Trellys Fishing Report
Bellarine Peninsula
The talk among the fishing community this week is the hot King George Whiting bite we have got in the bay, and by hot were talking as good as we have ever seen Whiting Fishing for the bay. Anglers heading out have had no struggle what so ever bagging out in very little time. There is a wide variety of size fish mixed in with most around low to mid 30s with some fish getting to 45cm! They don’t seem to be fussy on tides or time of day either, they’re just here and feeding HARD. Clifton Springs to Portarlington has been by far the most popular zone to be fishing as of late anywhere from 3 – 4.5 metres. Still lots of fish towards the spoils grounds closest to Clifton Springs but you can save yourself the 5 Litres of fuel and fish closer LOL. Calamari are also in good numbers off Clifton Springs and towards the Mussel farm towards Jack Rabbit. Anglers have been finding large numbers of Calamari casting 3.0 Squid Jigs in the shallow water, the biggest key at the moment is finding the clear water over the weed. As far as the size of them goes they are much better than your average Clifton Springs squid, quite a good size to them at the moment.
Corio Bay
Inside the bay there has been some great fishing options for Landbased, kayak and small boat fishos with the Grammar School and Geelong Yacht Club all offering some good fishing. Anglers casting soft plastics have been picking up pinky snapper, King George Whiting, Flathead, Salmon and Silver Trevally. All these species will typically eat the same lures and baits so it’s a great option if you are chasing a mixed bag!
Portland – Port Macdonnel
Down the west coast the Barrel Tuna bite has continued with anglers fishing between Portland and Port MacDonnell getting amongst the great fish! Anglers have been landing fish to over 140kg on both Skirted Lures and Divers. Sticking with the bait and life is key to getting one of these big meatballs on the line.
Moorabool Reservoir
Moorabool Reservoir has come onto the radar this week with some reports of anglers landing some decent trout from the shore casting small shallow diving hardbody lures. When fishing here and pretty much any reservoir, fishing the low light times of the day (sunrise and sunset) are the prime times to be fishing so don’t be too worried about getting there to late after work or too early before work as these are the best times to fish it.
Goulburn River
We are still getting regular reports from the Goulburn River with cod and Yellowbelly still being caught even though the weather has now dropped away. Toolamba seems to be one of the better stretches of river with some cod reported trolling small diving lures on black and red. There has been some Yellowbelly caught in Murchison on Tn60 jackals with brown dog being the best colour. In Shepparton the banks behind the lake have been productive for those fishing with bait with many different species being caught. Cod, Yellowbelly and silver perch have all been caught on both night crawlers and scrub worms. Carp are still very active up and down the river system and we have been selling plenty of worms to those chasing carp either under a float shallow or out deeper on the bottom.
Kialla Lakes
The levels are still down in the lake which isn’t ideal for the edge bite but you may have to change up your lures and use shallower diving hardbodies or lighter weighted soft plastics.
There is still Redfin chewing on the edges so don’t give up on the lake but you just need to adapt to the conditions. Out a bit deeper you can run deeper diving crankbaits and also blades. The blade bite has mostly been from those hopping them back, so a long cast and connection with the bottom is key. Once your lure is on the bottom a sharp lift of the rod usually gets the blade flicking off the bottom and drawing attention. There has been Redfin the odd Yellowbelly and even a catfish caught this week on blades.
Shepparton Lake
The weather is cooling off so this is when we start to see more trout captures in the Shepparton Lake. There is plenty of different ways to target the thought with floating powerbait or worms being the best baits for those enjoying a bait fishing session. The grass hill continues to be a very productive spot for those bait fishing with both trout and silver perch reported this week. Lure fishing is all about what doesn’t get hung up in the weed constantly. You want a lure that can come through the weed or just above it.In previous years small jerkbaits like the XR6 or 8s have been great for those fishing above the weed. Fishing through the weed with lightly rigged plastics such as the strike tigers have been great. If you want to get into the weed more we suggest to use unweighted worm hooks or even lightly weighted weedless hooks.
Ovens River
Trelly has been enjoying a bit of family time this past week and there is no better way to do that than fishing. Trelly and his grandson Charlie have been having plenty of success drifting worms and picking up plenty of fish in the process. This is a great way to target trout in any freshwater stream with it being one of trellys go to techniques. Small spinners in deeper pools have also been working well for trout with some nice fish also caught casting these lures.
Lake Eppalock
Persistence remains crucial at Lake Eppalock currently, as angler reports vary. Trolling deeper waters, particularly around 8-10 meters. Anglers have found success using deep diving hardbody lures like the RMG Poltergeist 8m Crazy Deep, particularly for Redfin. Lures such as the Australian Crafted 70mm Invader and Arashi 25 Deep have been effective, especially for larger Redfin and the odd Yellowbellly and Cod. Soft-plastic flicking for Redfin as been slow, however, a few have been picked up with Strike Tiger 3-inch grubs in whitebait pear and the Zman Baby Goat, fished slowly and close to the bottom. Pairing these with matching Strike Tiger Jigheads or the TT NedLockz, suitable for deeper waters, has proven successful, especially when imitating yabbies.When the lure bite is slow, many anglers have found success with a simpler approach, catching Redfin and Yellowbelly using worms from both the bank and boat. A basic running sinker rig with scrub worms or yabbies as bait has been effective.
Campaspe River
Although the rivers water clarity looks good, the fishing has slowed down with the cooler weather. Anglers have been able to find the odd cod casting hard body divers below Rochester, with good success on AC invaders and Codger divers. The odd cod have also been caught off the top on Taylor Made cod wallopers.
Cairn Curran
Bait has been by far the most effective way to have a chance of getting a fish, with the odd redfin being caught on worms and if you can get your hands on some yabbies, theres a decent chance of a yella or bigger redfin. The lure fishing is a bit slower at the current time. With soft plastics picking up the odd reddie and Jackall TN60 still picking up redfin and the odd yella casting the points and timber. With Cod now open year round in both Eppalock and Cairn Curran, it is well worth spending some time figuring out the lake, with fisheries stocking both lakes heavily with cod, sure to be a great cod fishery in years to come.
Loddon River
White spinnerbaits have proven effective in catching cod and yellas the past week along the skinny water around Ferniherst Weir. With good numbers of yellas and the odd cod being plucked out of the timber. Although there has been some reports form that stretch, Bridgewater and above has been slow, with water clarity being poor and low flow. The Yellowbelly have slowed down with the odd cod being caught on bigger profile spinnerbaits and hardbodies such as Spinwright spinnerbaiits, AC Invaders in the 90mm and Old Mate 15ft divers.