The early morning chill of winter brings the trout to the surface, making it more likely that an angler will catch them.
Trout, which are North American and European in their origin, find the cold weather to their liking.
At Dartmouth and Eildon, early morning until noon is the prime time to fish, both brown and rainbow fish will be on the bite.
Other species of trout will also come on the bite, but rainbow and brown are the most prominent.
Fishing for trout is done mainly by trolling a fender and a series of blades, which give the impression of a school of trout feeding. The fender trails a bait such as worms or mud eye, or lures, minnow-style or Tassie devils.
Trolled at a fast walking pace, they are a positive method of fishing for and catching trout.
It is best to troll around trees and other obstacles, and on a surface with waves or activity that will also attract fish.
At Dartmouth, I like to troll from the boat ramp along the trees to the start of Larson’s Cutting and then where there are inflows from some of the creeks or streams that flow into the dam.
At Eildon, it is similar; trolling the river arms as well as among the tree lines is worth trying.
While Dartmouth produces more fish, trophy-size fish are more common at Eildon. This also goes for the Hume. You can catch trout in the Goulburn River from below the weir at Eildon to Seymour, Nagambie and even Waranga Basin.
A well-known fighting fish, trout give a good account of themselves, and light gear is a must when fishing for them.
You can still catch cod, and at this time of year, yellowbelly are also active. A Jackall lure, which contains a rattle, is good at catching yellowbellies; you can also bag redfin when fishing among the trees.
The recent weather has not altered the state of the rivers. Both the Goulburn and the Murray are at suitable levels for fishing for cod, and good numbers of juvenile fish are providing anglers with plenty of action. The first month of winter is almost gone, and the wattles are starting to bloom, which brings yellowbelly on to the bite.
According to all reports, freshwater fishing has been good, including in both the Broken River and Broken Creek.
The fishing in Nillahcootie is also good, with anglers catching cod and yellowbelly using both bait and lures. At the Hume Weir, redfin are biting among the tree lines, while trout and yellowbelly are falling to anglers who are trolling.
I also received some positive reports from Lake Eppalock near Bendigo, but it is a bit hit-or-miss.
Saltwater fishing has been kicking goals, according to Rod Lawn at Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff.
He said he was catching resident snapper among the offshore reefs between the heads and Barwon Heads, while the fish being caught were mainly pinky size, as they were early in the season.
Rod said whiting and squid were still being caught on the grass beds inside the heads. He said that depending on what his customers were after, there was a good haul of fish for them to bag.
He said the bigger snapper were still a couple of months away, but he was keeping anglers happy with decent hauls.
Rod said the fishing in Western Port Bay was also providing good action for anglers, with gummy sharks being caught in the deep water off Phillip Island.
North of the border at Eden, John Liddell said the boys at Freedom Charters were bagging plenty of fish along the inshore reefs from Boyd’s Lookout to Green Cape.
Snapper, morwong, flathead and kingfish were all being caught.
Further north at Narooma, it was the same around Montague Island, according to Graham Cowley.
Well, one month of winter is almost gone, with two more to go.
Keep safe on the water, and be aware of flu and COVID-19.
More next week.