Trellys Fishing Report
Corio Bay
The long weekend offered some hot fishing in the local waters with anglers braving the average weather being rewarded with some nice fish. The outer Harbour has had a spike with the King George Whiting with reports improving drastically over the past few weeks, they had slowed down for a little white but after hearing the reports from the weekend the bite is back on. Anglers were finding large numbers of fish spread right across the Bellarine Peninsula with Leopold through to Portarlington holding the best numbers. Fishing in about 4 metres seems to be the sweet spot with some fish still being caught deeper and shallower. Fishing the stronger tides like what we had over the weekend definitely played a big part in getting those extra bites and with fresh baits like pipi and squid you’re in for a great shot.
Outer Harbour
Calamari were on the menu for many anglers with plenty of reports coming through of anglers picking some up in the shallows. The Calamari haven’t been at a huge size lately but there does appear to be a few getting about. Smaller jigs like size 2.5 has been the more productive size to be throwing around with brighter colours seeming to be the current favourites for the squid.
Offshore Barwon heads
Offshore has seen some fantastic fishing over the past few weeks with the Gummy reports coming through thick and fast. That magic 30 metre line we talk so much about is proving to be the best depth to secure yourself a feed. Not only gummies hanging around on the bottom but some nice Snapper to around 6kg in weight taking the same rigs and baits intended for gummies. There has also been a few mako sightings this past week so pays to have a wire trace on hand just in case one comes up to the back of the boat.
Wurdi Buloc
Wurdi Buloc has well and truly retained its names as the lake of a thousand casts, however with a lot of patience and persistence there is some great fish to be caught. Brown and Rainbow Trout are still on the top of anglers list of prized fish to catch with still a healthy amount of reddies amongst them too. Casting surface lures, big swimbaits or large jerkbaits at first light is going to give you the best shot at a big trout or redfin and as the day goes on fishing deeper should get you more bites as the fish go down and become a bit harder to tempt.
Goulburn River
Cray season is now amongst us and we are selling plenty of nets and accessories for those wanting to chase Crays in the Goulburn River.The river is much cleaner up towards Murchison and Nagambie and this has been a hot spot for those chasing Crays. There has been plenty of big Crays caught in this stretch of the river. The water around Shepparton is much dirtier but we have still got reports for Crays in the beer of the town behind the Shepp lake. There are some deep holes on bends near the caravan park and the junction and these have been the best spots.
Fishing has slowed up a little lately with only a hand full of cod reported from those mostly trolling in between checking cray pots. Bait fishing can be a little tricky this time of the year with the Crays enjoying a fresh feed of worms or chicken so try to set up your bait rigs so you can fish your baits off the bottom where possible.
Broken River
Just like the Goulburn there has been plenty of Crays caught in the Broken River this past week. The difference has been all these Crays have been caught by those fishing with bait. Some legal sized Crays have been caught and release along Broken River Drive with scrub worms being their favourite bait. Those who reported these Crays also caught a couple of Yellowbelly which is great to see some native fish action even in the cold. There has also been some small cod caught below the weirs with Spinnerbaits being the best lures in these spots. You have to work pretty hard for native fish this time of year in the broken but they still do bite so don’t be fully turned off from fishing with lures.
Carp are still very active in the broken with floating worms or corn being the best baits.
Irrigation Channels
The channel system around Shepparton are now down for the winter and this can be some of the best fishing times. The fish hold in the deeper water or on structure so you can really target fish filled areas along the channel system. You may need to chop and change spots a little but you will find a bridge or a syphon that is holding active fish. Small square bills, Tn60s and also jackal Squirrels are great for these areas. Slow retrieves and a pause is the best way to fish the channels this time of year with lures. Bait fishing is much easier when the waters down due to the flow not being there and the favourite technique of many is drifting scrub worms around the bridge pylons.
The fish are holding tight to the structure but they can’t resist a big scrub worm or a bunch of night crawlers.
Loddon River
With the colder weather moving in, it makes fishing those early mornings a little tough. But it is worth getting out of bed for. Anglers who have braved the cold mornings have had some good luck using bigger surface lures such as your Ballista tremors or bassman aussie crawlers have had reports of some fish measuring upwards of 90cms. During the middle of the day bait fishing seems to be the pick or casting big hard bodies such as our Australian Crafted.
Yellow belly are also still around, fish around the reedy banks and fish slowly with small vibes such as your jackall mask vibes or tn50s. This time of year, silent TN50s/60s seem to work really well.
Bait fishing has also been going well with anglers having a lot of luck using trellys special chicken. If you're after yellow belly the old faithful scrub worms have still been working great.
Cairn Curran
Cairn Curran is still fishing relatively slow with anglers having most luck on bait around structure. Bouncing worms around the trees is the best way to entice a yellow belly to eat. If you’re fishing from the bank be patient and try scrub worms and fish tight around the rock walls, or trees.
Campaspe River
Campaspe river is rather quiet but there are still the odd good fish getting caught here and there. One lucky angler was able to get out recently and landed himself a nice cod to 80cms on a bassman spinnerbait 1oz. Fish slowly this time of year and fish tight up against structure.
Bait fishing is also another great option this time of year with chicken and big yabbies being the standout bait for murray cod. These baits are great as once they’re in the water you don’t have to worry too much about the bait coming off the hook. If you’re after redfin or yellow belly any left over shrimp that you might have frozen is a great option to throw on your hook as well as a nice big scrubbie that we stock.
Lake Eppalock
This is probably the standout fishery at the present time. Anglers who have been prepared to put in the time in this lake have been rewarded with some good numbers of redfin. The redfin seem to be in deep water around that 25-30ft mark. Try trolling around with a small stump jumper size 3 and a plastic a meter above your lure this helps show where the fish are sitting in the water level as well as giving the fish multiple options. It’s a very effective way to try to find an active feeding school of redfin. The size of the redfin in these cooler months has also seen improvement with fish ranging between 25-40cm, which is pretty good for the lake. There is also the odd Yellow Belly being caught amongst the schools of redfin, so be prepared to potentially pick up one of these fish measuring up to 55cms. Bait fishing from the bank is also a very productive way to get some fish, try using a small hook and a worm around grassy or rocky banks. If you haven’t caught a fish in the first 30mins try moving spots. Try casting small soft plastics or hogbacks around for the redfin. Bait fishing from the boat is also working great with yabbie tails or scrub worms around the trees proving the best baits.
Bendigo’s Family Fishing Lakes
Crusoeis seeing a few trout caught on spinners and powerbait and some decent redfin on worms, Weeroona has slowed down a lot, if you can find the school of redfin you will generally get a couple, a few big carp caught recently on corn and bread and the same with tom thumb, lloyds of carp and silver perch on bait with small hooks.