Easter is upon us — it’s time for chocolate eggs and hot cross buns.
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I find it hard to accept them being on the shelves on Boxing Day when tradition says they should be eaten at Easter (which is when I prefer them).
There is, however, one tradition from when I was a child that I am glad has gone.
Easter meant smoked cod with white sauce, peas and mashed potatoes; that awful yellow fish has gone the way of the dodo — and that is fine with me.
While Easter historically is a Christian celebration, members of other denominations celebrate the fact that there is a holiday period all can enjoy — and enjoy it, we do.
These days, many people turn it into a week-long break, which leads me to another Easter tradition: heavy traffic.
There are already lots of cars on the move, but on Easter Monday, most holidaymakers will be returning home.
Get ready to leave early and be prepared for delays and slow-moving traffic; stay alert and drive safely.
You should also be safety-conscious on the water; across Australia, 99 people drowned during the 2023-24 summer. Many of these deaths could have been averted if common sense had been used.
Please follow all the safety rules.
Now, back to fishing.
It has been better than average in our region, with most anglers getting good results. Most of the fishing has been on the large dams and lakes: Eildon, Waranga, Nillahcootie, Hume, Dartmouth and, of course, Mulwala on the Murray.
Plenty of Murray cod have been caught; generally juvenile fish, but there have been keepers.
Picking an Easter spot to go fishing can be tricky; most places along both the Goulburn and Murray rivers will be packed with campers. If you can find a place to fish, you may get lucky. Reports were positive early this week, with plenty of fish being caught on both bait and lures.
The Broken River between Gowangardie and Shepp is worth trying; the water has cleared, and the flow has slowed. Fish the backwater and among the snags; bait and lures will do the trick.
Finding a spot will be the biggest task.
In our region, the irrigation channels are still flowing, so there is a good chance of catching yellowbelly and redfin, as well as an occasional cod, both on bait and lures.
While I have not heard from the demon yellowbelly angler from Rushworth, the word was that yellowbelly were biting around the structure in the channels.
There were good reports from the Main Eastern Channel as well.
All reports indicate that Easter should be a good time for fishing, so wherever you decide to fish, you should have success using both bait and lures.
Remember, the Murray is in NSW, so you will need to hold NSW fishing and boating licences.
I have it on good authority that boating and fishing inspectors will be out in force, so make sure you have the correct licence.
Also, remember that Lake Mulwala is considered to be in NSW, while a part of the Ovens River runs into the lake at Bundalong.
Lake Hume is considered part of Victoria, so our state licence will cover you for fishing there.
You will also need a Victorian boating licence; for your information, the border is the high-water mark.
You will also require licences when fishing in the saltwater off Victoria’s coast; there is an exception in NSW, where a charter operator can cover the licence requirements of his or her customers.
Speaking of saltwater fishing, Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff has reported excellent fishing both inside the heads and offshore around Barwon Heads.
Rod said inside the heads, whiting were on the bite around the mouth of Swan Bay as well as at St Leonards and across the bay at Point Nepean and Sorrento.
The reefs inside the heads were producing pinky snapper as well as flathead.
In the heads, there were salmon, kingfish and silver trevally; along the coast, there were lots of kingfish as well.
Gummy sharks could be found around the dive sites.
Rod said the fishing in Western Port Bay was also good, with pinky snapper being caught along the rubble beds of the shipping lanes; there were flathead off the sand and gummy sharks in the deep water off Cowes.
North of the border at Eden, John Liddell said the boys from Freedom Charters were catching snapper and morwong on the inshore reefs, as well as game fish off the shelf.
Further north at Narooma, Graham Cowley said the fishing was similar around Montague Island, as well as off the shelf.
At Flinders Island, James Luddington was still catching flathead and gummy sharks around the islands off Lady Barron while there were trumpeters in the deep water off the shelf.
Enjoy the Easter break and stay safe. Watch out for snakes, drive safely and be sensible on the water.
Now it’s time to enjoy hot cross buns and chocolate Easter eggs.