VIC
Slowing down at Goulburn SHEPPARTON
Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com
With school holidays now over, the reports have slowed up a little in the Goulburn. But those who still managed to sneak out for a fish in February did have some success. The usual spots like Murchison, Toolamba, Moira Park and rafteries all featured in the reports received. Bait fishing still seems to be a great way to target cod with Trellys chicken baits and Bardi Grubs working best. Casting a single willow spinnerbait, such as the Old Mates or Bassmans has also been reported plenty of times by those casting lures from both the bank and boat. Trolling size 2
StumpJumpers was also a great way to target both cod and yellowbelly this past week, especially round Murchison. BROKEN RIVER The reports have been consistently good for the Broken River lately, especially the top water bite. Just like last month I have been receiving regular reports of a great top water bite. Downstream of the Archer St Bridge, down to the junction has been a standout area, it’s a stretch of river that doesn’t see as much fishing pressure. Balista hunchbacks have been an outstanding lure with the most reports coming from those casting these or Pompadours. If you’re into bait fishing you won’t be disappointed with both yellowbelly and cod chewing on baits. Scrub worms and
shrimp seem to be the best yellowbelly baits with yabbies and cheese best for cod. CRAIGMUIR LAKE There have been a few more reports from the small suburban lake just outside of Mooroopna of late. Kayaking is the best way to fish the lake with plenty of weed around the edges making it tricky at times from the bank. Rigging either 3” Keitech’s or the small strike tiger soft plastics weedless has been a standout way to fish in Craigmuir with redfin and yellowbelly being caught mostly in the evenings. With plenty of weed, bait fishing can be tricky but floating Night Crawlers in the little pockets of clear water can be a great way to chase out bait in the lake. WARANGA BASIN There is still plenty of boats on the water at Waranga
with everyone seeming to be fishing differently and still catching fish. Some boats are opting to anchor near the yellow markers at Harriman’s and bait fish with worms, others are sitting deeper off points. Both ways have produced plenty of redfin and yellowbelly. Targeting fish on lures has been catching redfin. Most success has come from casting in around 5ft of water with small chatterbaits, 2” plastics or small cranks. Trolling the Hide Up 150s in the bone colour has worked well on the banks opposite Harriman’s and along the rock back. Depths between 12-16ft seem to be hot spots but it’s not uncommon for the fish to be caught deeper on The Crazy Deep lures. When the weather is good, the basin is still a great option for the kids with the ability to catch fish on bait or lures off the bank.
Brothers Ayden and Nate Brown with one of many Waranga Basin caught redfin.
Redfin waiting to be caught at Bendigo BENDIGO
Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com
The good fishing has continued in the Bendigo region. Anglers have a number of great options at the present time and often it can be a difficult choice in which location to target next. We are set for a bumper season and anglers should go out and make the most of the great fishing opportunities while they last. LAKE EPPALOCK The good news is that the boat traffic has reduced over recent weeks. It is still very busy with boat traffic on weekends and public holidays, but on the majority of weekdays the boat traffic is now pretty good. There is currently a blue-green algae warning for Lake Eppalock. If you are keeping a fish for a feed it is recommended that any fillets be thoroughly washed with clean water before eating. The redfin fishing is currently very good. Good concentrations of redfin can be found in depth ranges between 2-4m of water. If you are on the water earlier in the day, you will often find the redfin are feeding in the shallower water early and as the day progresses they are moving out into to deeper water. While the redfin fishing is good it is not always easy to find them. I recommend anglers be prepared to
hunt around in order to find them. Don’t spend too long at one location if you are not catching them. Trolling small hardbody lures that dive to a depth range between 2-4m is an excellent way to find them. Once a school has been located continue to troll back through the school to maximise catch rates or change tactics and start casting soft plastics or soft vibes through the school. This is a great way to maximise your catch rates. The average condition on the redfin being caught is good. The large redfin are not always easy to find but if you persist some very good redfin measuring over 40cm are currently being caught. Fluoro-coloured
hardbody lures and Fluoro coloured soft plastics are working the best. Small numbers of golden perch are still being caught by anglers at this location. Trolling small to medium profile hardbody lures around the rocky shorelines has been productive. Casting spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits around the rocky shorelines and around the edges of submerged saplings has been a good option. Small numbers of Murray cod are still being caught at this location with the occasional very large Murray cod being caught. CAMPASPE RIVER The fishing in the Campaspe River at the present time has been producing mixed results.
The most productive fishing has been by those anglers who are walking the banks and fishing the shallower sections of the river. A wide range of lures has been working in the shallower sections of the river. Hardbody lures, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits have been working the best. In the period of low light small numbers of Murray cod have been caught on swimbaits and surface lures. The fishing in the boat able sections of the Campaspe River at Elmore and Rochester has been slow. Water clarity is still pretty average in these sections. The river flows are currently only minimal. This will help the water
This quality redfin was caught at Lake Eppalock. A burn-killretrieve proved to be very productive on the redfin this day.
clarity to settle and the productivity in the fishing in these areas should be good again once the water clarity improves. CAIRN CURRAN Redfin are making up the majority of anglers captures at this location. Trolling the drop off around points have been productive areas to concentrate your fishing efforts. Redfin are also being caught around the edges of standing timber. Casting soft plastics in bright colours has been working well. Vertically jigging plastics and soft vibes and blades have been a good option once a good concentration of redfin has been located. Trolling small hardbody lures along the edges of the rocky shorelines has been producing small numbers of golden perch. Casting these rocky banks with lipless crankbaits and fishing them with a slow rolling technique has been working on the golden perch. A burn and kill retrieve and allowing the lipless crankbaits to rest on the bottom for a couple of seconds before repeating, this technique has also been producing some golden perch. Small numbers of Murray cod are still being caught at this location. The majority of the Murray cod have been caught by anglers trolling small to medium profile lures trolling the edges of the lake. The occasional Murray cod has been caught by anglers casting larger lipless crankbaits. Swimbaits and surface lures are a good option during
periods of reduced light. LODDON RIVER The Loddon River has been receiving a fair amount of fishing pressure this season. The fishing remains pretty good, water clarity is varying from week to week. When river flows are reduced the water clarity has improved slowly. When increased flows have been released down the river system the water clarity has reduced. Good numbers of golden perch are being caught at the present time. Hardbody lures and lipless crankbaits seem to be the most productive options for the golden perch. Bright fluoro colours such as pink, orange, chartreuse are all working well. The numbers of Murray cod currently being caught in the Loddon River is good. The majority of the Murray cod being landed by anglers have been between 45-65cm. There still however has been small numbers of larger Murray cod between 80cm to over the 1m mark. A big range of lures have been working on the cod with traditional lure options, spinnerbaits, hardbody lures, lipless crankbaits, swimbaits and surface lures all proving to be good options on their day. We should see the general trend of the water clarity continuing to improve over the next few months. There will still be fluctuations in this water clarity depending on water releases from the Cairn Curran and Laanecoorie. MARCH 2023 93
