Reel Life

I do hope you are not disappointed and he finds just the right gift for you.

Already the weather forecast is a bonus and it looks like it should be good to try out your new rod or reel.

The river is looking a lot better despite being a little muddy. You should be able to fish the Goulburn and all other rivers in our region, including the Murray, and Lake Mulwala.

Despite the muddy water some lures are working, but from all reports bait is still the best way to fish.

Being Christmas, you might like to trim a little off your Christmas dinner chicken — it is one bait that is working, as well as cheese, shrimp, yabbies and worms. I hear that despite their cost, bardi grubs are also worth a try.

When fishing the Goulburn, the river from Nagambie through Murchison to Toolamba is worth fishing. Look for backwater where the current is not as strong. Use just enough weight to keep your bait in the strike zone, and good luck.

Trolling spinner baits as well as hard body diving lures is also working. I hear that two-tone green with spots in a frog pattern is getting results.

The Broken River between Shepparton and Benalla is producing cod and yellowbelly. Casting surface lures to the snags in the Broken around dusk is best. A word of warning: take extreme care to avoid snakes. The recent floods have meant eastern brown snakes, especially, are about in big numbers.

Another spot fishing well is Waranga Basin, where redfin are being caught around Harriman’s Point. The new boat ramp is worth a try at Harriman’s.

Redfin are also being caught at Eildon among the tree lines at Peppin Point, Jamieson and also at Bonnie Doon. Cod, yellowbelly and trout are also being caught at Eildon. Deep-diving lures fished around the river arms and in front of the wall are working well at Eildon.

If you are going away during the holiday break, try Lake Hume on your way to Dartmouth. At the Hume, redfin are biting, while late season trout can be caught at the Dart.

Other spots worth trying are the irrigation channels, the Broken Creek at Nathalia, as well as the Murray around Ulupna Island.

Meanwhile a lot of us will head down south for the brea. At Queenscliff, Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters said snapper fishing around the heads was as good as it had been for some time.

Rod said most fish were plate-size but there was an occasional bigger fish among them.

Rod said he was also seeing signs of kingfish stalking schools of salmon off the bluff around the mouth of the Barwon River.

He said there were also flathead along the sandy bottom, while salmon were being caught in the mouth of the rip during the run-out tide.

Inside the heads, whiting were biting among the grass beds near the mouth of Swan Bay and the White Lady marker.

North of the border at Eden, John Liddell said it was quiet off the shelf but reef fish were plentiful along the inshore reefs from Boyd’s Lookout south to Green Cape on the Victorian border.

Similar fishing was happening further north at Narooma. Graham Cowley said the reefs around Montague Island were producing snapper and morwong, as well as other table fish.

Finally managed to contact James Luddington at Flinders Island, who reported a quiet build-up to Christmas because of strong winds. But when he was able to fish, there were plenty of gummy shark and big flathead. James said he was hoping for better things in the future.

Well, have a happy Christmas and stay safe. We have already had incidents, including a fatality, so take care on the water.

Stay COVID-safe, and tight lines.

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