Trelly's Fishing Report

Trelly's Fishing Report

Goulburn River
The Goulburn River has been fishing ok with mostly Crayfish getting caught along with a few small Cod and Yellowbelly. The few Yellowbelly we've heard getting caught have been on Scrubbies and some Murray Cod are coming in on Chicken. It’s been pretty common for people to be catching crayfish on rod and reel. Between Bunbartha and down to Nagambie have been good for Crayfish with plenty getting pulled in the nets while using baits like Chicken neck, Carp and Liver.

Shepparton local lakes
The local lakes around Shepparton have been a little more quiet over the past week with not as many Trout being caught and a few Redfin getting caught throughout the day. Powerbait and small worms are good when fished under a float and have been successful on both Redfin and Trout. Casting plastics, small minnow lures and 7gm Tassie devils have worked well for Trout with a few Redfin being caught on the hardbodies and tassies as well. If targeting Redfin in particular the best for spinning are reaction luresa like a soft plastic rigged with a beetle spin.

Hume Dam
Hume is still on fire with some great numbers of Redfin getting caught and even more big Trout getting caught from over that way. Redfin have been going the best on ice jigs and worms but small soft plastics are a good option as well. Most people are throwing back a lot of the smaller fish under 25cm but still manage to keep a heap between 25cm and 40cm for a good feed.


The Trout throughout Hume are still going great with a heap of fish above 40cm and plenty above 60cm getting caught while trolling. Most sections of the lake are proving to hold big fish with small and mid-sized minnow lures as well as Tassie Devils working great. Adam Caught this 68cm Trout while trolling at Hume earlier this week.

Lake Eildon
Lake Eildon has seen alright numbers of Trout getting caught around Bonnie doon on small rapalas. Around Big River, Howqua and the Main arm have also seen some Trout getting caught while trolling Tassie Devils. Redfin and Yellowbelly have been slow with a couple getting around in the Main arm and the Delatite arm. Murray Cod are tough as usual but there have been a few nice fish getting caught on large plastics like the 9” Biwaa Kapsiz Kast and large surface lures like the Balista Tremor in the Paddler bib. John put in the hours for this Cod which he caught on a surface lure at Eildon last week.

Loddon River
The loddon river has dirtied up a little bit with the recent rains we have had, but the odd fish is still getting caught. Bendigo recently received a fresh shipment of Spin Wright Spinnerbaits and the 5/8oz Gruntas (Chatterbait) have been working really well. The presence that this lure gives out is phenomenal, and definitely worth trying when times are tough. The standout colour in this water way would be Stealth, which is all black which gives it a bigger presence in the water. Occasional Yellow belly being caught as well mainly on scrub worms. Murray Cod have been caught up to 80cm’s on yabbies or bardi grubs.

Cairn Curran
From all reports the lake has been fairly quiet, it's still worth trolling Australian Crafted 50mm hard bodies. These lures give out a good action in the water and have proven to catch many yellow belly from the lake. The best thing about these small hard bodies is that the good sized redfin that you can catch this time of year won't be scared to eat that size lure. Bait fishing is still a good option around the trees, it's worth trying a peeled yabby tail or scrub worms for a yellow belly or cod. Another good option for the kids is Powerbait from the bank or a bit of corn. Powerbait is great for trout that have been released and the corn is great for carp to keep the kids interested. 

Campaspe River
Campaspe River is pretty quiet at the moment, however water quality has stayed pretty good after the recent rains that we have had. It would be worth casting a worm around the water that would be flowing into the river, the fish seem to hang around this area looking for an easy feed. It’ll put you in with a good chance of landing a healthy Murray Cod or Yellow Belly. Lure fishing, casting big surface lures such as your Taylor Made Walks On Water, is a great way to try to entice that big one to come up. These lures are great to cast and also are very noisy. Another option is to cast hard bodies such as your 90mm Australian Crafted, these lures are a must this time of year.

Lake Eppalock
The lake is still producing some good quality redfin, with some measuring up to 40cm’s. Troll 30ft of water using small hard bodies such as your 50mm Australian Crafted, above this lure have a soft plastic and you’re in with a good chance of finding the schools of redfin or Yellow Belly. These hard bodies work well here as they are able to get down deep but still have the smaller presence which is perfect for the redfin and yellow belly. Once located the school try bobbing soft plastics such as your daiwa bait junkies and you should be able to get a good number of fish. Bait fishing with scrub worms or yabbies around the trees is also a great way to get some good numbers of fish.

Bendigo’s Family Fishing Lakes
In Crusoe there are still a few trout getting caught first thing in the morning casting Tassie Devils in brighter colours. Another great option during the day is to cast powerbait, the standout seems to be Sherbet, just make sure you use small hooks.
Kennington still has trout getting caught off the little jettys located around the lake. Use a small hook with a bit of powerbait and you’re in with a good chance. There is also the odd redfin being caught around this lake with pink being the colour of choice, just fish slowly and you should be in with a good chance.
Forrest Fields is still very weedy so only suited to bait fishing. Worms are still working well for small redfin and silvers, while powerbait is seeing the odd trout caught. 
In Tom Thumb we are getting some reports of trout being caught on small spinners as well as some good quality redfin measuring up to 35cms. Walk the lake and take your time making sure you cast all the areas. Gillies mask spinners are the standout. Powerbait is also working on the trout with rainbow being a standout for this water way.

Geelong Inner Harbour
The fishing in the Inner Harbour this past week has been a little slower compared to previous weeks but there is still plenty of action to be had, just got to work a little harder. The front of the Grammar School Lagoon has been fishing quite well for Pinkie snapper with anglers casting soft plastics having great success. The Geelong waterfront is still holding plenty of Garfish for some fishos, they do seem to be few and far between but here are still anglers out there finding a bag of fish.

Queenscliff
The current run of Silver Trevally in the Queenscliff Cut at the moment has been red hot and is definitely the spot to be at the moment if you want to have some serious rod bends. Anglers have been having sessions landing bulk fish with plenty of them reaching over 50cm. casting soft plastics in the channel on slack tide is by far the most effective method with Gulp Turtleback Worms and Zman GrubZ being the standout lures. 

Offshore Barwon Heads
Offshore Barwon Heads has been pretty slow over the past weeks with not many reports coming in but we have seen some life out there this week with anglers finding some massive Tiger Flathead cruising about. Anglers bottom bashing in 50m of water have been finding some quality flatties to over 55cm with the odd gummy shark latching on also.

Port Fairy Offshore
Port Fairy has been fishing very well offshore out in the deep water as of late and with the calm conditions last week it has allowed anglers to get out there and have a red hot crack. Fishing in depths beyond 60 metres has seen a large variety of tasty bottom fish such as Latchet, Nannigai, Sea Perch, Sharks, and many more. Slow Pitch jigs have been a great tactic to extract these guys from the depths.

 

Apollo Bay
Apollo Bay is still producing a fair share of Barrel tuna and over the weekend although there were lots of boats some still managed to get a bite and or a fish. JB Tiny Dream catcher was an effective lure to run as the barrels are only on small bait at the moment and that lure resembles small bait perfectly. 

The Crater Lakes
The Crater Lakes down the west coast continue to fish well for both trout and salmon. Lake Bullen Merri has been probably the lake to be at as of late with Chinook salmon biting well on bait, Trout eating lures on the troll and even reports of Bass being caught.