THE cod season might be closed but anglers continue to do well for yellowbelly in the Murray River.

Rod Mackenzie reports the Victorian hot spot for yellowbelly is Frenchmans Creek, below Fort Courage, where he says anglers can catch their bag limit in as many casts when the regulator is running.

Yellowbelly are also being caught at Wentworth, Mildura and Swan Hill. Best baits are shrimp, scrubworms and small yabbies.

Mick Hall says Lake Eildon has brown trout to 1.1kg caught flatline trolling and on worms. However, Eildon Pondage is the hot spot with brown and rainbow trout to 4.2kg being caught on lemon twist Powerbait.

The Goulburn River has produced brown trout to 3.6kg and rainbow trout to 1kg on scrubworms.

In the Western District, Doug Lucas reports that gudgeon fished under a bubble float is accounting for brown and rainbow trout to 3kg at Lakes Purrumbete and Bullen Merri.

Best time is just on dawn. Lake Elingamite has brown and rainbow trout to 2kg and redfin to 1.5kg being caught trolling. The Gellibrand and Carlisle Rivers in the Otway Ranges are producing brown trout to 900g on scrubworm. The Merri River at Warrnambool has brown trout to 2kg caught trolling broken-back minnow lures.

Doug says bream are biting on shrimp in the Curdies, Gellibrand, Aire, Hopkins and Fitzroy Rivers. Biggest fish, to 47cm or 2kg, have come from the Aire River.

Gummy sharks to 20kg are being caught off Cape Otway, and Apollo Bay harbour has small numbers of trevalla (haddock) and salmon being caught. Offshore from Skenes Creek, trevalla and salmon are being caught.

Along the Great Ocean Rd from Artillery Rocks to Lorne, anglers are catching silver trevally and pinkies to 40cm and a few couta.

Brett Torossi at Billfisher Tackle says snapper numbers are steadily increasing in the bay. Over the past week, reports of snapper to 5.5kg have come from the eastern seaboard, from Mornington to Carrum and the outer harbour of Corio Bay from Clifton Springs to Portarlington.

Mornington pier is also producing snapper to 2kg. Successful baits used include silver whiting, pilchard, garfish and fresh squid.

Calamari squid ranging from one to 3kg are being caught on baited jigs in the Lonsdale Bight. Smaller squid, up to 1.3kg are being caught on jigs off Portsea and from Mt Martha to Frankston.

Garfish are still plentiful around the bay, King George whiting to 35cm are being caught off Bird Rock near Mornington and off St Leonards. Snook are starting to show over the inshore grass beds around the bay.

In Western Port, Brendan Wing reports gummy sharks from 4-7kg are being caught in reasonable numbers by shore-based anglers fishing off Somers, Balnarring and Shoreham. Small numbers of snapper to 6kg reported from Stony Pt and Corinella. Squid are being caught on baited jigs off Flinders and the Quail bank.

In the Gippsland Lakes at Lakes Entrance, luderick and silver trevally are being caught from the jetties. The surf has salmon in good numbers but most are under 1kg.

Lake Tyers has dusky flathead to 60cm and bream, and they are taking prawn and soft plastic lures. The Mitchell, Tambo and Nicholson Rivers are slow for bream to 750g on prawn. The Nicholson is experiencing a good run of yelloweye mullet.

Metung has good numbers of small bream, large luderick, flathead and silver trevally biting on live shrimp and peeled prawn. Marlo estuary system is fishing well with bream moving up the Snowy and Brodribb rivers to spawn.