Fishing Monthly Magazine | April 2023

Page 92

VIC

A great month for trout in northeast Victoria WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

April is a beautiful time of the year in North East Victoria, one of my favourites. The weather is usually quite stable, the nights are cool, the days are mild to warm, and there’s usually some good fishing to be found. MURRAY COD Although I do catch a few Murray cod each year in April, I would not consider it the best month of the year for cod. It may be the best time in other areas, but in the Ovens River catchment the cod fishing is usually quite hit-and-miss in April. Sometimes you’ll have an amazing fishing trip, and the next time you’ll go fishless.

The region’s trout streams are in excellent shape heading into autumn. to see the trout starting to fire up. This month I will be fishing for trout at Lake

A silver perch caught in Lake Moodemere at sunset. I tend to catch more cod on bait at this time of year than I do lures, although I certainly have caught cod on lures. I consider April to be the last good chance of catching a Murray cod in the Wangaratta area. Once we get into May, they become quite scarce. Lake Mulwala, just down the road, tends to fish very well during April each year. TROUT April is a great month to go trout fishing right across North East Victoria. The streams are usually quite cold, and the surface water temperatures in the lakes have usually dropped enough

a few yellowbelly on the bite there in April, although they have usually slowed down a bit. OTHER SPECIES The carp fishing has been incredible lately, and I suspect that it will continue throughout April. As a result of last year’s floods, carp numbers have exploded and they’re turning up in places where I have never seen them before. I have even been catching them in yabby nets in roadside table drains. My favourite carp fishing lake, Lake Moodemere, has been fishing very well for

late in the afternoon to try to catch some of the trout that may be rising and feeding on the dead insects laying on the surface of the lake. The trout streams should all fish really well in the coming weeks, as there is still a lot more water than usual flowing down them for this time of the year. This will greatly assist the trout to swim upstream, ready to spawn later in the autumn. Black soft plastics (such as the Strike Tiger Nymph) are dynamite on trout in the streams during April, especially early in the month when there are a lot of This lovely brown trout was caught in a small stream late in summer. The signs are good for some great trout fishing this April.

A massive 73cm fat carp caught at the Winton Wetlands recently. William Hovell of an evening. I like to fish for redfin with soft plastics during the day, and then switch to a winged lure such as a Tassie Devil

Holly Alexander with one of the many carp that she caught at the Winton Wetlands.

crickets around. REDFIN The region’s two main redfin lakes, Lake Buffalo and Lake William Hovell, both tend to fish very well during April. Redfin are a funny fish. Some places fish better in spring, some in autumn and some in summer. The two aforementioned lakes definitely fish the best during

southern end of the lake. YELLOWBELLY The yellowbelly tend to slow down a bit in April. I won’t be targeting them specifically, although I will definitely welcome any that I may catch as a by-catch while fishing in the Ovens River. Nearby Lake Nillahcootie might be worth a try. There are usually still

carp, with the odd redfin and silver perch thrown into the mix. Another spot worth trying is the Mokoan Ponds at the Winton Wetlands. You may know these ponds as the Borrow Pits. They are found at the eastern end of the Winton Wetlands near the old Lake Mokoan Wall, and they have been fishing very well lately.

Prime time to go chasing cod YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

92 APRIL 2023

autumn, particularly April. If fishing from a boat or kayak, small diving lures work very well. So will a cast soft plastic if you cast it out, let it sink and slowly work it back towards the boat. From the bank try casting small soft plastics or bladed spinners. They work very well in both lakes. Lake Buffalo is the better lake for fishing from the bank, as it has a lot more bankside access around much of the Lake. Lake William Hovell is limited to just a small area along the western edge, and a couple of 4WD-only spots at the

There is no better time than right now to be out and about on the home of the Murray cod – Lake Mulwala – in search of the mighty green fish. March through to May are your prime times. With the sting in the sun almost gone, there is no better place to while away time whilst dreaming of catching a legend. Hardbody lures and spinnerbaits, either cast or trolled in the shallower parts of the lake (2-5m), have seen anglers return better results of late, with good numbers of cod being reported. Sure, there

have been some quality cod taken by those trolling the deeper channels and original Murray River course, but not as often. Whilst fishing in and around Lake Mulwala, certainly don’t discount fishing below the weir in the Murray River, especially if there is a bit of wind about. Captures downstream have been above average of late, with some quality cod amongst them, along with plenty of nice-sized yellas. The broken record continues as this time of year is ideal for surface fishing, unmatched by any other style of fishing for sheer anticipation, excitement and exhilaration. Casting poppers, paddlers or buzzbaits around the

heavily-timbered shallower parts of the lake, or along the edges of the river both up and down stream, will see you in with a great chance of getting a hit. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to what lure to use. The most important thig is that it makes a disturbance on top. The recent Humminbird Da$h 4 Ca$h Super Series again proved popular, with 55 teams competing over a near-perfect weekend weather-wise. Over the three fishing sessions, 64 legal cod were captured and photos returned for verification. The Saturday morning session allowed ‘scoping’, and none other than Australia’s two finest exponents of this technique,

Nathan and Mitch Skeers, took home the winner’s check of $1500 plus a Humminbird sounder. Saturday arvo had $2000 up for grabs, along with another Humminbird sounder. The Quarrell boys, Luke and Andrew, caught a couple of nicesized cod early and ended up taking the money in this session. The Sunday morning session had the big cash on offer, with $2500 being awarded to the winner, along with another Humminbird unit. Father-son pairing of Derek and Kade Blow, who had finished 4th and 5th in each session on Saturday, once again fished extremely


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pages 126-127

Stessco Albacore CC560 with Yamaha F130 4-stroke

5min
pages 124-125

AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST National Fishing Challenge

2min
pages 122-123

Langford pips Johnson for Glenmaggie title

3min
pages 116-120

Johnson claims maiden BASS Pro win at Blue Rock

3min
pages 114-115

DUO Vukic achieves Hollands Landing heroics

7min
pages 112-113

Tight bags and tarwhine on the Swan

7min
pages 110-111

Now is an exciting time to be on the water

8min
pages 108-109

All eyes on Karratha blue swimmer crab season

3min
page 106

The new Stacer package deals

2min
page 105

Exciting Easter action on tuna

2min
page 105

Impact of regulation changes

2min
page 104

Fishers eager to get back out

3min
page 103

Demersal options are back

2min
page 102

Salmon sightings tempt fishers

6min
page 101

Launching a land-based assult

4min
page 100

Savouring the calm autumn weather pattern

2min
page 100

Good fishing continues into the cooler months

4min
page 99

The good, the bad and the ugly: Tassie offshore

4min
page 98

The WIRF Leaders are making lots of waves

1min
page 97

Decisions, decisions: which bank shall we fish?

2min
page 96

Making the most of Gippy during the cold months

2min
page 96

Crackdown on fishing offenses

3min
page 95

Consistent results for fresh salmonid fishers

1min
page 95

Autumn fishing is firing up

4min
page 94

Trolling up some solid autumn Murray cod

3min
page 93

Prime time to go chasing cod

1min
page 92

A great month for trout in northeast Victoria

2min
page 92

Great angling opportunities in Bendigo region

2min
page 90

Tough going on the Murray

1min
page 90

Tracking down the bait schools

2min
page 89

Hot fishing in local estuaries

0
page 88

Bream and flathead from the Bemm channel

1min
page 88

Super snapper from the surf

4min
page 87

A constantly changing fishery

1min
page 86

Flat out dusky flathead fishing

3min
page 86

Your fishing licence fees at work

0
page 85

Local advice is the key to catching bluefin tuna

5min
page 84

Get ready for seasonal changes

4min
pages 82-83

Last chance for good PPB snapper sessions

4min
page 81

Impressive catches in estuaries

3min
page 80

Decent bream catches in the Hopkins River

1min
page 79

Anglers are still on the lookout for big tuna

2min
page 79

Get out there and catch a nice feed this autumn

2min
page 78

Autumn arrives with redfin catches everywhere

3min
page 77

The DPI needs your fish frames

2min
page 76

Perfect time to be walking banks

1min
page 76

Smooth flows ahead for April!

2min
page 75

The importance of water temps

1min
page 74

Anglers enjoying some excellent trout fishing

3min
page 74

School holiday fun for the kids

3min
pages 72-73

Anglers enjoying the long awaited seasonal change

1min
page 72

The autumn fishing is on fire

5min
page 70

A better class of fish on offer

5min
page 69

Anglers are enjoying more moderate weather

5min
page 68

Inshore anglers get into action

3min
page 67

Decent catches are increasing as autumn begins

2min
page 66

Getting the small things right

3min
page 65

Mackerel fever spreads

2min
page 64

The pelagic fishing is at its peak

3min
page 63

Coffs is right in the middle of the mackerel run

1min
page 62

Tagging Tales

1min
page 61

Keep moving to find the fish

4min
pages 60-61

Sydney flathead are still taking bait and lures

7min
pages 58-59

A transition period for all the Sydney waterways

6min
pages 56-57

Range of pelagics in harbour

4min
pages 54-55

Spectacular fishing on the surface schools

2min
page 54

Gary’s Marine Centre

5min
pages 50-51

We’re spoilt for choice

3min
page 50

National Recreational Fishing Survey 2019-21

10min
pages 46-47

Glorious rain is flowing throughout Cape York

2min
pages 44-45

Crabs are under the spotlight

1min
pages 42-43

Autumn adventures abound

2min
page 42

Promising prospects ahead for autumn bags

2min
pages 40-41

Clean tropical waters make for great catches

2min
page 40

Hungry autumn barra are not fooling around

2min
pages 38-39

Bright lures in dirty water

4min
pages 36-37

Transition through the month

3min
pages 34-35

Baits take centre stage

4min
pages 32-33

Why donating your fish frames to science provides valuable data

1min
page 31

What’s a holiday without a bit of fishing?

1min
page 30

Flathead just keep on coming!

4min
pages 28-29

Transitioning from the summer to winter species

2min
page 26

Unseasonable species settle

9min
pages 24-25

Cool conditions bring stability

2min
pages 22-23

Return of the Spaniards

4min
page 18

Big autumn wahoo offshore

3min
page 16

The Great De-Bait

2min
pages 14-15

Used Boat

3min
pages 9-10

Bolstering bait tactics

4min
pages 8-9
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