Trellys Fishing Report
Corio Bay
A nice long weekend with good weather saw anglers flock all over the region to chase a feed of fish with Corio Bay and the outer harbour producing some great fishing. King George Whiting have been well on the chew all over the place with some current hotspots being Stingaree Bay, Hermsley, Clifton Springs and Bird Rock. Fresh Pipis and Squid have been dynamite baits and fishing the faster tides has been the most productive time, if you can time that on sunrise or sunset even better! Pinky snapper have also been on chew across the bay and over the next few months the inner harbour should really fire up. There has also been some great reports of larger fish around the 6kg mark being caught in the outer harbour. Anglers soaking baits like Pilchards and fresh Calamari have been having the best results and yet again fishing the tides are ideal.
Docklands
Something a little different over the Easter break was a session a couple of boys from Gippsland Fishing page on Facebook right in the heart of Docklands. Plenty of Black bream with some up to 30cms as well as some pinky snapper up to 35cms were caught using both bait and lures. There is some big fish that cruise around these areas so don’t be surprised if you get busted off with 10/12lb line.
Bellarine Peninsula
Calamari have been hanging around in great numbers right across the bellarine peninsula with St Leonards being the standout location and bag limit captures on offer. Drifting in 2.5 to 5metres of water has been the prime depths and finding clean water has been key. Natural coloured jigs in 3.0 and 3.5 have been doing all the damage.
Offshore
Offshore Barwon Heads has continued to fish well for bottom fish such as Flathead, Gummy Sharks and Snapper. Some quality captures for all 3 species have been on offer with the 40metre line producing plenty of fish for the table. School Bluefin Tuna have still been in great numbers offshore with anglers till finding them thrashing into schools of baitfish off the surface. The fish are pushing west towards Anglesea but if you’re up for a small drive the fish are there!
Mallacoota
Harry Cunningham and Tanner Sadler fished offshore Mallacoota over the easter break and nailed plenty of tasty fish offshore such as this quality Gummy Shark.
West Coast
Further down the coast from Apollo Bay to Port MacDonnell has been a hot Barrel Tuna bite with further west seeming to be better. The fish have been eating a whole variety of lures including skirts, divers and topwater lures with sizes ranging anywhere from 30-150kg.
Wurdi Buloc
Wurdi Buloc Reservoir is still fishing very well for Trout and Redfin, yet again the rockwalls producing some cracking fish on spoons and hardbodies. Strike Pro Bobbin spoons have been a standout for the spoons and Megabass X70s are another great option.
Broken River
After a drenching of rain this past week we will see a natural rise in the Broken River and with that normally comes a great bite period. The water will dirty up so up your lures and baits so they have more presence in the water. Single bladed old mates will be perfect in the dirty water and so will the vibration bladed Pirate Spinnerbaits. Bait fishing will still be a great method with baits like Chicken, Cheese and scrub worms best after these rises. Downstream of both weirs will be areas to target as well as the Junction where the river runs into the Goulburn River. The Top water bite has not dropped away this past week and should continue after the flush of water. Bassman Aussie Crawlers and Jackal Pompadour’s have been the stand outs this past week.
Goulburn River
It was a successful Easter Classic for the Toolamba Fishing Club and by all reports everything went well both on and off the water. There were some huge fish caught showing that the Goulburn River is a premier destination for Cod Fishing. Brendan Leitch caught a 121cm monster cod to take out the Biggest cod for the event with some other fish measuring in around the 80cm mark. Those who didn’t fosh the Classic also reported good numbers of Cod & Yellowbelly in the waters around Arcadia, Shepparton and Undera. Old Mates & Codgers worked well for those trolling and TN60 jackals worked well for those chasing Yellowbelly on the cast. Worms and cheese were the stand out bait over the Easter period with plenty of legal cod reported.
Blue Rock Dam
There has been some great bass action at Blue Rock over the past few weeks with bass up to 40cm being reported. Cicada surface lures have worked well in low light times as well as Zman Finesse Frogs in white or green. As the sun gets up casting TN60 jackals around the points in the main basin has worked well or small Chatterbaits in the timber up the river. Bait fishing has also been very good lately with Carp, Bass & Redfin caught off the grassy banks near the main boat ramp.
Waranga Basin
Trolling bright coloured lures yet again was successful this past week with heaps of fish being caught over Easter. There were plenty of small fish but also some 30+ cm Redfin caught. The caravan park and main rock wall were stand out areas with Harriman’s being a little quiet mostly due to boat traffic. There is some great news for those who launch at Harriman’s with works underway to improve the high-level boat ramp. The 155m ramp will be doubled in width and have its gradient adjusted to ensure better accessibility. The works are expected to be complete by mid-May. During this time, there will be some minor access delays at Harriman’s Point and an increase in heavy vehicles in the area. The low-level boat ramp (pictured below) will remain accessible. Other alternatives include Sapling Point Boat Ramp and the Waranga Basin Western Channel Boat Ramp.
Irrigation Channels
Wow wee there has been a giant 1mt plus channel cod caught this past week and no it wasn’t on a big cod lure it was on a little Zx40 blade. These blades just catch fish and goes to show how good the hooks and rings are on the lures as there has been many meter plus cod caught on the blades in many different water ways. These blades can be retrieved in many different ways like a Slow roll, hop and roll, fast burn or even vertically. If you're not into throwing blades then cheese and worms will be the best bet this next week.
