After another good downpour of rain the farmers throughout the district have had their prayers answered with their crops receiving a much needed soaking; kicking them on as the warmer weather approaches.

With around 46mm falling over a two day period and even more throughout the hills, this has pretty much guaranteed us with a high river, which I’m tipping will still be around come cod opening.

Greens Lake, just out of Elmore has been producing a few golden perch for anglers casting blades style lures from the bank. The Berkley Big Eye Blades in the 46mm has been the favoured size with the ninja colour proving to be a consistent taker.

Soft plastics would be well worth a flick around the lakes edges as there is a good supply of redfin on hand. Curl tail plastics also work well and have such a life like action when slowly hopped along the bottom, the reddies find it hard to go past.

Spinnerbaits with green/yellow skirts with a 3/8oz jighead have worked well in the shallower water. Prior to the rain there had been reports of yellowbelly being caught on scrub worms in the Campaspe around the Rochester area. While most were undersize, it’s still a good sign for the future.

Before the close of the season there was a few reports of cod caught with most being taken on lures. The best fish measuring in at 81cm was taken on an AC Invader in the carp pattern. Talk about ‘match the hatch’, with no shortage of carp in the river anything resembling these fish is fair game.

Echuca’s Brian Hinson spent a couple of hours out on the water to troll up a healthy cod at 78cm on a $5 lure he picked up from a dump bin; now there’s a cheap day out! Another cod measuring in at 59cm was caught by an angler trolling a dark green Codger after being on the water for no more than eight minutes.

One thing all these cod have had in common is that they have all been in excellent condition carrying up to an extra kilo, it’s good to see they’re doing their bit to keep the carp population down.

November is usually the time that the yellowbelly really come to life as this time generally coincides with warmer water temperatures and rising water levels which urge them to breed.

Lake Eppalock should produce some good sized yellowbelly this coming season with good water levels and plenty on the menu with the ever growing redfin population as well as worms and creepy crawlies washed in as the lake was rising over new ground.

But fishing over the submerged vegetation could be a problem, as lures and baited hooks may become snagged around the fringes of the lake. Until this decomposes and rots away pick areas like rocky points to fish, to keep tackle loss to a minimum.

For more information on what’s biting around Echuca and Moama, drop into JT’s Fishing & Camping, opposite the Border Inn Moama, or phone 0354 803 868.