Shepparton

SHEPPARTON Nick Brown

teamriverrats@hotmail.com

The Goulburn River has been fishing well this past month, with many legal cod reported between Shepparton to Murchison.

The key to the great fishing we’ve been experiencing can be put down to consistent water heights and favourable fishing conditions, making it easier for more of us to get on the water.

Bait fishing has been a stand-out, with cod being caught on baits such as chicken, cheese and sausages. Casting surface lures in low-light periods has worked well too, especially on the calmer, more humid nights.

Early autumn is a good time to fish the Goulburn, and if the river stays at a steady level, we should continue to see good cod and yellowbelly fishing in the coming weeks.

BROKEN RIVER

This season has been a stand-out for yellowbelly with again plenty of reports coming in. Normally we get the early spring bite and the rise in water bite in the Broken, but it’s just fished consistently well for yellowbelly, and the past month was no different. Shrimp have been working best, with scrub worms a close second.

You can also get good results casting Fish Traps. You can cut the front-facing trebles to leave you with a over 30cm being caught. Trolling small Codgers and Old Mates in around 15ft has been the best method, with or without a soft plastic in front of the diving lure.

Amelia Elliston with a Murray cod from the Broken River.

double hook when fishing the snags, or just use the Fish Trap Weedless model.

Anglers casting surface lures downstream of the Archer Street bridge have reported some legal cod being caught and released, both in the morning and evening low-light periods.

WARANGA BASIN

It’s hot fishing at the Basin, with reports still coming in of many redfin

Casting around the edges has also been a great method, with 2-3” Keitech Easy Shiners in green pumpkin chartreuse being the stand-out plastic, rigged with a beetle spin.

Bait fishing has again been great, with plenty of redfin being caught deeper or on the edges. Worms have been the stand-out.

SHEPPARTON LAKE

There hasn’t been much fishing action at the lake this year, with summer being a tough bite time, but there is plenty of positivity for the fishing in the weeks to come.

The weed-harvesting boat was yet again in town, cleaning up plenty of the weed. By the time this issue hits stores, everything will have settled down, and we’ll be able to target fish in the lake more easily.

If you’re chasing redfin or yellowbelly in the lake, you can get results casting small chatterbaits or lipless crankbaits with single hooks around the grass hill or boat ramps, or you can slow roll a soft plastic with a beetle spin along any weed edges that are left. Jacob Pemberton with a double hook-up at Waranga Basin.

Josh Dohnt from the Native Project with a nice Shepparton yellowbelly. GREENS LAKE

In February the Victorian Fisheries Authority were busy at Greens Lake to salvage and relocate Murray cod and golden perch. With the water level in Greens Lake now very low, the VFA (working together with Goulburn-Murray Water and contractors) have managed to catch the many fish and transport them to new homes.

The cod will be relocated to the new native fish hatchery at Arcadia, with some other natives being released into the Goulburn River. Plenty of yellowbelly will also be released into Waranga Basin.

WEST/SOUTH GIPPSLAND Billy Auldist

Bill was off sick this month, so his report has been supplied by Martin Auldist. In West Gippsland the late spring and are now perfect for fishing. Will Thompson from Allways Angling in Traralgon reports that recent weeks have brought “the most amazing fishing ever”, with local anglers landing bulk numbers of the normal the Tanjil River as having been particularly productive.

Further west around Noojee, the Latrobe River and its tributaries, the Loch and Toorongo rivers, have also been giving up plenty of trout, while the evergreen Tarago River is always worth a look as well. Spinners such as Mappsos, Mepps and Vibrax have been doing the damage for lure fishers, while the ever-reliable earthworm continues to take plenty of fish for bait drowners.

Dylan Powis reaping the rewards of searching for new dams with a typical South Gippsland redfin.

warmer weather of late summer has brought increased insect activity, and the trout have been biting like crazy!

Water levels have dropped from the highs of sub-30cm trout in both the brown and rainbow varieties. Occasional bigger fish have stretched the tape to 40cm – very good fish for the streams of this region. Will nominates both branches of and cast a lightly-weighted earthworm into it, and it shouldn’t be long before you have an inquiry from one of these endearing native fish. If you are successful, please consider releasing them.

Over at Blue Rock Reservoir, the water is still quite high, providing good fishing for both shore and boat-based anglers targeting trout with diving lures or bait. The bass continue to fire as well. Round 1 of the 1300Fishing BASS Pro Series was held here in early February, attracting a good turnout of competitors and resulting in some good fish coming to the net. I’m told that the best bass caught was around 49cm long to the fork, and was landed on a black Gulp grub. Other anglers found success in 8m of water using jigs around the many dead trees.

Looking ahead, the early parts of autumn typically see good amounts of grasshoppers in the grass lining the streambanks, so larger terrestrial flies and small bladed spinners are likely to be productive in all the usual rivers. At Blue Rock the good fishing should continue, with the additional option of targeting carp on surface poppers.

Fly fishers have been having a ball too, with dry fly patterns such as the Stimulator or Dunn working well at the change of light later in the evening. Bead head nymphs have been a good option for during the day.

The large river blackfish of the West Gippsland region offer a unique angling experience for those willing to venture out later in the evening and into darkness. Find a large, deep pool Cody Fleming with a solid local brown trout caught casting a Rapala lure upstream.