Reel Life | Rain tops the Goulburn up nicely

By Kevin Tyler

Jun 5, 2024

**The cool weather is making Dartmouth the place to be for trout fishing.** Photo by contributed

Last weekend’s rain was enough to raise the Goulburn and surrounding waterways, which improved fishing conditions overall.

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The Goulburn had been low, and the rise was good for fishing. The rise made fishing from the banks a little easier; you just needed to cast to within a metre or two of the bank because that is where the fish would be feeding.

The river level had been low enough to make boat launching difficult. I say this because the ramp at Jordan’s Bend in Shepparton had been cleared, and the tree had been cut away, but the river level was creating a problem. But now the rise will make boat launching easier.

Jordan’s Bend is just around the corner from the Boulevard and is on the part of the Goulburn that is excellent for fishing all the way to the golf course, with great spots for catching cod.

We are now coming up to the real start of winter, and this weekend is the King’s Birthday weekend. This is the second time I have called it that since the 1950s. It is the second weekend in winter, meaning that almost half the year is ‘toast’.

It is not long until the bush develops a yellow tinge as the wattle begins to bloom; that will be towards the end of next month, and as we all know, the yellow of the wattle means the real beginning of yellowbelly season.

My old rod-making friend Bob Darely always said the wattle bloom was the best time to go fishing for yellowbelly. A native perch, yellowbelly is caught from Queensland through to South Australia, and each state has a different name for the fish, from ‘yella’, yellowbelly and golden perch to callop in South Australia.

While I’m not a great fan of eating freshwater fish, cod included, others say yellowbelly is one of the best freshwater fish for the table.

I will admit that when it comes to eating fish, I am a saltwater fish person. I much prefer whiting, gummy sharks, flathead and snapper, to name a few.

Having said that, when fishing with light gear, yellowbelly are good fighting fish, as are all perch, and give a good account of themselves.

They can be caught angling bait shrimp, yabbies, worms or lure worms, including the jackal, a lure that has rattle worms. When fished around a rocky lodge, they will also take soft plastics and other lures. They are a finicky pitch, and lightweight lures must be used for the best results.

Yellowbelly will pick at the bait until they are ready to take it whole, so be patient when you first get a bite.

Until Thursday’s rain, the fishing in our region had been good, with plenty of juvenile cod being caught in the Goulburn, Murray and Broken rivers.

But the best fishing is in Lake Eildon, where cod, trout and redfin have been providing plenty of action, mainly in the river arms but also around the wall and deeper waters in the boat harbour.

For cod, you will need big lures and big baits; fish deep near the wall or on the surface.

I am often asked why I mention the boat harbour as being a good fishing spot; this applies to all spots where boats are launched and recovered. If you think about it, the last thing anyone does before recovering their boat is to clean up; all old bait is tossed over the side, and what self-respecting fish is going to refuse a free feed with no (hooks) strings attached?

Dartmouth is also worth a visit, as the cool weather is making it more attractive for trout.

The cold is bringing the fish to the surface longer during the day, making fishing a lot easier. I love fishing at Dartmouth, one of the nicest spots in the state, with picture-perfect scenery.

Down south at Queenscliff, Rod Lawn said the fishing around the heads had been good, with plenty of varieties of fish being caught. Rod said he was catching snapper, although the big breeders were still a couple of months from moving back into the region.

Rod was also bagging flathead, whiting, couta, salmon, silver trevally and blue-eyed trevalla. Rod said tuna were in the region, but weren’t on the bite. For the tuna, anglers would need to go west along the coast to Portland and Port MacDonnell.

Rod was also catching gummy sharks when fishing around the dive wrecks off Barwon Heads. North of the NSW border, last week’s storms were a negative, according to John Liddell at Eden, who said the rough weather kept Mark from Freedom Charters at home watching the football. The storms also affected the fishing off Narooma; Graham Cowley said that before the storms, the fishing off Montague Island was good with morwong and snapper. Flathead and kingfish were also providing good action. But when the weather changed, so did the fishing.

Well, as I said, we are nearly halfway through the year. There are only three months of winter, and then we are into spring. Stay safe and good fishing.