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
