Trellys Fishing Report
Geelong
The local fishing around Geelong is still going pretty good despite the less than average conditions with the Barwon river fishing quite well after all this rain. Carp have come on the bite pretty well with most parts of the system producing fish with breakwater being one of the standout locations. Bait fishing with a lightly weighted running sinker rig with corn kernels or bread for bait is by far the most effective way to target them, however casting soft plastics also works and is more likely to catch redfin whilst doing it too. The Barwon may be hard to fish at the moment due to slight flooding.
Corio Bay
The Geelong waterfront has slowed a little this past week with reports but there are still plenty of fish getting around to keep anglers entertained. Snotty trevalla and pinkie snapper still hold their title as the number one target species for most fishos with bait being most effective. Anglers fishing into the dark with big baits have seen some reasonable snapper reports start to roll through which is fantastic to see for this time of year, pilchards and fresh squid have been by far the most effective baits to use with fish reaching upwards of 7kg.
Bellarine Peninsula
Queenscliff through to swan bay has seen the squid fishing continue to improve with some cracking specimens being caught and seeming to be in good numbers too. Size #3.5 jigs have been most effective with natural colours being the top pick for most anglers drifting over the weed beds in about 3.5 metres of water. The Whiting up towards St Leonards are still chewing pretty well on the tide change with bag limit captures and quality fish both on offer with mussels and pipis being the best baits.
Barwon Heads
Offshore Barwon heads has still got some good fish on offer if you can get the weather on your side with gummy sharks still holding in good numbers on the 30 metre mark along with a few snapper and other tasty reef species. Flathead are still holding in good numbers offshore with both bait fishing and slow jigging producing some quality fish with just about any depth between 30 and 50 metres holding good numbers.
Waranga Basin
Waranga Basin has been fishing well with some great Redfin being caught while trolling. Reports have told us that all the bigger fish are full of Roe causing them to feed hard. Trolling around Harrimans point and along the Southern parts of the Basin have proven successful. 15-25ft divers like 55mm codgers and Arashi deep 18’s have been working well when trolled with a stinger hook rig with a small white grub soft plastic.
Near the inlet channels have also been fishing well with some nice Redfin being caught while bobbing soft plastics such as the 3” Keitechs along the bottom.
Murray River
The Murray around Cobram has been fishing alright with a few Metre plus cod getting caught off the bank on bait. Bait fishos have been persisting and trying many different trees to find one that is holding actively feeding fish. Baits such as big yabbies and Chicken bites have been working the best.
Lake Eildon
For those able to fish Eildon there have been some nice Cod getting caught around big river arm on Magdrafts with 8” models getting most of the bites. Casting almost parallel to the bank and allowing the lure to sink right down then retrieving slowly has been the most effective method. Gantarels with a chin weight are also working well when retrieved slowly parallel to the bank.
There have been a few Redfin getting caught around Bonnie doon while dropping worms or bobbing soft plastics around trees in about 6m of water. Trolling around the Bonnie Doon area has seen a few trout getting caught on Pink Tassie Devils and Small Rapala’s in the Rainbow trout pattern.
Loddon River & Cairn Curran
The last week of cod season has come quickly upon us and this weekend looks like a ripper! Remember the season ends 31st of August 2020 at 11.59pm.
The Loddon River has been going great guns over the last week with reports of numerous Murray Cod getting caught over that magic 1m mark for the anglers who have been prepared to put in the hard work. The fish have been biting all the way from below Cairn Curran through to Serpentine.. Trolling 15ft old mate lures around in Bridgewater has seen some good cod caught and the occasional golden perch. The colour in particular that seems to be working the best is the purple raider.
Walking the banks seems to be the most productive currently with early mornings or late afternoons providing most of the fish. Casting surface lures such as the Bassman Aussie Crawler or something with a big profile seems to increase your chances of landing a big fish. Spinnerbaits in orange and black or gold and black have also seen a good amount of fish caught.
If bait fishing try using a decent sized yabby or a nice chunk of chicken and you just don’t know what you might hook up to! Try fishing the deeper holes this time of year.
Cairn Curran is a little quiet at present. The odd report of some good sized Golden Perch taken on bait off the rock walls up to 50cm. The bait of choice is scrub worms on a Gamakatsu hook size 1/0 shinner. Once the warmer weather hits it will be worth fishing below the spillway at Cairn Curran as this area holds some great goldens and is worth persisting with.
Eppalock & Campaspe River
Minimal wind and a little warmer weather means good things to come for Lake Eppalock. The reddies should definitely be on the chew this coming weekend. Troll along until you find a school and then anchor and cast jigs or plastics into the schools to try and get a nice feed. Orange or green seems to be the most effective colours at present.
If chasing Golden Perch, stick to the rocky banks and edges and troll along small hard body lures such as the Proficient Chainsaw 65mm, these lures are very underrated and have been accountable for a number of fish caught. Bait fishing has also been a good way to catch reddies and yellow belly with scrub worms being the best.
Water clarity in the Campaspe River is still very poor and the recent rain isn’t helping. Odd reports of some fishing being caught on bait but other than this very quiet.
Crusoe Reservoir, Kennington Reservoir & Lake Tom Thumb
Crusoe Res is seeing the occasional trout picked up on bait and lures. Lure of choice is tassie devils and the bait of choice is sherbet power bait. Kennington and lake tom thumb are seeing some redfin being caught using soft plastics in curl tail grub in particular or the strike tiger nymphs in orange.
The local fishing around Geelong is still going pretty good despite the less than average conditions with the Barwon river fishing quite well after all this rain. Carp have come on the bite pretty well with most parts of the system producing fish with breakwater being one of the standout locations. Bait fishing with a lightly weighted running sinker rig with corn kernels or bread for bait is by far the most effective way to target them, however casting soft plastics also works and is more likely to catch redfin whilst doing it too. The Barwon may be hard to fish at the moment due to slight flooding.
Corio Bay
The Geelong waterfront has slowed a little this past week with reports but there are still plenty of fish getting around to keep anglers entertained. Snotty trevalla and pinkie snapper still hold their title as the number one target species for most fishos with bait being most effective. Anglers fishing into the dark with big baits have seen some reasonable snapper reports start to roll through which is fantastic to see for this time of year, pilchards and fresh squid have been by far the most effective baits to use with fish reaching upwards of 7kg.
Bellarine Peninsula
Queenscliff through to swan bay has seen the squid fishing continue to improve with some cracking specimens being caught and seeming to be in good numbers too. Size #3.5 jigs have been most effective with natural colours being the top pick for most anglers drifting over the weed beds in about 3.5 metres of water. The Whiting up towards St Leonards are still chewing pretty well on the tide change with bag limit captures and quality fish both on offer with mussels and pipis being the best baits.
Barwon Heads
Offshore Barwon heads has still got some good fish on offer if you can get the weather on your side with gummy sharks still holding in good numbers on the 30 metre mark along with a few snapper and other tasty reef species. Flathead are still holding in good numbers offshore with both bait fishing and slow jigging producing some quality fish with just about any depth between 30 and 50 metres holding good numbers.
Waranga Basin
Waranga Basin has been fishing well with some great Redfin being caught while trolling. Reports have told us that all the bigger fish are full of Roe causing them to feed hard. Trolling around Harrimans point and along the Southern parts of the Basin have proven successful. 15-25ft divers like 55mm codgers and Arashi deep 18’s have been working well when trolled with a stinger hook rig with a small white grub soft plastic.
Near the inlet channels have also been fishing well with some nice Redfin being caught while bobbing soft plastics such as the 3” Keitechs along the bottom.
Murray River
The Murray around Cobram has been fishing alright with a few Metre plus cod getting caught off the bank on bait. Bait fishos have been persisting and trying many different trees to find one that is holding actively feeding fish. Baits such as big yabbies and Chicken bites have been working the best.
Lake Eildon
For those able to fish Eildon there have been some nice Cod getting caught around big river arm on Magdrafts with 8” models getting most of the bites. Casting almost parallel to the bank and allowing the lure to sink right down then retrieving slowly has been the most effective method. Gantarels with a chin weight are also working well when retrieved slowly parallel to the bank.
There have been a few Redfin getting caught around Bonnie doon while dropping worms or bobbing soft plastics around trees in about 6m of water. Trolling around the Bonnie Doon area has seen a few trout getting caught on Pink Tassie Devils and Small Rapala’s in the Rainbow trout pattern.
Loddon River & Cairn Curran
The last week of cod season has come quickly upon us and this weekend looks like a ripper! Remember the season ends 31st of August 2020 at 11.59pm.
The Loddon River has been going great guns over the last week with reports of numerous Murray Cod getting caught over that magic 1m mark for the anglers who have been prepared to put in the hard work. The fish have been biting all the way from below Cairn Curran through to Serpentine.. Trolling 15ft old mate lures around in Bridgewater has seen some good cod caught and the occasional golden perch. The colour in particular that seems to be working the best is the purple raider.
Walking the banks seems to be the most productive currently with early mornings or late afternoons providing most of the fish. Casting surface lures such as the Bassman Aussie Crawler or something with a big profile seems to increase your chances of landing a big fish. Spinnerbaits in orange and black or gold and black have also seen a good amount of fish caught.
If bait fishing try using a decent sized yabby or a nice chunk of chicken and you just don’t know what you might hook up to! Try fishing the deeper holes this time of year.
Cairn Curran is a little quiet at present. The odd report of some good sized Golden Perch taken on bait off the rock walls up to 50cm. The bait of choice is scrub worms on a Gamakatsu hook size 1/0 shinner. Once the warmer weather hits it will be worth fishing below the spillway at Cairn Curran as this area holds some great goldens and is worth persisting with.
Eppalock & Campaspe River
Minimal wind and a little warmer weather means good things to come for Lake Eppalock. The reddies should definitely be on the chew this coming weekend. Troll along until you find a school and then anchor and cast jigs or plastics into the schools to try and get a nice feed. Orange or green seems to be the most effective colours at present.
If chasing Golden Perch, stick to the rocky banks and edges and troll along small hard body lures such as the Proficient Chainsaw 65mm, these lures are very underrated and have been accountable for a number of fish caught. Bait fishing has also been a good way to catch reddies and yellow belly with scrub worms being the best.
Water clarity in the Campaspe River is still very poor and the recent rain isn’t helping. Odd reports of some fishing being caught on bait but other than this very quiet.
Crusoe Reservoir, Kennington Reservoir & Lake Tom Thumb
Crusoe Res is seeing the occasional trout picked up on bait and lures. Lure of choice is tassie devils and the bait of choice is sherbet power bait. Kennington and lake tom thumb are seeing some redfin being caught using soft plastics in curl tail grub in particular or the strike tiger nymphs in orange.