Reel Life | Don’t miss out this weekend

It was a hectic time, but if the Easter reports are anything to go on, the fishing this weekend should be good.

The hot spots are the Goulburn River from Nagambie to the Murray, the Murray from Cobram to Torrumbarry, Lake Mulwala upstream to the Ovens and the Ovens at Wangaratta.

Near Mulwala, both rivers and their tributaries are producing plenty of cod. While most fish are juvenile, there are keepers among them. Remember, there is a maximum size. You may not keep a fish that exceeds 75cm, fish over this size are considered to be breeding stock and must be released.

Cod are also in Lake Eildon, where there is no closed season, but size and bag limits are still in force. You can also catch cod in Waranga Basin, Lake Nillahcootie and smaller lakes such as Craigmuir in Mooroopna, Victoria Park Lake in Shepparton and Kialla Lakes.

Two other hot spots for catching cod are the Broken Creek around Nathalia and the Broken River between Benalla and Shepparton.

We are well into the trout season. I like chasing trout in the rivers and streams in the north-east. It means wading in the waterways, and while purists wear proper wading gear, I prefer an old pair of joggers and a worn-out pair of jeans.

The secret to wading is to travel light, with a small haversack for tackle, lures, a small drawstring bag for any catch, a water bottle, a hat and a loose-fitting top. Of course, you can halve your load if you go with a companion.

The good thing about Dartmouth is that you can fish from a boat in the deep water or track the creeks to wade the shallows; bait casting, lure fishing and fly fishing are all methods of catching trout. An acquaintance I have not seen for some time has taken up the rod and reel and is fly fishing — I wish him luck.

I have mentioned in the past that I do not fly fish; it is an art form that has eluded me. Although I have tried to master the skill, I will stick to bait and lure casting.

Good results have been reported from the upper Goulburn, the Ovens around Harrietville, the King River and the Mitta River from the Blue Duck Inn to below the Dartmouth spillway.

We are coming to the end of redfin season, where reddies tend to become harder to find. However, if you persist, you can still gain a feed. Waranga Basin is well worth trying.

Reddies will bite on most baits — worms, shrimp, small yabbies — and a variety of lures, including hard-body diving lures and soft plastics.

Another redfin hot spot is Lake Eildon. Redfin can be caught among the tree line, at Peppin Point from the caravan park to the concrete galleon, and among the tree line at Jamieson and both the Delatite River and Big River Arm. You can use bait or a lure at about five or six metres.

If there is no bite, move to another spot; it might only be as far as the next tree. Keep moving until a school of fish is found.

Over Easter, Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff reported decent catches of pinky snapper. These were caught on the reefs along the shipping lanes, as well as the usual reefs. There were good bags of whiting on both sides of the bay — fish the sandy breaks among the grass beds. Your bait should be clear of the grass rather than among it.

Plenty of flathead can be caught on the sandy bottom. Gummy sharks are biting around the dive wrecks and crayfish pots.

Rod said the Easter weather was the best he had experienced in some time; consequently, the fishing was too. Not only in quantity but also in the variety of species among the catch.

Rod said the fishing was just as good in Western Port Bay, where big gummy sharks were caught off Cowes in the deep water at low tide.

It was also a great time to fish north of the border at Eden, according to John Liddell. Reports from Mark at Freedom Charters were positive for great inshore results; heaps of snapper with some horse-size fish among the catch, and plenty of morwong and other table fish. John said surf fishers were bagging Australian salmon when conditions were right.

At Narooma, Graham Cowley said anglers fishing the sandy bottom were catching big flathead in good numbers, as well as kingfish around Montague Island.

At Flinders Island, James Luddington said he was almost ready to call it a day for this season, but even so, there were still plenty of flathead and gummy sharks being caught.

That’s all for this week. Stay safe and good fishing.