Trellys Fishing Report
Corio Bay
The Rock fishing this past week has been the standout for local fisherman with St Helens, Lineburners and St Helens all proving to be fishing very well for Snapper, King George Whiting and Flathead. Launching baits such as Pilchards, Squid and even other baits like salmon or trevally have been working well for Snapper up to 6kg. A great fish off the rocks. The Geelong Waterfront is still holding great numbers of small Australian Salmon to landbased and boat anglers casting small lures around the structure. Although not big in size they sure are making up for it in numbers and is a great opportunity to load up the freezer for the big season ahead. Some Snapper are starting to get caught by anglers fishing from the boat with fish to 5kg being landed. Anthony Pirrottina kicked off his season with a nice fish from a recent trip fishing in the inner harbour.
St Leonards
St Leonards continues to produce some fantastic Whiting fishing to those that are finding small breaks in the weather with the fish chewing very hard! Definitely a big factor to this is the lack of boat traffic over the past few weeks. Fishing strong tides or first and last light are the prime times to be fishing for them.
Barwon Heads
The Barwon Estuary has been offering some great fishing for Silver Trevally, Salmon and Tailor. Small baits behind a solid burley trail will get you into the action but soft plastics are always a great option. Fishing the incoming tide is by far the best time to fish for them. Landbased anglers have been doing really well of Barwon heads pier/boat ramp and also the sheep wash.
Goulburn River
The river continues to settle and we are now getting some better water clarity, the days have not been hot enough to fire the Yellowbelly right up but we are getting more and more reports. In the heart of Shepparton there has been legal sized Yellowbelly caught on scrub worms near the broken junction and also behind aqua moves. Down towards Jordan’s Bend and the rapids near the cemetery we have been betting good reports back in from those casting Tn60 jackals. Afternoons seem to be when the fish are most active especially for those casting lures. Upstream towards Moira Park we have had a couple of reports that trolling small Old Mates and Stump jumpers has worked well. The river leading into lake Nagambie has also been improving with some Nagambie locals reporting Yellowbelly are being caught casting both zx40 blades and black gulps. Right upstream towards Eildon we are getting plenty of trout reports coming in with small spinners and hardbodies working great in the flowing water. Off in the calmer water pockets soft plastics and also unweighted scrub worms have been working well with some big trout caught since opening fishing this way.
Broken River
Bait fishing along broken river drive has been a great location this week with plenty of young anglers heading down and catching good sized fish. Carp have been very active in this stretch of water with corn and worms working great. Scrub worms and small yabbies have been the best baits for those targeting Yellowbelly. Upstream towards the weirs there has been some nice sized fish caught on both Spinnerbaits and mask vibes.
Shepparton Lake
There has been plenty of pelicans in the lake this past week and this usually means a fresh stocking of fish or the water clarity is super clear so it’s an easy feed for the birds. We have been getting more reports as the days warm up of Yellowbelly out deep in the rowing lanes being trolled up on small divers and lipless crank baits. Also we are getting more Redfin reports around the edges especially if you can fish in low light periods as the fish are more confident to push shallow. The best days are those warmer days where it becomes overcast in the afternoons. If you get these conditions focus on the weed edges and also shallow rocky bottom areas. Casting bent minnows or small plastics are great in these areas with some good eating sized Redfin caught on the past in under a foot of water using those lures. Bait fishing has also been a great way to fish these shallow areas with unweighted powerbaits and scrub worms working great, if you fish deeper we suggest using a float and running the bait around 30cms under it.
Botanical Gardens Lake
The small lake in the middle of the botanical gardens in Kialla has been fishing really well for carp with some monster carp being caught.Small cicada type lures have been great this past week with the carp being sight fished by casting just in front of them as they cruise the shallows followed by the slightest tap of the rod. The key is to just get the wings to open a little and create a small ripple ring around the lure.
Bent minnows and also cup faced poppers are also great for this technique with the pause very important once you make a ripple. Bait fishing in the shallows has also been successful with night crawlers drifted in the shallows a great way to chase these carp.
Loddon River
The Loddon river is now starting to settle with the water clarity slowly improving.
Below the wall at Lannecorie through to the Serpentine weir fishing with small vibes such as your TN60s has been rewarding with some yellow belly being caught up to 50cms. The most popular colours are definitely HL Black or Peacock.
However bait fishing is definitely the best option at the moment, if you're able to get some fresh shrimp you’ll be in with a great chance. Another very popular option at the moment is to use scrub worms under a light sinker so it moves around the bottom.
Campaspe River
Campaspe River has started to improve in clarity but a rainy week may change things a few yellow belly coming below the Elmore weir. Small hard bodied lures such as your Bassman tubby native have been a great option to try to entice one of these fish., Try using small soft plastics such as your 2.5inch Daiwa Bait junkies in either grub or minnow style both work well, brighter colours have been the most popular at the present time.
Lake Eppalock
The lake is still a little bit cold sitting at around 14-15 degrees in most areas. Some Yellow Belly are holding the trees and the most effective way to entice the fish to bite is to use a heavy jig head around 1/4oz with a black grub. Another way is to bounce ZX40 blades in colour 416.
Trolling in around 25ft – 30ft of water has been the depth that most redfin have been holding. Troll with an RMG crazy deep or an A/C invader in 70mm with a plastic teaser about 1m above the hard body and this will put you in with a good chance of finding an active feeding school. Once you’ve located the school try using ice jigs or soft plastics.
From the bank yabbies around rocky ledges have also produced some good fish.
Cairn Curran
No rel reports here this week but if trying your luck small spinnerbaits and hardbodys may be the best bet to try and get a yellowbelly. Bait will be another popular choice with either scrub worms or euro worms. With more rainy weather forecast the fishing may slow down but try just before and after a rain can sometimes yield good results.
Crusoe
Trout are still being caught since being stocked for the school holiday period. Pink Tassie Devils have been the standout for people chasing the trout on lures, if using bait use a very small hook with some powerbait and it’ll put you in with a good chance of landing a nice trout. Small soft plastics have also been working for reddies with the average size around 20cm but there are also some large ones amongst them.
Kennington
The place to go if you’re after trout. Fishing with a small hook and powerbait has proved to be a great way to target these fish. Similar to Crusoe there have also been some small reddies caught on spinners or trout taken on tassie devils