Kevin Wild with the brown trout he caught from Goldfields Reservoir at Maryborough (Picture: Amber Wild).
Elijah McLoughlin 3, with a sample of the rainbow trout he and his father Kevin caught from St Augustine’s Water Hole (Picture: Kevin McLoughlin).
Freshwater
Kevin Wild of the Maryborough Angling Club tried his luck at nearby Goldfields Reservoir, where – flicking out a silver Wonder Wobbler – he caught a nice brown trout of possibly 2 kg that he released after wife Amber took a photo.
Kevin also mentions that local reservoirs are full to overflowing, and with Tullaroop closed to boating once more, Kevin, along with his father John, took a good catch of redfin from the bank using worms for bait.
Kevin also mentions that – well attended by representative from VFA, local dignitaries and others, and of course the media – the announcement was made of a new toilet block to be built at Cairn Curran Reservoir’s Picnic Point, along with a proposed upgrade to the local boat ramp, which – for all intents and purposes – has fallen into disrepair.
Tom Hogan with the brown trout he caught from Lake Purrumbete.
Matty Tamburro with a rainbow trout, one of several fish he caught from Lake Purrumbete.
There are still rainbow trout to be caught from St Augustine’s Waterhole at Highton where Kevin McLoughlin and his three-year-old son Elijah visited last week, finishing up with 7 altogether, the biggest measuring 40 cm.
They also visited a nondescript water at Grovedale from where the lad caught several eels.
John Clements of the Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park reports that this water is still fishing well with redfin the main attraction, and of which he and Daniel Kelly took a good sample with their ten largest fish weighing 15 kg.
Both brown and rainbow trout are on offer as well with Drysdale angler Tom Hogan picking up a brown of close to 3 kg, and a slightly smaller rainbow.
Matty Tamburro also had a good day on the lake taking several brown, rainbow and tiger trout to 2 kg fishing mudeyes on a long drop beneath a float, alongside the weed beds.
The biggest ten from a catch of redfin taken by John Clements and Daniel Kelly from Lake Purrumbete; they weighed 15 kg (Picture: John Clements).
Corio Bay/Bellarine Peninsula
Heading out on the whiting on Wednesday, Andrew Johnson and Denis O’Brien found a good bite early on, just off Curlewis, but that petered out after an hour or so.
They made a series of moves, hoping to find another good bite with the tide still running in, but – for the main part – it was lean pickings, the only bright spot was being area in around 5 metres of water off Hermsley Road where they topped off their catch of 27 fish to 41 cm.
Gordon and Carol Williams were also in the mix with some nice whiting, also off Curlewis; a worthwhile dividend on their investment in a quantity of pipis, their price now elevated by the demand of same for human consumption.
Simon Werner found the whiting scarce off Indented Head last week, but with a by-catch of several good-size flathead, they became the target species. So, fishing on the drift in 5 metres of water within the Indented Head/St Leonards area, he finished with 18 altogether, the biggest measuring 42 cm.
Simon also headed out to Wurdiboluc Reservoir on Wednesday, and fishing from the rock wall with mudeyes suspended beneath a float, he caught two brown trout, the largest around the 1.5 kg mark.
Freddy asks:
Geoff, I’ve been told that right-handed anglers using spinning reels, should have the handle on the left-hand side of the reel. Is there any truth to that?
Freddy, harking back to the 1980s, when asked by an editor of this worthy publication to comment on an article in Choice magazine, its overriding question, or criticism being, as to why most of the imported spinning reels have their handles on the left-hand side when most Aussie anglers are right-handed?
The truth is that spinning reels were initially developed for casting small metal lures on shallow streams for trout in the UK and Europe, and – the time it took to change hands after a cast was made – would often allow the lure to sink to the bottom and become snagged.
So, right-handed anglers – those at the top of their game anyway – cast with their right hand and wound the handle with their left hand to retrieve the lure and left-handed anglers, vice versa.
Mind you, virtually all spinning reels – which are now available in a vast range of sizes – feature the option of positioning the handle on the left-or-right-hand side as preferred.
Please send your reports to geoffw10@optusnet.com.au, on messenger, or by phone, 03 5248 1307.