Max reels in a trophy trout

Here is a name that will go down in the books as a future angler of excellence, “Max” McNally.

This 12-year-old has just put me to shame and envy by landing a trophy-sized rainbow trout.

Along with a couple of mates, young Max caught this fish, in all places, Shepparton’s Victoria Park Lake right in the corner of town.

Using something that resembles “play dough”, Max had on his hook some pink-coloured “berkley power bait” that he purchased from Trelly’s fishing and hunting.

Not only did he catch “the big one”, they also caught a number of smaller trout and some redfin from a waterway I wrote off as only good for growing weed and carp. How wrong was I? Lake Victoria is deemed as a designated family fishing lake, and as such it is regularly stocked with fish, including cod, yellowbelly and trout.

All I thought that did was feed the carp and pelicans, but this is the first time I have heard of a substantial-sized fish being caught.

Well done, Max.

Well another week of weather, cold, wet and occasionally some sunshine, this has made fishing from the bank of the Goulburn and Murray rivers a bit of a chore, but there are fish still being caught.

Best results have been with bait including worms, yabbies as well as non-natural baits, such as chicken and cheese.

Fishing the snags and backwaters have been best.

However, by far the best results are from Eildon, where the river arms are the best spots as well as the deep water in front of the walls.

Big baits, big lures is best for cod while lures cast to the rocky shallows is best for yellowbelly.

Fishing for trout in Eildon is also worth trying, trolling a fendor trailing a Tassie devil or hard-body minnow lure.

Baits such as worms or mudeye is another method of catching a trout.

Remember most rivers and streams are now closed for the taking of trout, check your recreational fishing guide book for details.

Redfin are still biting at Waranga Basin.

Look for the deeper water for the bigger fish.

Harriman’s point, the caravan park boat ramp, the old quarry and in front of the kite flyers, yabbies, worms, lures and soft plastics seem to be working.

Of course Dartmouth is worth a try for trout and you can drop a line in the Hume for redfin or trout as you go past on your way to the Dart.

Saltwater fishing has been good, according to Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff near the heads on Port Phillip Bay.

Rod said he was still catching pinky-size snapper on the inshore reefs off ocean grove and Barwon Heads, inside the heads the marks along the edge of the shipping lanes was also a good place to hunt snapper as well as silver trevally, while flathead were biting on the sandy bottom between the reefs.

Towards the mouth of Swan Bay to St Leonards squid were biting in the grassbeds, whiting have moved on and will be back in early summer.

Rod said it would be a couple of weeks before the bigger snapper moved back into the region, at that time they should move into the bay.

Rod said in Western Port bay it was a similar story with most anglers choosing to fish the rubble beds bordering the shipping lanes while in the deep water off Phillip Island and Cowes as well as San Remo.

Gummy shark are biting on the run-out tide, fresh fillets of salmon, trevally or small squid are the best baits.

If you have taken the time to head north for the school holidays, at Eden, John Liddell said the boys from Freedom Charters reported good bags of snapper and morwong while fishing the reefs between Boyds’ lookout and green cape on the Victorian border.

Some huge flathead have been caught n the deep water off the cape.

Further north at Narooma, Graham Cowley said it was similar fishing around Montague Isle.

While off the shelf, there were schools of kingfish.

Graham said when it was too rough to go offshore, the fishing inside the lake was worth the effort with big flathead and bream around the oyster leases and other structures.

Well one week of school holidays has gone by and if you are looking for somewhere to wet a line, you could take a leaf out of Max’s book and try wetting a line in Victoria Park Lake.

The best spots are on the western side.

Just fish the deeper holes, use a float or place your sinker on the end of your line and your hook about half a metre above it.

Good luck, stay safe and good fishing.