It was fortunate that the weather that occurred to the north of the border last weekend did not reach us; in our region, we escaped with less than 10mm.
This, however, will affect the smaller rivers and streams, but the effect will be for just a couple of days.
The worst we will suffer is wet, slippery river banks, so care must be taken when fishing the steep banks of the Goulburn, the Broken and the Murray.
All that considered, the rivers remain one of the most productive spots to fish in our region.
While the rivers will become muddy for a while, changing to bait will be the best method for baiting fish.
So all reports from around the traps are that while there is just a small rise in water levels, the fish, mainly cod, will continue to be on the bite. So stick to worms, shrimp, yabbies, cheese and chicken. The latter two are not natural baits for cod, but they do work.
I have left off bardi grubs, as while they are a good one for cod bait, they are hard to find and expensive to buy.
Meanwhile, the lakes and dams are also on the rise, and that means that the fish will be feeding mainly around the edges as the rising water will cover fresh feeding grounds. If you are fishing from a boat, then cast towards the bank and slowly work it back, then work your bait from the deep towards the shallows. This method will work in both rivers and lakes if they are on the rise; the method will work with lures when the water is clear but use bait when it is muddy.
Now, let’s take a look at Lake Eildon; all reports have been positive, with cod, redfin, some yellowbelly and early-season trout, although these have been caught early in the mornings in the cool.
The best cod fishing has been done in the river arms in front of the wall and around the boat harbour. I am often asked why the harbour fishes as well as it does. The answer is simple: most boaters clean up their boats before loading them on their trailers; most of this is leftover bait, and fish, being fish, are never going to miss out on a tree feed, so keep that in mind.
I like fishing at Eildon. There are always different species to fish for when cod go off the bite, and then you can chase after redfin, trout, yellowbelly etc. You can troll, lure fish or angle a bait; that is one of the advantages of Eildon.
I also like fishing at Dartmouth, but since Macquarie perch is now protected, there is just trout at the Dart that you can chase. Although, there is nothing wrong with chasing them, and they are some of the best fish, with plenty of attitude, making it a good fighting fish to catch.
I know I have said it plenty of times in the past, but the postcard beauty of Dartmouth is one of its great attractions.
You can camp if you can find a level bit of ground; some areas even have toilets and construction fireplaces, but the town at Dartmouth has a great caravan park with on-site cabins, motel-style accommodation, a great hotel with quality meals and more. So, staying at the Dart is not as primitive as it once was.
The Murray River is in NSW, so you will require a license for that state for fishing and boating.
Lake Mulwala is part of NSW, so you will also need a license to fish there, while Lake Hume is a Victorian waterway.
I have been receiving conflicting reports on the Hume, with some reporting bags of redfin while others say the catch is slim, so you will only find out the truth by fishing there yourself.
Mulwala and the Murray have been fishing well, with some big cod being caught in the lake, while the Murray has been producing plenty of juvenile fish around Morgans Beach, Ulupina Island and Barmah Narrows. Fishing has also been good around the mouth of Broken Creek, where it meets the Murray.
Now, let’s take a look at saltwater fishing, firstly down south at Queenscliff. Rod Lawn at Adamas Fishing Charters says that recent fine weather has seen the fishery around the heads as good as it has ever been. Rod reported plenty of pinky-sized snapper biting along the inside reefs. He said there were also plenty of other species on the bite, including whiting salmon, flathead, silver trevally, trevalla and my favourite, kingfish.
Inside the heads along the grass beds, there are calamari squid, both arrowhead and southern calamari, while there are schools of tuna off the coast. Catching them has proved to be difficult, and patchy results have been reported. Rod said that it was a similar story for Western Port with a gummy shark off Phillip Island.
Western Port is home to leatherjackets, and they are one of the nicest eating fish. However, they are small and must be skinned, making a lot of work to get a feed of any note. Leatherjackets have a nasty spike on the top of their heads and strong teeth that can bite through a fine hook; a word of warning is to keep your fingers clear.
North of the border, as you may have gathered from last weekend’s weather, the fishing off the coast was almost a non-event around Eden.
John Liddell said while the rainfall at the end of the coast was just over 60mm, it was a heck of a lot more further north. He said high easterly winds blow up huge seas, and while by Sunday they had flattened out, the fishing was still slim.
John said that fishing off the pier was as good as going out in a boat. John said that the only boats going out this week were the professionals, and even they had a rough time of it.
At Narooma further north, Graham Cowley said that it was even worse, with much more rain and huge seas; he said that crossing the bar was a non-event. He said even fishing the lake was tough with strong easterly winds.
Hopefully, there will be better news next week with better weather conditions.
Stay safe, both on the roads and on the water and good fishing.