May 08, 2026

Trellys Fishing Report 8th May 2026

The fishing is slowing down in many areas now, but there is one area where it is red hot and that is up in the hills, in the trout streams.

Recent rain events have helped many of the region’s streams start flowing really well again, and the water is nice and cold, just the way trout like it.

Over the last few weeks I have experienced 4 amazing trout fishing sessions, the best that I have had in years.

The fish have not been overly big, but I have caught a few up in the mid 30cm size.

The trick is to head high up into the hills. Forget the foothills, head up high to the tiny headwaters.

During the heat of last summer many trout made their way upstream to escape warming and receding water levels.

Also, trout spawn from late autumn until early spring, and when they do this they head upstream to spawn so that the newly hatched fry have room to float and drift back downstream.

My tips for catching trout at the moment are:

Head up high into the headwaters
Use long skinny minnow lures if targeting brown trout which are aggressive leading up to spawning.
Use small black or orange soft plastics if targeting rainbow trout which are still actively feeding and don’t spawn until July.

Now to the fishing report…

Taylors Lake

Taylors lake has been producing some nice sized Yellowbelly lately. This is Taylors Lake near Horsham, not to be confused with Taylors Lakes in Melbourne.

Yellowbelly have been caught off the bank using yabbies for bait. The fishing hasn’t been red hot but a few are being caught.

Lake Dartmouth

Again this week there have been some nice trout caught in Lake Dartmouth. Most fish have been caught on Tassie Devil lures, with a few caught trolling small minnows.

Lake Dartmouth, although very cold, is a fantastic winter fishery and will no doubt feature in many of my fishing reports over the next few months.

Goulburn River

The Goulburn River has been fishing pretty slow in the lower reaches lately, but a few trout have been caught upstream in the Thornton and Alexandra areas.

When I attended the Snobs Creek Hatchery open day last Sunday I was shown quite a few photos of trout that had been caught in the river the day before by people staying in the area.

The river was pumping. I have no idea how many megalitres they were releasing, but I was shocked to see it running so high and so were many people who came to speak to me at the event.

There have been a few larger trout caught in a couple of the tributaries of the Goulburn River this week too, no doubt larger fish heading upstream to start spawning soon.

Broken Creek

I was sent a photo of 5 dead carp caught in Broken Creek during the week. The message just said “Caught on worms and corn between Katamatite and Numurkah. Biggest 61cm” That’s my only information.

So a trip to Broken Creek might be worth your while at the moment. In saying that I have no idea what the water level is like, but usually around the middle of May is when the irrigation water stops and the creek almost stops flowing.

During that time each year the fish retreat to the deeper pools and stay pretty quiet for most of the winter.

Ovens River

The Ovens River has been hit and miss for anglers fishing with lures lately, but I have been having a lot of fun just angling with bait.

During the day the fishing has been slow, but I have been catching a few fish right on sunset.

After the magnificent rain on the weekend, a flush of water moved through Wangaratta causing the river to rise about half a meter.

During that flush I fished 2 evenings. The first evening I fished on my own and caught 1 tiny trout cod, 1 Murray cod and 2 carp. All fish were caught on worms.

The following evening I fished with my friend Sonny. I caught a large carp and Sonny caught 3 tiny trout cod.

The water is now going back down and water clarity is still really good for those wanting to go lure fishing.