VIC
Making the most of Gippy during the cold months WEST/SOUTH GIPPSLAND
Billy Auldist
Fishing across the region has been as good as it gets across the last month. The weather has somewhat held back, and the rivers and creeks are fishing well. There is not much forecast to change in the coming month, so fishers in South West Gippsland are in for another good month of fishing. It’s not long until the cooler months arrive, so it’s important to make the most of the next few weeks. Like clockwork, Noojee and its surrounding rivers have been generous for local anglers this past month. The Loch, Toorongo and Latrobe rivers have all been worthy of attention over recent weeks, producing good numbers of both brown and rainbow trout. Lure fishers are finding success on spinners, hardbodies and soft plastics in almost any colour imaginable fished on a light leader. Drifting a bait is also a good tactic at this time of the year; a worm or grasshopper fished on a small split shot is sure to connect with a trout. With the humid afternoons recently, there have been an increasing number of insect hatches, so it is a great time of year for fly fishers
A soft plastic was the undoing of this typical South West Gippsland trout. in our area. The Tarago and Bunyip rivers are in optimal condition and will stay that way for the coming months. Anglers who fish the higher stretches are catching
trout on soft plastics and hardbodies fished amongst the snags. The lowland stretches of these rivers are often overlooked, however they are more productive than some would think.
Trout, redfin, blackfish and carp can all be caught in the lower sections of either of these rivers. Heading towards the end of the trout season, these rivers will gain a lot of attention, so it’s important to make the most of the few months prior when there is not nearly as much pressure. Bluerock Lake has been fishing exceptionally well lately and the bass are fired up. The top end of the lake seems to remain the most productive, so if you can get up there it is definitely worth a look, although it is preferable to fish from a boat. Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and hardbodies have been the main undoing of bass, along with surface lures fished in the low light periods of the day. With cooler weather ahead we should start seeing trout caught more and more often, and soon enough the bass fishing will slowly taper off. Local estate dams are still producing redfin in numbers, with a few larger models in the mix. On their day they will eat anything you throw at them, but soft plastics are a good starting point. A majority of estate dams will hold redfin so it’s just a matter of trying a few until you find the fish. The quality that can be found in small urban estate dams may surprise you.
Redfin can also be caught in all of the creeks around town such as the Hazel and Little Moe. When fishing either of these creeks it is just about finding depth and you will find redfin.
With the cooler weather not too far away now, it is important that anglers make the most of this next month or two. The fishing will be good and anglers in South West Gippsland should be keen.
A bycatch river blackfish caught on a spinner while chasing trout.
Decisions, decisions: which bank shall we fish? EILDON
Peter Burtchell
Happy Easter to all, and may you have a happy and safe holiday, if you get one! Along with hosting Easter, April also hosts great fishing conditions at Lake Eildon. Schools of yellowbelly and redfin will still be present in the headwaters leading into the lake, and these fish will take lures, yabbies worms and just
about anything else that you float, cast or troll by them. Murray cod are ever present, and also remain active throughout all parts of the lake. At the time of writing this report, the lake level is still hanging around 96% and looks great. FISHING CHALLENGE It is all hands on deck for the preparation of the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge, which will run from May 19-21. This year they have an all-terrain buggy as one of the major prizes, which is something that many
Keen cod anglers will be descending on Lake Eildon for the 2023 Fishing Challenge. 96 APRIL 2023
competitors will have their eye on. Sign up, have a fish and have a great time – you never know what the outcome will be! The Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge once again will be hosted by the Jerusalem Creek Marina and Holiday Park, and the competition is their annual charity fundraising fishing event for Variety, the Children’s Charity! Now in its 6th year (7th if COVID did not happen), the event will attract great characters to the lake who favour this competition over many others. To illustrate the kind of fishing on offer, here are the results from last year’s competition. Over 300 fish were registered, which of course means there were more recorded fish than actual entrants. There were also more than double the amount of fish registered on the previous year, with the 2021 event only seeing 144 fish recorded (there were also the odd reports of crayfish and Ugg boots, however not many turtles were recorded this year). While not everybody was
A nice view from the café at last year’s Fishing Challenge. able to get their name on the board, over $40,000 in prizes were handed out, including high end Murasame Murray cod rods, Spotters polarized sunglasses, a Haswing Electric Trolling Motor, an Evinrude 40hp outboard and an absolute abundance of fishing lures such as Asakura, Dino, Obsession, Megabass, Zerek, Bridge Water Lures, Got 8 and others, thanks to the huge amount of sponsorship the comp received. From the photos emailed
in, it looks like there were a lot of smiles on faces over the weekend, which is what it is all about. A couple of familiar names were once again reeling them in, with one boat recording over 25 fish and a certain cod fisho recording three legal or longer fish. So, grab a pen, mark the date, and get ready for the greatest fishing competition in the world. For more information visit lakeeildonfishingchallenge .com. • Jerusalem Creek Marina &
Holiday Park is a friendly, family-orientated caravan park, and makes the perfect home away from home. While there you can opt to hire one of their Boatel floating apartments, hire a boat or book a fishing guide at competitive prices. For more information on all of these services and other attractions in the area, visit jerusalemcreek. com.au, or give them a call on (03) 5774 2585 or email i n f o @ j e r u s a l e m c re e k . com.au.
