Redfin waiting to be caught at Bendigo

BENDIGO

Roger Miles

Nick Brown 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 clarity to settle and the productivity in the fishing in these areas should be good again once the water clarity improves.

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.