ON THE freshwater scene, Eildon Pondage is the hot spot for trout this week, while in Port Phillip Bay, yellowtail kingfish to 4.5kg have made a welcome return.
Gary Constantine at Eildon Bait and Tackle reports brown trout to 4kg and rainbow trout to 2.2kg are being caught on Tassie Devil lures, mudeyes under a float, dough and Powerbait. The dam wall area on Lake Eildon is producing small Murray cod on scrubworms fished under a float.
Good numbers of redfin to 1kg are being caught in Fraser National Park, the main arm and Jerusalem Creek on yabbies and worms. Fly fishers in the Goulburn River are catching rainbow trout to 500g on Grey Dun, Willow Grub and grasshopper pattern flies. Black Spinners are working in the Rubicon River.
Andy Smith says Lake Elingamite is producing brown trout to 2.5kg on hard body and soft plastic lures. Best lures include Tassie Devil, Rapala CD5 and Berkley Powerbait Minnows (Pearl Olive and Pearl Watermelon).
In the southwest, Doug Lucas reports Lake Purrumbete is patchy for rainbow trout to 1.2kg caught on mudeye or gudgeon under a bubble float. Doug Lucas at Colac says that Aire River is producing bream to 41cm and yelloweye mullet on garden worms.
The Gellibrand River at Princetown has bream to 35cm upstream, and estuary perch taking hard body lures near the mouth. Mako sharks to 3m and yellowtail kingfish to 8kg are being caught at Portland.
East Gippsland beaches at Bemm River and Mallacoota are fishing well for salmon on bluebait or pilchards fished with surf poppers. Mallacoota Inlet has bream, flathead and mulloway being caught. Bemm River has bream and luderick taking sandworm and prawn in the lake, and dusky flathead to 4kg caught in the channel on soft plastic lures.
In the Gippsland Lakes at Lake Tyers, bream are biting on peeled prawn and dusky flathead are being caught on lures. Lakes Entrance has silver trevally and flathead are being caught on soft plastic lures, with King George whiting caught in the Nyerimilang. The Mitchell, Tambo and Nicholson rivers are producing estuary perch, bream and flathead. Hollands Landing has bream and flathead biting in The Straits.
In South Gippsland, Alan McFayden reports that at Port Welshpool snapper to 6kg are being caught outside the entrance on fish fillets and pilchards.
The Franklin and Lewis channels are producing King George whiting, and yellowtail kingfish are being caught near the Long Jetty. Shallow Inlet is producing King George whiting, flathead and large garfish. Beaches at Venus Bay and Waratah Bay are producing salmon to 1.8kg, flathead, silver trevally and tailor on whitebait.
The Tarwin River has silver trevally, estuary perch and mullet. In Western Port, there is plenty of variety from piers at Cowes, Corinella, Newhaven and San Remo where yelloweye mullet, silver trevally, garfish and flathead. Gummy sharks to 25kg, averaging 10-12kg, are taking squid and eel baits off Balnarring, Flinders and Joes Island. King George whiting are in good numbers and size with fish to 48cm caught. Productive areas include Balnarring, Middle Spit, Tortoise Head, Tankerton and the Tyabb and Quail Banks.
Brett Terossi reports snapper being caught in many areas of Port Phillip Bay. Fish averaging 2-3kg but up to 8kg are reported from Williamstown to St Kilda, Black Rock, Frankston to Mt Martha, Portarlington to Little River. King George whiting averaging 30-35cm are taking pipi, mussel and squid off Frankston and the Coles Channel off Swan Island.
Garfish are well spread in the bay and being caught from most piers on maggots and silverfish.
