The Yellas have been a little shy at Eildon of late but for those of you that wait in anticipation for them to come on in numbers, don’t worry you haven’t missed them. The surface water temperature is still fairly cool so we anticipate they are still 3 to 4 weeks away from really firing up.

There have been some nice Trout caught around the Big River arm area, trolling Tassie devils in the clown and pink panther colours.

Customer Bruce caught a lovely rainbow trout of 5lb on maggots in the Goulburn river

Good customer Rene fished with his mate Brad at Blue Rock lake over the weekend, they found a ball of reddies and then caught this nice 67cm trout amongst them.

While summer is not generally regarded as the peak time to fish for Trout, there has been some good action lately in most rivers and impoundments.  Lake Eildon is fishing well for all species, Trout, Redfin, and natives such as Golden Perch and Murray Cod.  Many regular customers enjoy fishing the lake at this time of year, and most are catching quality bags of Trout from the main lake and pondage on a variety of techniques. 

Laszlo has been catching Trout up to 800g along with some large Carp fishing the Jerusalem Creek arm of the lake using Scrubworms and Powerbait Nuggets.  Danny has also been fishing the Lake, mainly trolling small 7g tassies tight to the shoreline from Big River up towards Goughs Bay, and is being rewarded with plenty of Brown Trout averaging 300-500g, and also a few larger fish between 1-1.3kg.  Most of the fish took bright yellows and whites and were more active earlier in the morning before the sun got directly overhead.

Up around Bonnie Doon, the Redfin fishing continues to be very good, with the average sized fish being around 300g which is good.  Most anglers catching the larger fish are fishing larger baits of yabby or scrubworm and by doing this you can also catch a Cod or Yellowbelly, as customer Jim did.  While he didnt plan on catching the 4lb Yellowbelly while fishing for Redfin he certainly wasn't complaining!

Closer to home, Sugarloaf Reservoir has been hit and miss for Redfin, anglers persisting with small spinners or soft plastics are still finding some fish.  The key is to work the standing timber thoroughly, and if a school is found then stay in the area.  Changing lure colour and profile can help in fooling the fish also.

The upper Yarra River around Warburton has been fishing well for Trout recently.  The small flush of rain we received has dirtied the water slightly, but conditions for lure casting are still good with plenty of wadable water.  Staff member Dylan has fished the area a bit recently, and recommends using hardbodies with gold or flash sides.  Some of the better lures at the minute have been Ecogear MW62, Pontoon21 Gagagoon and Strike Pro Pygmys.  With the warm conditions the Redfin have also become more active, and will hit the same lures.  For the fly angler, French and Olive Bead-headed Nymphs are catching a lot of fish in the backwaters and slower pockets.

For anglers wanting to fish an easier technique but would rather not have to use live bait, the Gulp! Alive Crickets have been very effective on summer Trout.  Simply fished with splitshot or using the aid of a bubble float, the Crickets work well drifting down through riffles and runs and also in the deeper pools of the rivers.  Normally Grasshoppers and Crickets are on the menu for Trout during the warmer months of the year, so why not give the fish what they are looking for!

 

 

Staff member Dylan fished the Goulburn River just recently, and with the rivers running quite hard, the lure fishing was a bit difficult, but there were still fish that were lure hungry.  In the Alexandra region of the Goulburn, Rapala Maxraps and Strike Pro Flatz Minnows were the best lures to rip through the fast moving water, with Brown Trout to 3lb, and Redfin to 2lb responding well.  Smaller crankbaits like SX40’s and Crackjack 48’s along with small mudeye pattern soft plastics proved more effective in the smaller feeder streams further south. 

Customer Jacob recently got back into Trout spinning, after noticing the potential of some creeks local to him.  Using various styles of lures, Jacob has caught some nice Trout in some very small creeks that many people would walk past, with his most effective lure being a number 1 celta in colour ONV.




The Western Districts lakes are firing again as we speak, with both Bullen Merri and Purrumbete producing some trophy sized Trout.  Reports of fish over 6kg have been confirmed; with plenty more around the 2-3kg mark as well.  All techniques are working well, with baitfishing from the shoreline, and downrigging the edges being the most popular.



Staff member Dylan had a look around the Eildon streams during trout opening weekend, and with lots of people around finding some quiet water was always going to be hard. The boys fished a few spots along the Goulburn and feeder streams, and caught about 30 Trout to 2 ½ lb, along with a few 5lb jumpers lost as well. A mixture of lures were used, with the best being Pontoon 21 Crackjacks, Rapala Xraps and Maxraps.