Trellys Fishing Report
Corio Bay
Spring is nearly here which the start to our “fishing season” and we couldn’t be more excited! The fishing is starting to really improve in the local area with some snapper reports already starting to come through! St Helens rocks has seen some nice snapper to 5.5kg (estimated from picture) with anglers fishing off the rocks finding the best results. As we get more and more into spring the rocks should only fish better and better, rough nights are the best as the fish come in close to feed on all the feed that has been stirred up by the chop and wind.
The Bellarine Peninsula
The outer harbour has had a few snapper reports come through but we can’t say they are ‘official’, just whispers. Again it’s coming into that time of year and it’s only going to get better. One area that’s well worth looking at would be the old channel off Portarlington as that’s usually a pretty productive early season spot. Typically early season fish love an oily bait such as Pilchards, Sauries and Salmon. Calamari have also been out in force along Clifton springs and even on the other side towards Avalon and bird rock. Size 2.5 jigs are working well in these areas as it’s pretty shallow and the squid aren’t usually massive. As we get further into spring it’s well worth getting into the BIG Queenscliff Calamari in the bight. Size 3.5 and 4.0 jigs are ideal, they don’t seem to be there just yet but they will start to grow in numbers over the next month or so.
Portland
Down the west coast has had a hot barrel tuna bite and in particular, Portland. Anglers have been finding lots of fish ranging mainly between 60 – 90kg with skirted lures working very well. Colours such as evil, lumo and paris have all been working the best as of late in 8 – 10” sizes. Between cape Nelson and just east of the rock seems to be holding the best action with birds, bait and fish everywhere!
Curdies River
The Curdies River has been fishing quite well this past week also with some good reports of black bream and estuary perch being caught. Anglers casting around soft plastics and vibes have been doing very well with perch and bream to a touch over 40cm.
Goulburn River
The river has now been at a steady level for the last couple of weeks now and that has seen more reports coming in. There has been some late cod season fishing happening around Shepparton and Murchison with a few legals being reported. Bigger lures such as the Balista Tremors and larger soft plastics have worked well this week with many fishing just chasing big fish. The odd smaller cod have been reported on the troll with stumpjumpers and old mates working well. Those bait fishing have reported Yellowbelly captures on scrub worms predominately around Murchison. Carp are still very active on night crawlers or floating some bread. There is no real hot spot for those chasing carp with reports coming in from all over the place in the Goulburn.
Nagambie Lakes
The lake continues to grow as one of country Victoria’s premier locations. Over the past weeks we have been receiving some big cod reports with the fish sitting deeper during the day but pushing shallow in the evenings. Casting both surface lures or shallow diving hardbodies have worked well in these times. This spring we expect Nagambie to be a hotspot for Yellowbelly with some great bank or boat options available for anglers. Last spring in the heart of the town there were plenty of good-sized Yellowbelly caught off the boardwalk and also around the willow trees.We look forward to seeing plenty of reports from Nagambie this spring so make sure to send through your photos for future reports.
Irrigation Channels
The channels are now clearing up and this is usually the time that the fish start to bite more consistently. This past week we have had some reports of good-sized Yellowbelly being caught on square bills and the stand out has been the 13 Fish Jabba Jaw. It’s like no other square bill as it has a metal bib that moves side to side giving a chatter bait type sound. In years gone by once the channels have risen and settled the Redfin bite has been the best for the year. As the water temps rise, we usually see more Yellowbelly and cod caught so right now is the perfect time to be chasing Redfin along with Yellowbelly. One of the best ways to target Redfin in the channels has been with zx40 blades or soft plastics rigged with a beetle spin. These lures can be used almost anywhere in the channels system.
