With consistent rains and good water flows, the rivers are fishing like magic and I think we are in for the best trout season ever.

Our local streams such as Traralgon Creek and Morwell River are fishing the best that they have in 10 years. This is all to do with the amount of water we have had this year that has kept the water levels more consistent than we have been used to in the past.

I’m amazed to see how many little trout are around the 15cm mark. There are heaps of these little guys shooting around all over the place as you walk the rivers and they are so aggressive they are taking lures almost the same size as they are.

Not only are there small fish there are some absolute crackers for these small streams. In Traralgon Creek there have been consistent brown trout of around 35cm, which is huge for this little stream. In Morwell River, there have even been bigger trout up to 40cm in length.

All methods are proving fruitful. The rivers have been cleared out of snags and streamside scrub because of the floods, so it’s easy to fish.

If you into flyfishing, dry flies are already working a treat and flies such as the Dad’s Favourite and Royal Wulff have been the flies to use. There have been some termite falls as well, so some flying ant patterns will also work well on an evening rise. After a rain, trout pattern hardbodies and spinners have been as good as anything, as have soft plastics.

The Mighty Macalister River is back to its former glory. Most of the trout are smaller stocked brown and rainbow trout averaging 30cm. The thing that has kept people going back has been the sheer numbers of trout anglers are catching. If you want to catch trout all day, head up to the Macalister. All methods are working well, whether you’re drowning some worms and throwing some lures.

For those without a 4WD, there’s no need to worry, as the lower sections below Licola are fishing exceptionally for rainbow and brown trout. And if you like to walk, then up high above Licola is fishing equally as well, and there has been some better-sized trout caught in those parts.

In Lake Glenmaggie, there have been some very nice catches. Bigger trout ranging up to 1.2kg as well as plenty of small redfin have been caught. Bass are getting caught as well.

There have been really big bass caught that must be from the first stock that fisheries put in. This means not all the bass died in the floods, and I understand fisheries expect at least 1/3 that was stocked were more than likely still alive.

There has been more released since as well. The locals aren’t giving away where they are catching the bass either, so you guys might to do a bit of searching to find them. The bass are being caught on worms mostly, but they will definitely smash hardbodies and plastics if you can find them.

For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 51748544. You will get expert advice and great deals on fishing tackle.