Trellys Fishing Report February 27, 2026
Trellys Fishing Report 27th February 2026
Blackwater or black water? This is the question. After the magnificent rain that so many of us received during the week many waterways have turned quite dark, and even jet black in some places.
For many of us the sight of black water evokes memories of watching videos of hundreds if not thousands of dead Murray cod floating down the Murray River.
Those tragic fish kills, which are almost certain to happen again in the next major flood, are caused by blackwater.
Thankfully, there is a difference between blackwater, and black water.
Blackwater is a common name for hypoxic water. Hypoxic water has little to no oxygen in it and leads to aquatic life dying. Hypoxic water is usually black, hence the name blackwater, but it can be other colours, and even clear.
To quote the late great John Laws “Not all black water is hypoxic, but all hypoxic water is black”. At least I think that is what he said!
Although not completely true, it is usually the case.
Black water on the other hand, it's just that, water that is black. It can be heavily stained by tannins that have leeched out of gum leaves but can still have a healthy level of oxygen.
In fact, I fished in a trout stream after the rain during the week. The water was as black as ink, yet I still managed to catch a couple of rainbow trout that were making the most of the fresh water.
Trout are usually the first fish to stop biting when the dissolved oxygen in the water drops, so seeing them biting is a sign that the water is healthy despite the colour.
Decomposing plant matter, including leaf litter can suck the oxygen out of water, whereas waterfalls and cascades can add oxygen into the water which is probably why the trout were feeding in the black water.
So while black water may not look great, just the sight of black, or dark coloured water shouldn’t be assumed to lead to fish kills.
How are the fish biting?
Lake William Hovell
I have spent more time fishing at Lake William Hovell than anywhere else recently. It is fishing quite well for small redfin, but that’s about it.
I still have not caught a decent redfin up there this year despite heading up there at least 5 times in the last 6 weeks.
I have been catching my redfin casting lures from the bank (wet wading) and have caught most of my fish on Strike Tiger soft plastics and a lure called a TT Quake, which is a soft vibe by TT lures.
Strike Tiger 3” Minnow: https://www.trellys.com.au/products/strike-tiger-3-inch-minnow-soft-plastic?_pos=8&_sid=5d9cf4ae3&_ss=r&ref=i68jzcdpol2e
TT Quake: https://www.trellys.com.au/products/tt-quake-power-vibe?_pos=1&_sid=029da0125&_ss=r&ref=i68jzcdpol2e
Ovens River
The Ovens River has seen a small rise after recent rainfall. Here in Wangaratta the river has risen around 20 to 25cm and the water is very dark, almost jet black.
I have been down to the river a few times here in town this week, and each time I have been there I have seen carp swimming in the shallows, feeding on the newly submerged gravel and sand bars.
Whether the small flush has triggered other fish to bite I am not sure as I have not fished the river this week, or heard any reports. I am heading down tonight though so if I do any good I will add it to next week's report.
Murray River
The Murray River has been fishing very well in the Albury and Howlong areas. Adrian Brown caught a 90cm Murray cod in the Albury area on a 130 Warthog lure from White Crow Lures.
There have also been quite a few cod photos shared online from the Howlong area as well, which is just a short distance downstream of Albury.
Lake Dartmouth
Lake Dartmouth has been fishing quite slowly recently. It is a great trout fishery, and will no doubt pick up a bit when the weather cools down, but for now the reports that I have been hearing haven’t been great.
BUT… Lake Dartmouth has another drawcard.. Yabbies! There are a lot of yabbies in Lake Dartmouth.
Ritch Urbanavicius was up there last week. Him and a mate put the yabby nets in, then went trolling for a few hours.
They did no good trolling but did manage to catch around 50 large yabbies.
Report compliments of Ritch Urbanavicius via the Lake Dartmouth Facebook page. If you are heading up that way make sure you stop into the Dartmouth pub, show them some support, and remember that there is no phone service at Lake Dartmouth.
