Recent months have seen the yellowbelly reign supreme at Kialla.

With the rivers up and flowing in January the only option for local anglers was to go out of town or have a look at Kialla.

The conditions couldn't of been better, with cooler temperatures and a warm start to January, which turned on the switch at the lakes and the yellowbelly responded very aggressively.

Myself and five other River Rats headed out to fish the lakes and had a cracking day with 27 fish caught within 5-hours, mostly taken on Jackals.

Fish ranged from 20-45cm with an average size of 34cm.

Kialla is just such a great place to fish and now with kayak fishing becoming more popular its just even more incentive to get out there. Family friendly banks to fish from with shops and a park near by if the kids get bored.

Fingers crossed, they are now at a normal height and settled because February is normally one of the best months in our region. Since September we have hardly seen two weeks of good fishing conditions.

Anglers who have battled the conditions find that fish are very fat and full of feed. These are signs that during the floods they went nuts. The shallower waters have been producing more fish between Raffertys and Miora Park has fished well and I tip it will stay that way.

The Broken has fished well with smaller-sized cod being reported around the junction and downstream to the Melbourne Road bridge. This area sees the river become very narrow which makes fishing very exciting. Lighter lines between 10-15lb sees your adrenalin pumping with every fish and strike.

Bait fishing can be very successful in the Broken River with scrub worms being my favourite bait option. Quality bait is the key, and fresh is better when it comes to angling the Broken River.

Moving around is another key to bait fishing in the Broken, don’t stay in one spot all day - move around every 20-30 minutes.

Dark coloured lures have been the most successful over the past two months. While I know some anglers feel worried casting a $30 lure, but the black market Jackals are my favourite; tn60s and 70s are a great option in the rivers.

I tend to lean towards the tn50s in Kialla but if your budget does not let you use Jackals blades or cheaper vibes are a great option.