The Christmas holidays have snuck up on us quickly and what better way to spend it than to spend it fishing! So buy the kids a rod, get the gear ready and take them out fishing.

The trout continue to be caught off the shore and in boats at both lakes Purrumbete and Mullen Merri.

The fishing continues to be great at Lake Purrumbete; anglers been catching large bags of redfin up to 1kg, with the warmer weather making them fire up and feed hungrily on most baits.

Anglers using live minnow caught from Lake Bullen Merri have been producing greater results and with the redfin bag limit now gone are using the advantage to stock up on such tasty fish.

Redfin can be caught in a wide range of depths depending on the time of day and at almost any location at Lake Purrumbete.

The rig is very simple, with a running ball sinker to a swivel, from the swivel a piece of leader line to a hook. The baiting of the hook is also very simple, hooking the minnow through both lips is recommended to ensure the bait does not fall off.

The rainbows have been around in good numbers and size up to 1.4kg caught on worms, minnows, Powerbait and mudeyes. The rig for the trout can be the same as the redfin or for baits such as mudeyes and minnows can also be suspended under a bubble float.

It’s important to remember to use a small hook for most baits but especially the mudeyes and minnows. Uses sizes 8-12 hook for mudeyes and a little bigger for minnows to ensure the baits’ movements are natural and not effected by a larger hook.

Powerbait is another bait which needs to be used with a small hook. Powerbait is a floating Playdo-like bait which comes as pellets. If Powerbait doesn’t float the rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon will not eat it off the bottom so test your Powerbait to see if it floats before casting it out.

Another important tip for when using Powerbait pellets is that rainbows and Atlantic salmon are generally the only two species that will take this bait when fishing these two lakes.

Set up a running bubble float half filled with water (used for casting weight). Let it run down to the end and tie your hook, at desired depth cut a small piece of cork and put a slit in it and then wrap your line 5-6 times around it so that the bubble does not push it down to the hook.

The author with a 1.8kg brown trout taken on a deep running hardbodied lure.