The winter bite is underway

Shane Stevens

Our days have shortened, the temperatures have dropped, and frosty mornings are here. Winter has definitely arrived in and spring rains raise the water levels and cover it all up again.

Admittedly, in the case of Lake Wendouree, the landscape doesn’t really change (unless the weed is not cut/harvested in an area and it becomes unfishable, lets anglers see all the gutters, tracks (made by sheep or cattle), drop-offs, structure (rocks, tree stumps), weed beds and generally anything which a feeding fish might use to travel from deeper water into the shallows to feed. I call these ‘fish highways’.

When water levels rise again, I then target those areas, and the results speak for themselves. In Tullaroop Reservoir, for example, there are some deep gutters that run into shallow bays/inlets that I like to fish. Last spring I fished them early in the season and was rewarded with some excellent fish.

Moorabool has some very distinct points/areas and structures that I like to target prior to the weed growing, which makes them unfishable, or when the water level is down. If you take notice when you’re out and about wetting a line, and try is good at the moment, which is due to the City of Ballarat weed harvesting program. They have three weed harvesters running, which has kept the weed down. This has provided anglers with a lot of fishable water. the Central Highlands of Victoria. However, it seems that someone has forgotten to tell the fish that, because over the past month the fishing has been excellent around the Ballarat District.

Kelsi Gull, who is one of the keenest female anglers going around and a member of WIRF (Women in Recreational Fishing), has been catching some magnificent trout, both rainbows and browns, land based on Wendouree. Kelsi has been using soft plastics and small hardbodied lures to catch them. Some of her recent catches were caught on slow rolled ZMan Slim SwimZ plastics and twitching FishArt Wriggling sinking stickbaits over and around weed beds.

Nathan Angee, one of the best and keenest anglers you will meet around the traps, has been out on Wendouree worked out.

Judging by the reports coming in, and the photos on social media, there are plenty of fish being caught at the moment. The fish haven’t slowed down before their annual spawning time, and angler numbers around our waters haven’t slowed either. Obviously, this is due to the fish still biting, which is great to see. It’s a product of the stocking programs in place by Victorian Fishing Authority.

At the start of winter, we see our lakes’ and reservoirs’ water levels being drawn down, due to environmental flows and irrigation. This reduces the amount of fishable water. Because these waterways have lots of weed in them, the reduction in water is good for the fish and aquatic life, but bad for anglers. Still, it provides an opportunity for anglers to take notice of the exposed landscape before the (hopefully) steady winter or a new artificial weed reef has been formed). The Wendouree water level is stable and it only drops down – there is no receding shoreline that is exposed.

However, in Hepburn Lagoon, Newlyn Reservoir, Moorabool Reservoir and Tullaroop Reservoir, it’s a different story. In these waterways the water recedes back down the bank/ shoreline, due to irrigation or environmental flows. This to think like a fish, you can use this to your advantage later in the year.

As mentioned, the fishing has been excellent around the Ballarat and District.

Lake Wendouree

Wendouree is fishing extremely well for both trout and redfin, which are being caught from boat and landbased anglers.

Donny Rogers has been getting out on Wendouree with fishing buddy Hayden Wilson who has recently acquired a boat. The boys generally fish land based most of the time, catching plenty but now Hayden has the boat, their options have opened up. The boys have been getting stuck into some nice brown and rainbow trout casting lures out of the drifting boat. On one of the boys’ recent trips after work, Donny landed a ripper brown measuring in at 57cm, which he caught on a Jackall Timon hardbody lure, using a slow roll retrieve.

The weed in Wendouree targeting both trout and redfin. He has caught some magnificent fish over the past month, both trout and redfin, caught from either his kayak or boat.

Nathan has been using the latest and greatest technology to assist catching the redfin, using the sounder and LiveScope set-up he uses in the tournament scene to his advantage on Wendouree. The results speak for themselves. I witnessed firsthand Nathan and his mate Tyler Ridgewell clean up, catching fish after fish, casting soft plastics at these schools of redfin, which included a couple of big reds measuring in at 45cm each. This session wasn’t a one-off – he has been consistently catching them over the past few months.

Moorabool Reservoir

Hayden Wilson hasn’t just been fishing Wendouree – since he purchased a boat, he has been back out at Moorabool Reservoir targeting the redfin. He has them pretty much

Over the past few months, Hayden has been catching some ripper redfin around and over the 40cm mark, casting soft plastics. He has been using a high stick, slow rolling retrieve when targeting the redfin. The high stick means he holds his rod up high instead of parallel to the water surface, which keeps his soft plastic up high in the water column, reducing the risk of it getting caught on the weed. This method has worked well at Moorabool, and has been adapted by other anglers in weedy waterways. Whether you’re chasing trout or redfin, if you get weed on your lure or plastic, it won’t work properly and the fish will generally not eat it. I speak from my own experiences.

Hepburn Lagoon

At Hepburn Lagoon the fishing reports have been very lean over the past few months. This is most likely due to the extensive amount of weed and lack of fishable water, plus there are other waterways fishing well in the district, attracting more angling attention. Hepburn holds some very big trout and redfin, but it flies under the radar with a lot of anglers.

Mick Fanning is one angler who persists with Hepburn, and he is rewarded for his efforts. Recently Mick has been out targeting redfin with soft plastics. He has targeted the pockets of water clear of weed with ZMan Baby GOAT soft plastics slow rolled along the bottom, with excellent results, landing some rippers in the mid-40cm range.

Hepburn generally fishes quite well throughout the winter months, especially for trout, which like to feed on small baitfish during the winter months, given the insect life is basically non-existent. Don’t expect to go out there and bag a few fish every time. There will be days when the fish are smashing the smelt around the edges, while on other days you will see nothing. On those good days, be sure to make the most of your opportunities.