Michael Evans with one of the redfin he caught from Wurdiboluc Reservoir just prior to this water being
closed to fishing by Barwon Water.
With poor weather last week, coupled with ambiguous information on where one can fish in respect
of COVID-19, there wasn’t much caught. However, I do have a report and
I’ll deal with that first.
Freshwater
Michael Evans of Victorian Inland Charters, along with a couple of mates, fished Wurdibuloc
Reservoir prior to that water being closed to fishing by Barwon water inresponse to COVID-19 restrictions.
Prior to that, Michael – along with a number of others – had taken both trout,both browns and rainbows to 40 cm or so, and redfin to 43 cm.The trout had been caught on OSP Bent Minnows and shallow running bibbed lures in various colours
and sizes with very first light and dusk being the most productive times to fish.
The redfin were caught on Daiwa double clutch bibbed minnows, Nories Wasaby metal spoons andfish arrow soft plastics, with most success being in the last hour or so of daylight.
Going fishing?
How far may you go?
I’ve had several questions on whether one can go fishing, and where, and subsequentlyobtained the following information from the Department of Health and Human
Services website:
You may undertake
recreational activities including fishing, hunting, boating, surfing, learning to drive and reading in a park, activities that should be untaken at the closest available locations to your home.
I rang the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398, and – after receiving repeated
messages to go to the website https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
– I was eventually offered a call-back.Called back I was,and spoke to a charming young lady by the name of Linda who told me there were no actual restrictions on travel, as long as one didn’t enter the
metropolitan area, but – and here’s the doozy – “…you should be doing the activities described on the website as close as possible to your home.”
Given the ambiguity of these directions, I contacted Victoria Police for clarification and was subsequently advised by Sergeant Anthony Reyntjes to check the DHHS website https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
which is contemporary and up to date, or Ring the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800675398.
However, one of my contributors contacted a regional police station and was told by the Sergeant in charge that travelling 45 minutes or so, or even as much as an hour, from your home to go fishing, wouldn’t be a problem.
I also contacted Travis Dowling, Executive Director of Fisheries Victoria who said:
That while fishing is not allowed in Melbourne Metro, it is presently permitted as ‘exercise’ under Stage 3 in regional Victoria.
However, you must fish as close to your home as you can. So, if you live in Torquay, heading down to Portland to fish would not be acceptable.
My point of view these restrictions have not been debated and enacted by Parliament; they are simply
made by panicked politicians under the guise of a supposed “State of Emergency”.
That is my view which is wholly backed up by an article written by Jeffrey A. Tucker
in the American Institute for Economic Research https://www.aier.org/article/madness-in-melbourne/
The following is an excerpt from that article:
“The Premier” has imposed a vicious police state without precedent in this country’s history. His name is Dan Andrews (a sweet-sounding name that masks the tyrant he has become), and he tweets out pictures of empty streets to
brag about what he has achieved in the name of suppressing a virus … Australia is the only country in the world that has a law that people can’t be mean to each other. Now, it is host to one of the world’s meanest governments.”
Cody asks
In reference to your question
last week about fishing Lake Bullen Merri, what about fishing from the bank, do you still have to berley?
Cody, most anglers don’t berley from the bank because it needs to be dispersed at a distance of several
metres for which you would need a berley wand consisting of a container for the berley taped to, or otherwise attached to a garden stake or piece of a fishing rod past its use-by date.
Chinook salmon and rainbow trout to 1.5 kg or so have been caught from the bank by a good many anglers,
most of whom use Berkley Powerbait, which has positive buoyancy. For this reason, you will need to use a small sinker or fair size split shot to prevent it from floating to the surface.
Please send
fishing reports and photos to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au:
Thank you.