Trellys Fishing Report
Corio Bay
With small improvement in the weather to kick of 2024 it’s allowed anglers to get out across the region and take on a variety of species. Starting locally and there has been some good fishing spread across Corio bay inner and outer harbour with mixed bags and reports coming through of pinky snapper, whiting, flathead, salmon and snook all on the chew. Will pick up these species on a variety of tactics including bait and soft plastics. There has also been a few reports of kingfish getting around the bay so certainty does pay to have a slightly heavier setup with a bigger lure at the ready in case you cross paths with them. Garfish have also been in good numbers and also spread across most areas. The inner harbour has been holding the better numbers with more towards the northern part of the bay holding the majority of fish. It is key to have a good solid burley trail out with tiny baits.
Bellarine Peninsula
The Bellarine Peninsula has continued to produce some fantastic whiting fishing as of late with plenty of reports coming through of anglers hauling in bag limit captures with plenty of fish to over 40cm getting around too. Fishing the last part of the flood tide has been the most success as of late from reports with pipis and squid working well. Bronze Whaler sharks remain a popular target species again this week for those fishing from the beaches along the peninsula and boats with plenty of sharks cruising the shallows. Droning or yaking our baits such as half salmon, tuna fillets and stingray are working well with sharks to over 2.5 metres being landed nearly every night.
Offshore
The big fishing news this week is again the Bluefin tuna off Barwon Heads, there has been fantastic numbers of fish spread right from the rip all the way towards Torquay with fishing holding in as shallow as 15m right up to 40 metres. Trolling skirted lures with the aid of a teaser is working very well and so too is divers, does pay to have a variety of lures out when trolling for them. The fish have been frequently spotted on the surface at the moment also, casting topwater lures has been very effective when the fish are on top like this.
Goulburn River
The river is now running higher due to the recent rain, this has made fishing a little harder this week but we have still had some decent reports come in. Just like previous river rises the key is to just go heavier with your sinkers or Spinnerbaits. This will keep your lure or baits in the desired areas, trolling against the flow can also be a great way to slow the lure speed down and keep it in the strike zone longer. Prior to the rain we had some reports of cod being very active off the top with the Balista Hunchback 90 being a stand out option. With the river flowing harder the fish will still hit top water but it’s best to target the back waters and calmer pockets or upsize your lure so switching from a Hunchback 90 to a Tremor would be a great option.
Lake Eildon
It’s always a busy period on the water at Eildon but the extra boat traffic has not slowed the fishing down. There has been plenty of Yellowbelly reports coming in recent with some reporting up to 8 caught in an afternoon session. The best methods reported this week have been bobbing yabbies or slow rolling black gulps in the trees. Both methods can be deadly when chasing Yellowbelly and the extra boat traffic can actually help as the wakes from other boats can move your Baits around especially if you have them in the rod holders. Another method that has worked well recently on the Yellowbelly has been vertical fishing zx40 blades. Finding rocky bottoms or submerged trees has been the key with a sharp flick of the rod tip working best and letting the blade hit the bottom every time. There have been a few reports from those chasing cod on the troll with the stand out lures being the 25ft Old Mates in the Red Ripper & Pink Tiger. Those chasing Redfin have reported back that they have been more active shallow with worms off the banks working well. Casting small divers, 2-inch plastics or spinners from both the bank or boats has been the best way to chase Redfin recently.
Kialla Lakes
The lake is now full after all the rain recently and this has pushed the fish onto the edges which can make for a fun time for those fishing the lake. When the lake is full casting more adjacent to the bank is key the fish will hold around 6/8ft from the bank and here the drop offs are and sometimes even hit your lure at your toes. So, using lightly weighted plastics or shallow diving lures is key as you’re only fishing in around 1-3ft of water. Bent minnows, Jackal Chubby 38s and Rapala XR-4/6s are all great shallow water lures for Kialla. When using Soft plastics, it’s best to try match the bait fish that can be seen in most areas of the lake. Sometimes a 2inch plastic is best but there can be bigger bait fish around so you may need to go up to a 3inch. Colour wise anything with silver in it seems to work well but again try to match the bait you can see from the banks. Bait fishing is also a very productive way to chase both Yellowbelly and Redfin when the water is up and floating the baits seems to be best. The advantage with the floats you can adjust the depth under the float so your baits can be just above the bottom in all areas. 