If you're keen to catch some freshwater natives, now's the time to get ready! With the mild weather we've had over the last few days, native fish like yellowbelly and Murray cod will be starting to become more active. Local lakes such as Sugarloaf and Eildon are hotspots to target yellowbelly, and they also provide good bycatch of redfin too. Eildon Guru Andy McCarthy landed this ripping yellowbelly of 15lb just a few days ago at Lake Eildon on a spinnerbait. What a fish!
Over the last week, we've had a few good reports from customer catching Murray Cod around the place, so seems like a good time to target them! Good customer Mario fished up at Mulwala recently, and did well on some lovely Cod in dirty water. He said trolling the edge of the riverbed worked the best, with black/purple Stumpjumpers and Codgers the favourites.
Customer Mijo has also been fishing around Mulwala with some mates, and has caught Cod up to 70cm on Bardi's and the occasional one on lure. Around the Bundalong section of the lake they have also caught a few Yellowbelly up to 40cm on Shrimp.
Customer Nick sent us a report from the Ovens River where his mate David has been catching Cod since Easter. David has been using Bardi's in the river and has caught some great fish, including Yellowbelly to 6lb, along with Cod up to 40lb! David says that most of the Cod have been biting better around the full moon.
Lake Eildon has been fishing well, with quieter conditions and less water traffic keeping the fish going. While the Natives can still be caught, the colder conditions have been good for the Trout. Staff member Dylan has been fishing the lake recently, with mixed bags. While the Murray Cod can be hard work, he has caught Cod more often than not while targeting them. Spinnerbaits and Large Lipless Crankbaits have been the best. There are plenty of small Redfin about, and the trick is to move about the timber until you find the slightly larger fish. While having a break from the Cod, Dylan has been trying his luck for some larger Trout, with colder water temperature bringing on plenty of surface activity. Casting Hybrid Lipless Crankbaits like Jackall Mask Vibs has been a good way to stir up the bigger Trout sitting deep along the timbered shorelines of Big River and Jew’s Creek.
Customer Marek and his son have been fishing around Sugarloaf and Eildon while having a break from the saltwater action, and they have caught some nice Yellowbelly fishing soft plastics. Small curl tail soft plastics have been the best for them.
Customer Peter recently tried some new lures out on the Trout. After picking a few different colours of Waxwing Jigs, Peter took them for a test run on the Ovens River out from Bright. He caught plenty of fish on them, and some very nice size fish, up to 2kg. He also said that he lost a much Trout estimated around 3-3.5kg when it jumped off. Peter said that the best thing about the lures was how simple they were to use, with a constant slow wind working the best.
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!
Customer Andrew has been catching Redfin out of Rowville Lakes on 1.5” Pro Grubs and Damiki Monster Mikis fished on light jigheads. Casting around the reed edges with the plastics has been the go.
Lots of Redin are being caught in Sugarloaf Reservoir by customers. Most are fishing vibe-style lures like this Ecogear ZX35.
Craig fished the Howqua River last week, chasing some of the Trout. While the Trout were hard to tempt, he did catch some large Carp to 2kg on Chunky Cheese Powerbait. He noticed late in the afternoon that the Trout were rising to take small White Moth off the surface.
Staff member Dylan has still been chasing Yellowbelly around the local lakes and dams, with a few smaller fish up around 1.5kg taking Jackall TN’s and 1/4oz Bassman Spinnerbaits.
Good customer Justan went to Lake Eppalock with some mates for a weekend trip, and after buying a few ‘must have’ lures from the boys, he did well on some large Redfin, while his mates struggled to get a fish. Needless to say he is hooked on spinning for the Reddies now.
Ryan also fished Eppalock during the week chasing Redfin, but instead managed Yellowbelly up to 44cm, all caught on Jackall Mask Vibes.
Lake Wendouree has been fishing well for Trout over the last week. Customer George gave us a report of excellent numbers of Brown Trout up to 1.2kg taking Mudeyes and Gulp! Crickets fished under a ‘AAA’ sliding float.
Piotr and his mates like to catch Eels around the Dandenong area in the creeks, and they say that lately the Eels have been going off over the last week with the hot weather. Using scrubworms as bait is very effective for Piotr, who likes to use the Eels for Gummy Shark bait.
Customer Michael fished the Yarra twice over the last week around the Warrandyte area chasing Murray Cod. Using large Scrubworms on a running sinker rig, he caught 2 Cod, with the biggest being around 40cm. Michael also caught 2 Macquarie Perch in the same stretch of water, which he released back into the river.
Lake Eildon has been a little bit quiet this week again with lots of boat traffic, but fishing early morning or late afternoon is the key. Customer Jamie followed this principle and caught 2 Murray Cod, one at 49cm, and the second at 62cm. Both fish took live yabbies fished with very little weight, fished off the main Eildon wall boat ramp.
Customer Mark fished Sugarloaf Reservoir and got a few Redfin to 35cm, on scrubworms and Squidgy wrigglers in Lava Colour.
Team Member Glenys and a couple of friends also fished Sugarloaf, along the car park edge near the dam wall around midday landing a couple of small redfin on spinners. Whilst they were there two fly anglers where trying their luck with one landing a nice sized redfin around 40cm mark on what appeared to be an olive muddler. Fishing Sugarloaf is generally best in the morning and if into walking, the area behind the main BBQ near the entrance and around to Plover Point are proving most successful.
Customer Michael took trout around the 400grm as well as good number of Redfin to similar sizes around the edge of the pools of the upper Yarra. Most where taken on Laydown Minnows. Cast into the pools and twitch back with lots of pauses, and being a suspending lure, most of the hits will come as the lure sits stationary.
Customer Luke fished the pondage, along Riverside Drive, just before Christmas, landing Trout up to 5kg on freshwater yabbies.
Anthony also had success at the pondage with Trout up to 5kg on his own dough mix and powerbait nuggets. When using the nuggets, you will have more success with a light gauge treble hook than the traditional baitholder. Also proving successful for Anthony was Gulp Trout Bait and Salmon eggs fished on the bottom.
For the Fly angler, Scott fished the upper pondage near the Cemetery with most of his fish taking beetle patterns late in the afternoon.
The Cod in Lake Eildon have been firing with consistent reports of fish up to 6kg being taken. Single blade Bassman Spinnerbaits proving the most successful around areas like the Dam wall.
Scott fished the Bonnie Doon region for Redfin with fish up to 1kg taking yabbies fished around vertical timber. Soft Plastics and vibes where also working well along the deep timbered banks.
Following up on our last Report, we now have photo evidence of the great Cod that Store Manager Ian landed, near the dam wall. Ian released both the Cod, with the challenge of landing them again next year when they are a couple of kilos heavier. His boat driver for the day, Staff member Dylan, could only look on and curse as he was left to catch all the Carp, Redfin and small Rainbow Trout on suspending lures around the same banks.
Customer Luka was fishing along the banks using Jackall TN50/60 casting alongside sunken logs with 6 Redfin up to 35cm being landed. In his second session on the lake, Luka also managed a nice Murray Cod of 69cm, again on a black bladed bassman.