Trelly's Fishing Report
Goulburn River
There have been some alright numbers of crayfish getting caught between Toolamba and Nagambie in some of the deeper sections of the river. Baits such as liver and carp have been going well. There have also been some nice Crayfish getting caught around Undera and Bunbartha. Cod fishing has been really slow recently but there are still a couple getting caught around Arcadia on surface lures.
Shepparton Local Lakes
Lake Victoria in Shepparton has been fishing really well since Fisheries stocked Trout in the lake last week. Casting a variety of different lures including Tassie Devils, Small minnows and little soft plastics have all been working. If there is a little bit of wind around the Trout seem to be more willing to feed and most methods will work, however, if it is calm, they can be a little shut down and you’ll need to filter through different lures until you find one that they want to eat on the day. Powerbait and Worms are the best method if you prefer bait fishing. Shepp young gun Macen landed 5 Trout out of Lake Victoria while casting small soft plastics on the weekend.
There have been some alright Redfin getting caught later on in the day once the Trout have slowed down. Casting plastics rigged with a beetle spin or rigged with a chatterbait blade to create some vibration have been working great and are a good way of getting through the weed. Shane from Trelly’s Shepp fished Lake Victoria after work on Saturday and landed this nice sized Redfin while casting a soft plastic rigged on a Decoy ZeroDan Flash.
Hume Weir
Hume Weir has been fishing great for Trout lately with us seeing at least 6 Trout over 60cm being landed and a few getting caught which were over 70cm! Trolling has been the best way to get a few of the bigger Trout going, especially on overcast days. Tassie Devils and small minnow style lures are working the best lately. On sunnier days you may need to go a bit deeper as the Trout are less likely to be feeding up high in the water column. Using downriggers or lead line can help you get to the required depth. Josh caught this cracking 72cm Brown Trout at Hume over the weekend while trolling a Tassie Devil.
Lake Eildon
Lake Eildon has been fishing alright with a mixture of species getting caught recently. Murray Cod have been hit and miss but a few are still getting caught around the Main arm and Big River arm on large surface lures and big soft plastics. Yellowbelly have been getting caught in the Delatite arm as well as a few being caught in the main arm. Trout are going well with good numbers getting caught in most areas of the lake. Around Bonnie doon there have been good numbers of mid sized Trout between 30cm and 45cm getting caught while trolling small minnow style lures. Some good Trout are getting caught in the main arm, Goulburn arm and Howqua arm while trolling pink or orange Tassie Devils.
Loddon River
The Loddon river is still fishing well from all reports. We are getting reports of anglers having luck chasing Yellow Belly. The hot spot seems to be around Bridgewater casting small vibes such as TN60’s in Ayu colour. Natural Colours from all reports are the go at the moment for yellow belly and murray cod. Early mornings and late afternoons are still the standout times to target those big cod. Hard bodied lures this time of year seem to be the most productive as well as big surface lures. Bait fishing is still going well with anglers having luck using Trellys special chicken as well as bardi grubs if you can find any. Pro Staffer Bryce was able to get out recently and landed himself a nice murray cod on a A/C hard body measuring in at 103cm.
Cairn Curran
Reports from Cairn Curran have slowed up over the last couple of weeks. It would still be worth trying your luck for a yellow belly or redfin. Look for structure or fish the rock walls for a chance of landing a nice fish in these cooler months. Try using hard bodied lures or small soft vibes. A standout hardbody for this lake is the A/C invader 50mm! The standout soft vibe for this lake is still the Zerek fish trap in 65mm Green sunset. Bait fishing is still a great option with anglers having luck on fresh scrub worms or small yabbies bounced around the trees.
Campaspe River
The Campaspe river is still fishing well, with multiple reports in over the last week. Anglers have had success on megabass BigM 4.0 & 2.0. These hard bodies cast a mile and are very accurate, good for hitting a snag regularly. Also had reports of people doing well on the 15ft old mates in a range of different colours but darker colours seem to be working the best as the water is low and clear at the moment. Early mornings and late afternoons are still going well for surface, This time of year a surface lure with a big presence is best such as your balista tremor or kuttafurra rats. Bait fishing has still been productive, with chicken and bigger yabbies accounting for numerous amounts of Murray Cod. Best selling hook is currently the Kstyle owner hook in 7/0.
Lake Eppalock
The lake is still fishing well with anglers having a lot of fun chasing good numbers of Redfin. The best way to get good numbers of fish is to troll in around 20ft of water with a small hard bodied lure such as your RMG poltergeist. Once you've located the school the two most productive ways to get good numbers of fish is to use ice jigs, such as your 1/2oz lunkerhunt. This is a great way to get good numbers of fish but can be frustrating at times as you also drop a lot of fish. Another way to get good numbers is to drop soft plastics in the schools. We have had a lot of reports of anglers getting good numbers of fish on 1” nymphs by Strike Tiger. Another big seller at present is the 3” curl tail grub in whitebait pearl. For those chasing Yellow Belly these fish are still very active for this time of year, with anglers reporting “grubbin” to be working well. This method is bouncing dark coloured plastics around the trees, your most popular grub is the gulp black grub which also has a scent that they cannot resist if they're actively feeding. Casting small vibes such as TN60’s in black market is also a great way to get one of these fish to bite. Try around the rock ledges or steep banks and you’re in with a good chance. Targeting Cod has proved to be very hard in the lake at current, but it would be worth trolling or casting a big hard body around the rock walls in early mornings or late afternoons. Cod can sometimes also be mixed among a school of redfin looking for an easy feed so don’t be scared to cast a bigger lure into them. Bait fishing is still productive with anglers having luck on yabbie tails around the trees or bouncing worms amongst the schools of redfin.
Bendigo’s Family Fishing Lakes
Crusoe has received it’s school holiday stocking of rainbow trout. This lake received 450 catchable trout. This is a great opportunity for all families looking for something to do these school holidays. Reports have been great with good numbers of fish being caught. These fish are best targeted with power bait and a small hook, the number 1 selling powerbait at Trellys Bendigo this week has been Sherbet powerbait. These fish however can be targeted on lures, such as celta spinners or strike tiger 1” Nymphs. There are also still the odd redfin getting caught around the edges holding structure such as weed beds or rocky banks. These fish are best targeted with soft plastics or small spinners such as your celtas.
Kennington has shown why it's the most productive lake for stocked trout in Bendigo, receiving 500 catchable rainbow Trout, now is a great time to get out to catch a few fish. These fish have taken a liking to rainbow powerbait as well as sherbet. If lure fishing is more your thing there have also been plenty that are getting caught on gillies mask spinner, these lures are also a great way to target the schools of redfin that you’ll find located across the lake.
Forrest Fields also received 250 catchable Rainbow trout, these fish have taken a liking to powerbait, there are also some small silvers and redfin getting caught around the lake on worms. This lake however is hard to fish at times due to the large amount of weed that can be found around the edges.
Lake Tom Thumb received 200 catchable size trout. These fish have been caught on worms as well as powerbait. There is also plenty of carp located throughout the lake with anglers having great luck on worms or corn cornells.
Geelong and Corio Bay
Garfish are still holding in good numbers around the Geelong waterfront with anglers not quite finding tonnes of fish but enough to make the effort worthwhile. Anglers casting soft plastics in the same area both landbased and off a boat have also been accounting with a variety of species including snapper, salmon, trevally and flathead. 4” soft plastics with a curl tail have definitely been the go as of late.
Bellarine Peninsula
The outer harbour and around the Bellarine peninsula has been a little slow as of late, still a few decent squid reports rolling through along with whiting still chewing at st Leonards. Gummy sharks have also been biting reasonably well out in the deeper water off st Leonards, the average fish has been around the 8kg mark which is a great eating size.
Ocean Grove Offshore
The gummies have also been biting very well offshore ocean grove, once again the 30 metre mark proves to be the best location to find them with fish getting over 15kg along with some solid pinkie snapper mixed amongst them also.
Cape Otway
The barrel tuna bite is still showing no sign of slowing down off Cape Otway at the moment with plenty of boats getting stuck into the hot action. Bobby Griffiths and Josh Speechley have been getting stuck into the action landing fish up to 100kg on pilchards and even managed to get a bite on top water, unfortunately the fish won that battle.
Stoney Creek Reservoir
Stoney Creek reservoir has been fishing very well as of late with redfin biting very well. Anglers casting yabby style soft plastics off the main rock wall have been finding some cracker fish to over 40cm and in good numbers. Brown and Rainbow trout should also be hanging around at the moment and casting tassie devils is a great method to target them.
Geelong Local Lakes
Now that it’s the school holidays some of the local lakes have recently been stocked with rainbow trout. St Augustines in Highton is one of the many locations and has been stocked with 750 pan size rainbow trout, perfect target species and location for the kids these school holidays. Using a lightly weighted running sinker rig with powerbait should provide plenty of action and the best part of fishing there is you don’t need to wait too long for it to happen.
