The past week has fittingly been described as a redfin bonanza at Waranga Basin, but it depends on who you talk to.
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On the one hand, they were almost jumping into the boat, while others were left wishing that they had stayed at home.
For the fortunate ones, the fishing was as good as it had ever been; the only downside, the size of the catch; one in 10 would fill a dinner plate, the rest just a saucer.
Sadly it has been the case for some time. It has been many years since the fish's general size has been something to write home about.
Bouncing a hard-body lure along the bottom was the best method of finding fish, as long as when you hooked up, you didn't hurry to reel in.
One fish will attract others, so drop a second line down, and chances are you will turn one fish into two.
You can also try drifting a bait such as live shrimp, small yabby or worm along the bottom and when you find fish anchor up until there are no more bites, then resume the drift.
The best spots are around the island, the back of the houses near Harrimans Point, near the Kite Flyers Park and the old quarry, but keep moving around as fish are where you find them.
Reports from Eildon have been good, mainly from the river arms where cod and yellowbelly have been caught.
Anglers using surface lures on dusk have reported cod while fishing rocky ledges. Other structures are resulting in yellowbelly and redfin.
Trout have been scarce; success is mainly in early mornings when it is cool.
For those after trout, you are best off wading the rivers and streams in the high country, such as the upper Ovens River around Harrietville, the Dargo and Kiewa rivers, and the upper Goulburn, to name a few. Choose between bait-casting minnow style and bladed lures and of course, fly fishing; the latter requires quite a bit of skill to cast properly.
It need not be expensive to fish in this manner. I wear an old pair of sneakers and tracksuit pants and carry my gear in a knapsack, along with dry clothes when it is time to get changed; others wear wetsuits and waterproof waders. It all depends on how much you want to spend.
I also carry a selection of hooks and lures and some split shot just to add some weight to assist in casting. I also have some lures of various types in a tackle box or small containers such as pill bottles or similar.
I prefer to use a lightweight mono line rather than a braid only because the tying of knots is a little easier.
Early mornings at Lake Dartmouth are also a great spot to fish for trout; trolling a fender with a lure or bait is still working, but keep in mind the fish will be deeper.
A down-rigger or lead line might be needed to reach where the fish are feeding.
Cod fishing in the region has been on and off depending on the weather. The heavy thunderous clouds were good for getting cod to come on the bite, and some nice fish were reported in the Goulburn and Murray rivers.
Fortunately, there was no lockdown, so plenty of anglers were able to enjoy wetting a line last weekend.
Saltwater fishing was also good. According to Rod Lawn and Peter Smallwood from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff, they said they were catching plenty of pinky snapper both inside the heads and off the bluff at Barwon Heads and Point Nepean.
There was also a good haul of flathead, salmon, and whiting as well as squid and trevally.
Rod said that he was still catching some kingfish, but they were starting to become scarce.
He said that so far it had been a poor season for shark, both blue shark and mako because the couta were also scarce.
Rod said fishing for gummy shark around the dive sites was also worthwhile using fresh fillets of salmon and whole small squid; some jumbo-sized gummy shark were being caught.
Fishing Western Port Bay was also providing anglers with whiting, snapper and flathead, gummy shark and some larger sized leatherjacket.
North of the border at Eden, Mark from Freedom Charters said there was not much action off the shelf but inshore was booming: snapper, morwong, trevally, kingfish all on the bite from Green Cape to Twofold Bay. He said there were also schools of large salmon patrolling the surf beaches as well.
Further North at Narooma, Graham Cowley reported a similar story with kingfish schooling around Montague Island's northern end.
At Flinders Island, James Luddington was midway through a week-long charter with a group of locals; they were bagging plenty of large flathead and gummy shark during the days when they could get offshore, mainly around the Lady Baron area and Chappell Island.
Trelly can lure them in
RMG Poltergeist lure - $12.99
The poltergeist family of lures are no nonsense with the ability to pull good fish out of areas that most lures would never get through without snagging up.
“This one has Trelly on it, so it will definitely catch something,” Steve Threlfall said.
This one is a special edition in 4 m and 8 m diving.
“It is perfect for redfin at Waranga Basin and we reckon Kevin can catch more of the one that sits nicely on a dinner plate,” Trelly said.
“Just get it bumping along the bottom at 3 m-5 m deep and work it at those depths over inclines and drop-offs.”
Daiwa Tatura HD 200P LTD - $379
Sadly, Trelly hasn’t been able to wet a line this week,
If he had it would have been wrapped around this Daiwa Tatura HD 200P LTD baitcaster reel.
It isn’t the cheapest but it hums quality with every cast and retrieve.
Built specifically for Australia it has an upgraded greased CRBB spool and pinion support bearings that stand up to harsh saltwater environments.
“It holds around 230 m of 30 lb braid and is ideal for cod, barra, redfin and everything in between,” Trelly said.