MURRAY cod season has closed and trout season is now open in Victoria.
However, NSW anglers have to wait another month for their trout season opening.
Rod Mackenzie reports that anglers fishing the Murray River are catching yellowbelly to 1.2kg at Swan Hill and Mildura in Victoria on yabbies, worms and bibless minnow lures. Carp are being caught at Mildura on surface poppers. The Wakool River has small numbers of yellowbelly to about 1kg being caught on bait.
Mick Hall at Eildon, in Victoria, says the Eildon Pondage is fishing well, with rainbow and brown trout being caught. Most fish are from 400g to 1kg, but a few bigger trout to 3kg are also being caught. Rainbow coloured Powerbait, maggots and locally-made dough are producing good results for bait fishers.
Fisheries Victoria released another 5000 mainly rainbow trout, weighing 200-250g, and 200 brown trout from 2-4kg during the week. This brings to 15,000 the number of trout released into the Pondage this year, with another 5000 still to come. Mick Rantall at Warrnambool, in Victoria, reports the Merri River is producing brown trout to 1.8kg on lures and worms. The hotspot is Lake Elingamite where brown trout to 2.5kg and redfin to 1.5kg are being caught consistently on lures and bait.
Best lures are Tassie Devil and Vibes, with mudeyes and minnows the preferred baits. Lake Bullen Merri is producing rainbow trout to 4kg on Stick Caddis pattern flies fished under a Glo Bug fly.
At Lake Purrumbete, in Victoria, redfin are consistent, and reasonable catches of brown trout to 3.5kg are being reported. Mudeye and minnow baits, and soft plastic and hard body lures, are producing results.
On the estuary scene, Mick says Victoria's Fitzroy River has been producing bream and estuary perch to 34cm, but the Hopkins River is a better option for bream to 45cm and estuary perch to 38cm.
Most fish are being caught on cut mullet, brown shell, shrimp and some on lures. Levis Beach in Victoria has produced salmon to about 3kg on daylight on pilchard strips. Bream to 43cm are being caught on shrimp in the Aire River at Horden Vale.
The Barham River at Apollo Bay, Victoria, is producing bream to 37cm on spider crab and shrimp.
In Victoria's Port Phillip Bay, off the Pt Lonsdale pier has been good for salmon to about 1kg on whitebait and metal lures. Snapper are building with reports of fish to 5kg being caught off Portsea, Mornington and Carrum. King George whiting to 40cm are taking mussel and fresh squid baits off St Leonards, Mt Eliza, Mornington and Safety Beach. Calamari squid are becoming more consistent in the Lonsdale Bight and off Portsea. Most are being caught on baited jigs.
In Victoria's South Gippsland region, Western Port has calamari squid being caught from Flinders pier, Sandstone Island to Stony Pt and on the Tortoise Head Bank, where King George whiting to about 40cm are being caught on squid and mussel. Gummy sharks to 8kg and snapper to 4kg have been caught off Corinella. In the Gippsland Lakes, Hollands Landing has bream and mullet biting in The Straits and Toms Creek on prawn. The Mitchell River has been steady for bream in the Backwater, at Eagle Point and Grassy Bank on crab and prawn.
In the Tambo River, bream are biting at the mouth and Rough Road, and the Nicholson River has produced bream and mullet throughout the system.
Lakes Entrance has luderick, yelloweye mullet, tailor and silver trevally being caught on sandworm, weed and pilchard strips. Lake Tyers has bream to 30cm biting on peeled prawn in the arm.
