialloc had 71 snapper aboard, eight of them undersized and 50 hidden in the folds of the canopy,” he said.

“Two men in their 60s will be charged on summons after the Mordialloc discovery.

“In all four cases, the actions of the fishers have been to deliberately deceive the Fisheries officers, and these actions will not be tolerated.”

Another man will be charged on summons over the Black Rock incident and another six infringement notices were issued.

Fisheries officers also reported an unwelcome rise in the number of people taking undersize snapper in Port Phillip Bay.

Officers have issued more than 40 infringement notices during recent patrols.

Five people have appeared in court and have been fined from $250 to $750 for taking too many snapper.

Anyone who sees or suspects illegal fishing should report it on 13 FISH (13 3474).

The Murray River may be devoid of Murray cod from Barmah to Wentworth but the species, and the rare and endangered freshwater catfish (Tandanus tandanus), have been a surprise discovery in Hughes Creek at Avenel near Seymour.

A cooperative approach to preserving native fish habitat and controlling pests in Hughes Creek resulted in the surprise discovery.

“We haven’t seen or heard of the catfish in this creek for many years, though it is present at the Tahbilk Lagoon near Nagambie,” Arthur Rylah Institute scientist Jarod Lyon said.

Freshwater catfish are listed as threatened under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

They were once one of the most common big-bodied fish in the Murray-Darling Basin.

“Part of the creek is home to a strong population of the threatened Macquarie perch and ARI has been working with Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority to get pest fish species out of the creek, particularly European carp, to reduce pressure on the perch,” Mr Lyon said.

“During the follow-up survey work along the creek we found the freshwater catfish, Murray cod, golden perch and Macquarie perch in the same waterholes,” Mr Lyon said.

“The recent strong water flows down the creek helped move these fish into the area.

“It is extraordinary to find three threatened species in one water hole in a section.”

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In season: Terry Hayden shows off a snapper he caught last week in Corio Bay.