Trellys Fishing Report
Lake Eppalock
Persistence is key within Lake Eppalock at the moment, we have had many mixed reports from anglers with the best reports coming from trolling the deeper water in 8-10 meters with deep diving hardbodies such as the RMG Poltergeist 8m crazy deep with good numbers of Redfin being produced. Yellowbelly have been caught in similar depths using larger profile hardbodies to produce a bigger bite with yellow Belly being caught up to 55cm. Hardbodies including Australian Crafted 70mm invader and Arashi 25 Deep producing good fish, including better sized redfin up to 40cm. Flicking soft-plastics for redfin is still producing good numbers of fish with strike tiger 3 inch grubs in whitebait pear and the Zman Baby Goat being fished slow and tight to the bottom. These can be paired up with matching Strike Tiger Jigheads in 1/8th of an ounce or the TT NedLockz, perfect for fishing deeper water and with yabby imitation plastics such as the Baby Goat. If the lure bite is slow, many redfin and yellowbelly have been caught with worms from the bank or boat with a simple running sinker rig. Scrub worms have been the choice of bait.
Campaspe River
Although the water clarity is still relatively dirty in sections, quality Murray cod have been caught throughout the system, in particular throughout Axedale and stretches downstream of Elmore weir. Pro-Staff Darcy has managed to land a couple of quality Cod in the mid 60cms and healthy Yellowbelly pushing over the 50cm mark, the biggest being 52cm. The pick of the lures being Spinwright ⅝ rigged spinnerbaits and single willow spinnerbaits, peppering heavily timbered banks and slack water behind snags with multiple casts is important, ensuring each spot is fished thoroughly to induce a hit. In conjunction to Spinnerbaits, Cod and Yellowbelly have also been enticed by Old Mate 15ft divers, perfect for fishing heavily timbered rivers such as the Campaspe. Reports of Top water cod have been few and far between, however a couple of reports of good sized cod well into the 80s have been caughton the Taylor made Cod Walloper.
Cairn Curran
Although water clarity throughout the lake is relatively poor, good numbers of yellowbelly are being caught, predominantly around 5-7 meters of water fishing the trees on the calmer days, and fishing points and rocky banks when the wind picks up. The majority of reports are coming off bait, especially small yabbies and scrub worms. Lures have still been effective in getting a few bites, particularly trolling banks and drop offs with small hardbodies including the RMG Crazy Deep. Anglers who have found a patch of yellowbelly and redfin have also managed to pick up good numbers of fish on the Atomic Hardz blades and Profishent Vibes have been effective in covering ground while fishing the banks and points. Allowing these lures to sink and stay tight to the bottom is key as the majority of fish have been caught tight to the bottom. While fishing the trees the majority of fish being caught have been on bait, jigging soft plastics including gulp grubs have been proven to get good fish. Yellowbelly have been generally small, around 35cm, however the odd larger fish have been caught into the mid to high 40s with the bigger reports being 48cm. If you don't have a boat, plenty of fish are still being caught off the bank, especially with bait. As the water level is still high, there is plenty of access around the Yacht club that is producing both redfin and small yellowbelly.
Loddon River
As Cairn Curran still has poor water clarity, many stretches of the Loddon are still dirty, in particular from Cairn Curran to Lannecoorie. Despite the dirty water, there are many reports of Yellowbelly and the odd cod being caught both up and downstream of Laanecoorie. Pick of the lures being spinnerbaits and small hardbodies including 1/2oz spinnerbaits from Spinwright and Bassman, alongside hardbodies from Old Mate and Oar-Gee lures. These variants of lures are best fished slowly and tight to the timber and reedy edges. Best results for yellowbelly have been fishing pockets of moving water, as the river has generally low flow at the current time. Pro Staff Matt with a chunky 80 cm Cod using light tackle. Bait has also been very effective in catching Yellowbelly below the wall at Laanecoorie. Good numbers around the 40cm mark. Small yabbies and shrimp proved to be the bait of choice for the best chance at getting a fish with Scrub worms still being effective throughout these stretches of river.
Bridgewater
Water clarity throughout these sections of river are slightly better than upstream, however the water seems to be slightly black/tannen. Despite this good numbers of fish have been caught on both bait and lures. The pick of lures being Jackall TN60s - TN80s fishing closely to the bridge, tight to timber and weed beds. These lures can also be fished with a beetle spin for added action. Spinnerbaits have also fished well over recent weeks with single willow and rigged ⅝oz spinnerbaits from spinwright, and bassman Codman proving to be thechoice of lures.
Serpentine
The Brackish water from around Bridgewater has seemed to make its way towards the skinny water stretches of Serpentine too. This stretch of water has been fishing well in previous weeks and early season but it seems that the brackish water has had an effect on the fishing with less numbers of yellowbelly and cod being caught. Although tough, Small spinnerbaits such as the 5/8oz spinwright and yellamen from bassman proved effective. The Ballista Hunchback has also caught a couple of Cod off the top in recent weeks. Jordan, Kip and Kyle have all managed to get their hands on some natives in recent weeks!
Bendigo Family Lakes
Lake Weeroona
Access to this lake is very good and appropriate for young families who look to get into fishing. Currently redfin have been caught along the willow trees and rowing club end of the lake using soft plastics. 3 inch grubs from strike tiger matched with their 1/8 th jig heads have been effective, fishing these slowly, hopping the lure off the bottom. Z Man Slim-swimz and Crush City, The Creeper have also been very effective with this technique. If the fishing is slow, small hardbodies such as Atomic bream shad 40, 10ft Old Mate divers and Tassie Devil Spinners perfect for covering water and searching for the fish. Using bait is another option very popular to this lake, with euro worms being popular for both redfin and carp. Simple running sinker rig is all that is needed with fishing with worms or even corn if you want to target carp, with some recently being caught over 70 cms.
Caruso Reservoir
With water levels high, there is ample structure within cast distance where redfin and the odd trout are being caught. Popular spots including along the rock wall have been popular for redfin using both bait and lures, Soft plastics are once again popular, however due to the water clarity being slightly better than the other local lakes, more natural colors such as watermelon red in both Daiwa Bait Junkie and Z Man paddle tail options. Small Spinners such as Celta and Tassie Devil Spinners are also producing good fish, with redfin being caught up to 30cms and the odd trout showing up in the cooler mornings. Again, bait has been producing quality fish, with euro worms and small yabbies being the choice of baits. Along the rock wall has seemed to be producing the better fish, as it is easier to access the deeper water on the warmer days, and provides plenty of shelter for fish.
Kennington Reservoir
Not many reports have come from this lake, as it seems the lake has lots of water weed.However, to be in with a chance, using weedless soft plastics such as Biwaa SubMission 3inch with a 1/0 flashy swimmer from Owner can be a deadly combo for fishing heavily weeded lakes and rivers.
Goulburn River
The fishing around Nagambie has yet again been great this past week with plenty of Yellowbelly being reported. There has been a number of techniques that have worked for those chasing Yellowbelly with live shrimp being the best baits and hopping blades the best for those using lures. Further downstream we have had some reports of some nice numbers of cod being caught from those fishing with bait around Murchison. Bardi Grubs and Cheese has been the stand out baits this week with plenty of small cod being caught amongst some legals. In Shepparton there has been fish caught trolling just upstream of the boat ramp up to the walking bridge. Smaller lures seem to be working well this week with the smaller sized codgers and Old Mates working best.
Lake Mulwala
over the past couple of weeks there has been Plenty of fish caught at Mulwala. The best thing has been all types of fisherman have been having success. The tournament type anglers have been catching fish with love sonar out deep pitching swimbaits and large plastic. Fishing from the bank up towards Majors and along the foreshores with chicken has resulted in plenty of cod captures with Yellowbelly taking a liking to worms and yabbies. Trolling Spinnerbaits in the old river bed has also been a great way to chase cod this week with some legal sized fish.
Murray River
We are consistently getting reports from those fishing the Murray River lately with a couple of stand out spots continuing to pop up. Casting Spinnerbaits downstream of the weir at Yarrawonga keeps getting reported with a heap of fish being caught in the straight behind the caravan park.
Down towards Cobram the surface bit has been great with some big fish being caught on the Balista Tremors and also the Bassman Aussie crawlers. The Echuca area has been a great stretch of the river to use bait with Bardi Grubs and cheese working great for those chasing cod. If your keen to catch carp then almost anywhere along the Murray will be great for this we get heaps of reports that the carp are chewing on worms or even just some old bread on a hook.
Lake Eildon
We are starting to get some reports of some big cod being caught at night. The new technology such as live and 360 has made chasing these bigger fish a lot easier but choosing the right baits has been the key once the fish have been found. Sometimes the cod are reacting to higher vibration lures such as big Spinnerbaits or Mumblers, with other times they are chasing a less invasive lure like a soft plastic. For those yet to use live it’s just amazing to see how the fish react yes you can find them but getting them to bite can be a skill in itself. Don’t worry if you don’t have the latest sounders you can still catch big fish at Eildon with some meter plus fish being caught trolling and also off the back of houseboats. The one thing in common is that night is best for the cod at Eildon especially in the hotter months. If you’re not chasing cod both Yellowbelly and Redfin have been caught frequently down towards Bonnie doon. Vertically fishing trees with gulps or blades has been a great way to chase these species as well as yabbies and worms from the banks.