Corio Bay
This week we have seen one of our favourite species come back and in some pretty good numbers by the sounds of it, The Garfish! Land based anglers have been finding some good success this past week with good numbers getting around. Some locations that have fished well and are well worth having a suss at are Grammar School Lagoon, St Helens Rocks, Geelong Waterfront, Lineburners, Kevin Barry, Clifton Springs Jetty and Swan Bay Jetty. As mentioned many times when fishing for these critters is a solid and consistent Burley Trail with Tiny baits suspended under a pencil float.
Bellarine Peninsula
King George Whiting remain as a hot topic this week with the Bellarine Peninsula continuing to offer some great fishing for them. The usual areas we have been mentioning over the past few reports are still proving to be the go to locations. Fishing the stronger tides and late in the afternoon are the prime time to be chasing a feed of them.
Offshore
Offshore Barwon heads has been then talk of the town this past week with Barrel Tuna arriving in good numbers. The fish are fairly spread out from Cape Schanck all the way along the coast to Torquay. Most fish have been sitting in around 50 – 60 metres of water feeding on Pilchards so you’re more natural and blue coloured lured are sure to be the wise colour choice. The fish could go as quickly as they have showed up so best try get out there if you’re chasing one. Please be careful when heading offshore as the passages to get out there can be dangerous. Gummy and School Sharks are still fishing very well offshore with Gone Fishing Charters AGAIN getting amongst them. Fishing that 30 metre line on anchor has been productive with a few welcomed pinky snapper along the way also.
Barwon River
The Barwon River has offered some nice fishing this week with Carp on the chew. A great option to avoid weather, want to take the kids out or only have limited time. Fishing with a very lightly weighted running sinker rig with Corn Kernels or bread will put you in for a great shot at some of this action.
Goulburn River
It’s been a bit of a quieter week for those fishing around Shepparton with only a couple of reports this week from those chasing natives.A couple of small cod were reported behind Aquamoves and near the Broken Junction. Out towards Arcadia there were plenty of carp caught on bait with worms working best for those chasing them.Upstream we had some reports from those fishing between Murchison and Nagambie with a hand full of Yellowbelly caught on both scrub worms and small Spinnerbaits. Deeper pools best flowing water seemed to be the best spots for the Yellowbelly.
Broken River
This time of the year the fishing can be tough but there is still the odd fish being caught. One thing that will help is flow of water and after the rain we recently had in the Shepparton region we would expect this flow of water into the river will fire the fish up a little more.Targeting downstream of both weirs would be the best areas with tn60 Jackals or Spinnerbaits the best options for those lure fishing. If you’re keen to bait fish in their areas drifting scrub worms can be a great way to fish. Aim to get your baits to drift into back Eddie’s and the fish will sit in behind larger rocks and snags ambushing your scrub worms are they drift past.
Kialla Lakes
Almost 60mm of rain has fallen in Shepparton and that means Kialla gets an influx of water. This will push the fish up on the edges feeding closer to the banks.The water clarity won’t be great but fishing post rain is the best at Kialla.Small divers, jerkbaits and bent minnows are all great shallow water lures and perfect for a Kialla lakes edge bite.Bait fishing with worms closer to the edge is also a great way to fish Kialla after rain with floats or unweighted baits working best.
Irrigation Channels
The drawdown of local channels is underway and the fish have now settled and holding up in deeper pools or around structure.We have had some reports of cod and Yellowbelly being caught out towards pine lodge and also around Kialla central area.Square bill hard bodies have been working great and work well in the shallower waters.Casting up into syphons with Spinnerbaits has also been a great way to fish after the drawdown with plenty of fish sitting in the deeper water around the pipes.Scrub worms and night crawlers have also been the best baits for those fishing the edges and weed pockets in the channels with Redfin and Yellowbelly also reported lately from bait fisherman.
Lake Eppalock
Persistence is key within Lake Eppalock at the moment, we have had many mixed reports from anglers with the best reports coming from trolling the deeper water in 8-10 meters with deep diving hardbodies such as the RMG Poltergeist 8m crazy deep with good numbers of Redfin being produced. Yellowbelly have been caught in similar depths using larger profile hardbodies to produce a bigger bite with yellow Belly being caught up to 55cm. Hardbodies including Australian Crafted 70mm invader and Arashi 25 Deep producing good fish, including better sized redfin up to 40cm. Flicking soft-plastics for redfin is still producing good numbers of fish with strike tiger 3 inch grubs in whitebait pear and the Zman Baby Goat being fished slow and tight to the bottom. These can be paired up with matching Strike Tiger Jigheads in 1/8th of an ounce or the TT NedLockz, perfect for fishing deeper water and with yabby imitation plastics such as the Baby Goat. If the lure bite is slow, many redfin and yellowbelly have been caught with worms from the bank or boat with a simple running sinker rig. Scrub worms have been the choice of bait.
Campaspe River
Although the water clarity is still relatively dirty in sections, quality Murray cod have been caught throughout the system, in particular throughout Axedale and stretches downstream of Elmore weir. The pick of the lures being Bassman spinnerbaits and single willow spinnerbaits, peppering heavily timbered banks and slack water behind snags with multiple casts is important, ensuring each spot is fished thoroughly to induce a hit. In conjunction to Spinnerbaits, Cod and Yellowbelly have also been enticed by Old Mate 15ft divers, perfect for fishing heavily timbered rivers such as the Campaspe. Reports of Top water cod have been few and far between, however a couple of reports of good sized cod well into the 80s have been caught on the Taylor made Cod Walloper.
Cairn Curran
Although water clarity throughout the lake is relatively poor, good numbers of yellowbelly are being caught, predominantly around 5-7 meters of water fishing the trees on the calmer days, and fishing points and rocky banks when the wind picks up. The majority of reports are coming off bait, especially small yabbies and scrub worms. Lures have still been effective in getting a few bites, particularly trolling banks and drop offs with small hardbodies including the RMG Crazy Deep. Anglers who have found a patch of yellowbelly and redfin have also managed to pick up good numbers of fish on the Atomic Hardz blades and Profishent Vibes have been effective in covering ground while fishing the banks and points. Allowing these lures to sink and stay tight to the bottom is key as the majority of fish have been caught tight to the bottom. While fishing the trees the majority of fish being caught have been on bait, jigging soft plastics including gulp grubs have been proven to get good fish. Yellowbelly have been generally small, around 35cm, however the odd larger fish have been caught into the mid to high 40s with the bigger reports being 48cm. If you don't have a boat, plenty of fish are still being caught off the bank, especially with bait. yellowbelly.
Laanecoorie
there are a few reports of Yellowbelly and the odd cod being caught both up and downstream of Laanecoorie. Pick of the lures being spinnerbaits and small hardbodies including 1/2oz spinnerbaits from Bassman, alongside hardbodies from Old Mate and Oar-Gee lures. These variants of lures are best fished slowly and tight to the timber and reedy edges. Best results for yellowbelly have been fishing pockets of moving water. Bait has also been very effective in catching Yellowbelly below the wall at Laanecoorie. Good numbers around the 40cm mark. Small yabbies and shrimp proved to be the bait of choice for the best chance at getting a fish with Scrub worms still being effective throughout these stretches of river.
Bridgewater
Water clarity throughout these sections of river are slightly better than upstream, Despite this good numbers of fish have been caught on both bait and lures. The pick of lures being Jackall TN60s - TN80s fishing closely to the bridge, tight to timber and weed beds. These lures can also be fished with a beetle spin for added action. Spinnerbaits have also fished well over recent weeks with single willow and rigged ⅝oz spinnerbaits from spinwright, and bassman Codman proving to be the choice of lures.
Serpentine
Currently a few less numbers of yellowbelly and cod being caught. Although tough, Small spinnerbaits such as the 5/8oz spinwright and yellamen from bassman proved effective. The Ballista Hunchback has also caught a couple of Cod off the top.
Bendigo Family Lakes
Lake Weeroona
Access to this lake is very good and appropriate for young families who look to get into fishing. Currently redfin have been caught along the willow trees and rowing club end of the lake using soft plastics. 3 inch grubs from strike tiger matched with their 1/8 th jigheads have been effective, fishing these slowly, hopping the lure off the bottom. Z Man Slim-swimz and Crush City, The Creeper have also been very effective with this technique. If the fishing is slow, small hardbodies such as Atomic bream shad 40, 10ft Old Mate divers and Tassie Devil Spinners perfect for covering water and searching for the fish.
Using bait is another option very popular to this lake, with euro worms being popular for both redfin and carp. Simple running sinker rig is all that is needed with fishing with worms or even corn if you want to target carp, with some recently being caught over 70 cms.
Crusoe Reservoir
With water levels high, there is ample structure within cast distance where redfin and the odd trout are being caught. Popular spots including along the rock wall have been popular for redfin using both bait and lures, Soft plastics are once again popular, however due to the water clarity being slightly better than the other local lakes, more natural colors such as watermelon red in both Daiwa Bait Junkie and Z Man paddle tail options. Small Spinners such as Celta and Tassie Devil Spinners are also producing good fish, with redfin being caught up to 30cms and the odd trout showing up in the cooler mornings.
Again, bait has been producing quality fish, with euro worms and small yabbies being the choice of baits. Along the rock wall has seemed to be producing the better fish, as it is easier to access the deeper water on the warmer days, and provides plenty of shelter for fish.
Kennington Reservoir
Not many reports have come from this lake, as it seems the lake has lots of water weed. However, to be in with a chance, using weedless soft plastics such as Biwaa SubMission 3 inch with a 1/0 flashy swimmer from Owner can be a deadly combo for fishing heavily weeded lakes and rivers.
