Corio Bay
To say the weather has been wild would be an absolute understatement with almost a week of unfishable weather. So this report is going to be more like a “what’s worth trying” after this blow. If you’re up for a trophy and willing to work hard it’s well worth having a crack for a Snapper either from boat or land. Coming into September is what we would call our “early Season Run” where the resident fish start to become a little more active. Although it can be very hard fishing and long hours of little action the quality of fish can be phenomenal, 7, 8, 9 even 10 kilo fish are very achievable. Fishing Soft Oily baits like Pilchards, Sauries and Salmon make fantastic baits. If you’re fishing landbased it will be well worth trying St Helens, Limeburner’s or North Shore if you desire one of these giants.
Bellarine Peninsula
The water is expected to be quite dirty so Calamari could be quite tricky, if you are going to target them the trick will be to try and find some clear water and if it isn’t super clear maybe don’t spend too much time chasing them. King George Whiting however could explode! They certainty love a bit of colour in the water. Clifton Springs would be well worth having a crack especially with very little pressure over the past week or so. St Leonards is also worth sussing out for a feed of whiting, most likely going to be the best location to chase them after this blow.
Offshore
Offshore should see some great Gummy Shark fishing and a good chance of some Snapper starting to make their way into the bay for the “snapper season”. The snapper will more typically be out in 50 – 60 metres of water with the Gummies hanging in a shallower but don’t be surprised if you catch the opposite species to what you’re intending for. Barrel Tuna could most likely be still lurking around offshore and after this blow very practically 0 boat traffic we could expect them to go really good the first opportunity to get out there and have a crack.
The Gamprians
The Grampians saw some good fishing this week for Adam from Trellys Geelong, whilst on a family get away snuck a rod and had a cast around the south end of Lake Bellfield. Rainbow Trout and Redfin were in force with Adam securing himself a nice feed in no time with Rapala F3’s proving to be the standout lure.
Goulburn River
Spring is almost here and the early Yellowbelly season reports continue to come in.There has been plenty of locals heading to the Goulburn lately with some good-sized fish reported.Yellowbelly up to 45cm have been caught with scrub worms being the best way to chase Yellowbelly from the banks.Medlands, Jordan’s Bend, behind Aquamoves and Moira Park have all been great spots for those using bait. Chasing yellas by Casting and Trolling small codgers out towards Toolamba and Murchison has been reported a number of times lately and as the weather gets better this will be a great way to chase Yellowbelly up and down the Goulburn.
Broken River
Both weirs have fished well recently with casting Tn60s downstream of the weirs working great.Brown dog, Peaco*ck and HL black have been the recent stand out colours but as the days get warmer, they will get less fussy on colour and become very active.Up towards Benalla there has been some legal sized Yellowbelly caught on small Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits with a slow roll working best.In Shepparton we have had some reports of Yellowbelly being caught casting the small 55mm Old mates in the Golden Frog and Olive Reed colours with the walking track along Broken River Drive being the best access point.Bait fishing has seen plenty of carp caught with the odd Yellowbelly reported amongst the big carp numbers. Both scrub worms and night crawlers have been working well, if you can get small yabbies they will also work great in early spring.
Kialla Lakes
The levels are still low at Kialla which has taken away the shallow edge bite or the ambush zone just off the bank where the deeper ledge starts but don’t let this put you off because the fish are still on the chew.You just need to focus a bit deeper than usual with the fish holding a bit further out.Zx40 blades in black have worked well with a long cast and a hop and pause technique.Slow rolling Tn60s has also been a great way to chase both Yellowbelly and Redfin.Bait fishing with worms around the sand bars has been great lately with Redfin, Carp and even a catch fish reported.
Shepparton Lake
There is still plenty of active trout in the lake with small soft plastics being a great way to chase them.The Strike Tiger soft plastics in almost any stile has worked at the Shepparton Lake the key has been to either rig them weedless or on a super light jig head.Sometimes some locals are even using a un weighted worm hook and just letting it drift deep into the weed followed by a slow rolling retrieve.Bait fishing around the boat ramps and Grass hill has also been great lately with both powerbaits and worms working well.
Waranga Basin
The Yellowbelly are slowly starting to turn on at the basin with more and more reports coming in.The key to the Yellowbelly fishing at the basin is finding structure such as trees, larger rocks or old fence post as the Yellowbelly love to hold on these structures.Vertical fishing a blade, slow rolling a black gulp or hopping around a football jig have all been great ways to chase Yellowbelly in these areas and we would expect this to be the same this spring. Trolling this week has been a great way to target Redfin with some nice numbers of fish sitting in around 15ft around the caravan park.Bait fishing from the banks or drifting in the shallows has also been a great way to chase Redfin with them still feeding shallow in the mornings and afternoons.
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.
Loddon River
With some slightly warmer weather starting to come through, the rivers are also starting to pick up. Around Serpentine the yellowbelly has slowly started to pick up with good sized fish being caught on lures up to 50cm. Slow rolling smaller hard-bodies such as size 2 Stump Jumpers and 60mm Profishent Chainsaw proving effective in getting the bites. As it is early season the fishing is still slow, and a slower retrieve and some patience is needed but you will be in with a good chance at a fish! Bridgewater has also started to pick up with some cod being caught in the last week. Trolling the deeper water with 15ft Old Mates has picked up some healthy cod up to 70cm. Yellowbelly have also started to turn on with some numbers of fish being reported. Again, smaller hard-bodies and Jackall TN60s being the choice for the odd yella.
Campaspe River
Campaspe river is rather quiet but there are still the odd good fish getting caught here and here.Similar to the Loddon, some reports, although few and far between, some good yellas have been picked up casting small hard-bodies or smaller spinnerbaits such as the Bassman, Yellaman series of spinnerbaits and single willow spinnerbaits. Coming to the final days of cod season, it is alsoIf you’re after redfin or yellow belly any leftover 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
Fish catches have increased over the past week with good numbers of redfin being caught. Fish have still been holding deeper around 6-10 meters of water. Good numbers of fish have been found towards the spillway end of the lake, with good drop offs and rocky points holding redfin and the odd yellowbelly. Trolling dropoffs with 50-70mm deep diving hard bodies such as Aussie crafted 50 & 70 mm divers has been effective in finding both numbers and decent size fish. Alongside bait, small ice jigs have also been effective in picking up the extra fish out of the school.
Bendigo’s Family Lakes
Cruso’s 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.
