Reel Life | An angler’s tale, one cast at a time

If I try hard enough, I can remember all these years ago when I first became an angler.

My beginning was when my father had no babysitter to look after me.

I believe I was eight or nine; he wanted to go to Studley Park to go fishing. Studley Park is at the end of Johnston St, where it crosses the Yarra River between Kew and Collingwood in Melbourne.

While he fished, my brother and I played games, showing little interest in fishing. Several trips later, he managed to catch a redfin; this was the start of my desire to catch a fish.

Several months later, I did just that. Not a monster by any means but a redfin, and that was the beginning of my story. I have been keen on fishing ever since — not always catching, but the pleasure of participating is reward enough. That is the beginning of my introduction to the world of fishing.

The middle of my time is ongoing; it would be fair to say that the end of my story is still a long way off.

Not only do I remember early fishing trips, but I also recall my first rod and reel, delivered by Santa. It was a bamboo rod with an Alvey centre-pin reel, primitive by today’s standards, but to me, it was magnificent. As it turned out, I was not the one to christen it; that honour belonged to Dad, as I was off playing cowboys or similar.

I remember my first fishing rod, a length of tapered bamboo with a wooden handle and wire-twisted runner — Stone Age by today’s standards.

These days, I have a fine collection of hand-crafted carbon-fibre rods built by my farmer friend Bob Darley.

If you have one of his rods, you will know how good they are, from trout rods through snapper and even a two-piece surf rod, a long way from my bamboo starter.

Fishing in our region continues to be productive, with plenty of juvenile cod, although anglers are getting some keepers among the catch. Fishing the rivers is worthwhile; bait and lures are getting good results.

One of the hot spots is Broken Creek, which goes from Nathalia to the Murray. Baits, including cheese or chicken, grubs, shrimp, yabbies and worms, all are getting results; the rivers are also getting good reports.

From the dams, places such as Eildon, Waranga Basin, Nillahcootie, Lake Hume and Dartmouth Dam.

Cod, yellowbelly, trout and redfin can be caught at Eildon. Cod in the river arms and also in the deep water near the wall. Trolling a fender with either a lure or bait is catching trout while fishing the tree lines is good for redfin.

Casting Jackall-style lures near the rocky structures is good for catching yellowbellies. The best spot is the bank in the Fraser section of the Lake Eildon National Park.

With Easter fast approaching, it is time to think of a place to escape the holiday crowd. One of the best spots, in my opinion, is Dartmouth. There are generally small holiday crowds, good facilities and good fishing, both on the lake and in nearby rivers and streams. Finally, as you travel west to east to get to the Dart, the traffic is usually less than the major roads that go north-south.

On your way to Dartmouth, you pass Lake Hume; it is a mecca for redfin. Fish among the tree line with bait or lures, but as an added bonus, you can also catch trout and yellowbelly, with an occasional cod.

Waranga Basin also provides anglers with good fishing — redfin, yellowbelly and an occasional cod. Trout can also be caught during winter.

Saltwater fishing has also been worth the effort, according to Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff.

Rod said kingfish had been on the bite, along with pinky-size snapper, salmon, whiting and flathead.

The weather forecast for the Melbourne area for the next couple of weeks, including the Easter break, is for plenty of sunshine — exciting news for anglers.

Rod said fishing should be good in Western Port. Some successful surf fishing was reported around San Remo and Phillip Island.

He said fishing around the shallow grass beds had produced decent bags of King George whiting, one of my all-time favourite fish.

North of the border at Eden, John Liddell said while game fish were being caught off the shelf, the action on the inshore reefs was filling anglers’ bags with snapper, morwong and flathead, among plenty of table fish.

At Narooma, further north, Graham Cowley said the fishing was similar, with kingfish providing plenty of action around the northern end of Montague Island.

At Flinders Island, James Luddington said he was catching plenty of gummy shark and flathead among the islands around Lady Barron, while off the shelf, there was albacore tuna and down deep, blue-eye trevalla.

With Easter around the corner, drive carefully, stay COVID-19 safe and be sensible around water.

Trelly’s tackle