Putting in the hard yards is producing the goods

BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

Fishing during the coldest months of the year is not easy. With temperatures falling, anglers need to prepare well with suitable clothing to cope with the tough conditions. Thermal clothing, gloves and bennies become essential parts of the fishing arsenal.

Anglers also need to be prepared for days with reduced catch rates. It can be common to fish for a full day during the coldest months of the year, and not even get a single enquiry for the day. If this does happen to you, don’t let it deter you as on your next trip there is a chance you may land your personal best fish. That is the mixed bag of results that fishing at this time of the year gives you.

LAKE EPPALOCK

Water levels are currently steady at Lake Eppalock. The productivity in the fishing remains relatively good, and redfin continue to make up the majority of anglers’ captures. The redfin have been caught on a wide range of soft plastics and soft vibes, and blades and ice jigs have also been working well. Trolling small profile lures in medium to deep diving models has been producing a few redfin, too.

Small numbers of golden perch are still being caught at this location, and a good approach is to troll medium profile hardbody lures around the rocky shorelines and edges of standing timber. Casting lipless crankbaits and small profile spinnerbaits in these areas have also produced small numbers of golden perch.

A few Murray cod are also being caught at this location, mostly as a bycatch by anglers targeting redfin or golden perch. The majority of Murray cod have been small, measuring between 45cm and 58cm.

There is, however, the occasional large Murray cod being caught. A local Bendigo angler recently landed a cod measuring over the metre mark. He was specifically targeting Murray cod, and caught the fish targeting a rocky shoreline casting a large soft plastic lure. This is a great sign of what will be available in the future, with the great fish stockings that have gone into the lake over the last few seasons. With more good stockings planned for the future, angling opportunities should only continue to improve over the next few years.

CAMPASPE

River

The water clarity continues to slowly improve in the Campaspe River. The most productive fishing has been in the section from Barnadown upstream to the spillway below Lake Eppalock. Anglers walking the banks have been producing small numbers of golden perch and Murray cod. Spinnerbaits, hardbody lures and lipless crankbaits have all been good options.

The occasional larger Murray cod has also been caught on surface lures and swimbaits. The water clarity should remain relatively good for the next couple of months, before increased flows again will see this trend reversed again.

It was disturbing to receive a report from a couple of good friends about some illegal fishing equipment that they recently found while fishing the Campaspe River. There were two Murray cod which were hooked on this equipment, with the largest Murray cod measuring 95cm. The guys contacted Fisheries and made a report. If you are fishing and you happen to see any illegal equipment, please contact Fisheries on 13 FISH (13 34 74).

CAIRN CURRAN

Water levels are slowly rising at this location. The productivity in the fishing has slowed down at this location over recent weeks. The numbers of golden perch and Murray cod being caught is low. If you do put the time in there is still a good chance you may land your biggest golden perch or Murray cod at this location for the season.

Good options for the golden perch are lipless crankbaits. Trolling large hardbody lures or casting or trolling swimbaits are also a good option when targeting that quality Murray cod.

Redfin are still making up the majority of anglers’ captures. Fishing the edges of the drop-offs with soft plastics, soft vibes and ice jigs are all good lure options for the redfin.

If you are planning a trip to Cairn Curran at this time of the year, it’s worthwhile targeting the resident trout population. Bait fishing around the shallow edges of the lake with worms and gents is a good approach. Trolling the lake’s edges with winged lures or small minnow style lures is also a good option for those anglers targeting a trout.

LODDON RIVER

The water clarity had been pretty poor in the Loddon River recently after some environmental flows were released down the system towards the end of the irrigation season. The irrigation season has now finished, and the flows running down the Loddon River have settled down and the water clarity is slowly improving again.

How long this trend continues will depend on the amount of rainfall the region receives over the next few months. If rainfall is minimal, the water clarity should continue to improve. If the region receives heavy rainfall then the subsequent inflows will see the water clarity reduce again.

Fishing the Loddon River at this time of the year is not easy. Anglers need to be patient and fish slowly. That means slow your retrieve speed down and spend more time at each location you are fishing. Be prepared to put a large amount of casts into a likelylooking piece of structure before moving onto the next location. Fish will often need a lot more presentations from a lure striking at this time of the year. The benefits are a significant reduction in fishing pressure; at this time of the year it is not uncommon to have a god amount of the river to yourself. Again, if you put the hard yards in you will be rewarded.