The Ballarat and district anglers finally have something to smile about.

We have had some fish releases into waters that haven’t been stocked for almost 10 years and the future looks nothing but rosy. Thanks must go to Fisheries Victoria and associated angling bodies and associations.

There have been some trout released into Greenhill Lake at Ararat, Newlyn Reservior, Cosgroves and others. I went for a drive out to Lake Burrumbete to have a look the water levels of the lake after our big winter wet and to my amazement there were people water skiing on the lake. Let’s hope some fish get in there soon.

Lake Fyans in the picturesque Grampians region is the place to go as it has been firing for months.

My family recently had a weekend up there and the fishing action was pretty good on the Saturday and Sunday. There were around 20 boats on the water both days with anglers trolling, casting soft plastics, flyfishing and bait fishing. Trolling lures seemed to be the most productive form with my brother in-law Mark catching some lovely brown trout to 2.5kg; the best lure was a pink Tassie Devil.

The Victorian Fly fishing championships have also been held at Fyans recently with some 22 fly fishers from all over the state catching and releasing some 131 brown and rainbow trout. The biggest trout for the weekend was around 2kg and the winning angler was Ballarat’s Vern Barby with second going to Brian Hughes. All fish were caught fishing loch style from boats.

The Ballarat and district anglers association recently held the annual kids fishing day in Ballarat at the Victoria park lakes the day coincides with the recent school holidays.

Fisheries Victoria released trout into the lakes a few days prior to the day. This year some 220 children participated in the day with each child receiving a show bag full of goodies including magazines, drink bottles and fishing related gifts.

The kids along with parents and members of the association assisted the children to try and catch a trout.

There were plenty caught mostly using Powerbait fished on a running sinker rig. It’s great to see the smile on the kids faces and parents when they catch their first trout, our next generation of fishermen are born we hope.

Congratulations must go the Ballarat And District Angling Association, Fisheries Victoria, all the volunteers and donating businesses

Lake Purrumbete still seems to be the place to go in the western district with plenty of trout and redfin being caught. Brian Nyygaard has recently been in the relieving caretakers position at the caravan park and reports plenty of brown trout around 1-2kg have been caught. All angling methods have been successful and the redfin for those that chase them are still on the bite with local minnows the best bait.