Wangaratta

Bait fishing comes to the fore

WANGARATTA Robbie Alexander

Who would want to be a fishing journalist in a La Niña year? Seriously, trying to forecast what the fishing will be like is hard. Even with close to 50 years of fishing experience here in North East Victoria, a decent downpour could turn my fishing forecast upside down.

Regardless, here is what I anticipate the fishing will be like in the Wangaratta area in January 2023, based on above average rainfall and the fact that many rivers are still flooded at the start of cod season.

MURRAY COD

I think this season is going to be more popular I am wrong.

Where do I suggest you go? Well, that is hard to predict, with many areas to Lake Buffalo, which is stocked with Murray cod, or Lake Mulwala, or further afield to Lake Eppalock, or lot during periods of high flow. In lakes and dams they will often head to where the freshwater is

If the water starts to feel a bit warm in the trout streams, try heading upstream into the headwaters.

Redfin can turn up anywhere, and January is a great time to target them. Lakes Buffalo and William Hovell should both start fishing okay this month.

with bait anglers than it is with those who only want to cast lures. Right about now I am thankful for my love of bait fishing as there is a real chance that the water will be very hard to fish with lures for quite a while yet. I hope that likely to still be locked or closed due to the widespread flooding.

Basically, anywhere that you can get onto the Ovens and King rivers will be worth a try. If the rivers are flooded again, then you will need to head Lake Eildon.

Fingers crossed the rain stops and we can access the rivers at all of our favourite places.

YELLOWBELLY

Yellowbelly respond very well to flooding, and will often move around a running in.

In the Ovens River the yellowbelly will be quite hit and miss. There are no real hotspots other than to say that anywhere from Wangaratta downstream to Bundalong should produce a few yellowbelly.

For a more consistent chance of catching yellowbelly, head to Lake Nillahcootie. It’s not really in my readership, but is in the next major valley over on the Broken River. REDFIN

As most of the redfin fishing here in North East Victoria is in lakes, any

excess rainfall and flooding won’t really affect them too much. The two main lakes, Lake William Hovell and Lake Buffalo, both start to fish OK for redfin in January most years. Being a cool, damp year, they could fish a little bit slower than usual, but will still both be well worth a try.

As I type this report, the water in Lake Buffalo is really dirty, which is unusual. Almost as unusual is the amount of rainfall that made it that way. However, I’m sure that it will be clear by January and well worth fishing.

Once again out of my readership, Lake Hume has been firing on all cylinders for a good two or three years now as a redfin fishery. The reddies have been going crazy up there, and I am sure they will still be on the bite in January. TROUT

I have a long-held belief that wet years generally lead to better fishing for trout and redfin, while dry years seem to be better for native fish. With that in mind, I am expecting the trout fishing to be much better this January than it usually is. Decent water flows should keep the trout fired up throughout summer.

Excessive heat may warm the water and slow them down, but stream flow shouldn’t be a problem. If this does happen, head further upstream into the headwaters as trout will almost always start heading upstream looking for cooler water when things get hot.

The Ovens River from Bright upstream is always worth fishing, and holds a decent number of trout. So too does the Buckland River.

After such a wet spring I would expect growth rates of trout to be very good. In other words, there should be some pretty big trout in the rivers this January.

From page 94 redfin lately, with shrimp and worms working both from the bank or in a boat, but sticking to the shallows predominantly. IRRIGATION CHANNELS

The water isn’t the cleanest in the channels around Shepparton, but this hasn’t turned off some Shepparton locals who have managed to land a couple of yellowbelly over the last month.

Dark lures seem to be the go-to, with a base colour of black working best on both lipless crankbaits and also small divers. Around three to four cranks and a long pause has been the best retrieval method.

Bait fishing along the edges has also been successful, with small yabbies and night-crawlers working around Pine Lodge. Given the prolonged and widespread flooding, bait fishing for Murray cod should be quite popular this season.

January is expected to be quite a good month to go trout fishing this year, with higher than normal stream flows.