It has been nice seeing such great numbers of all species being caught from both lakes Purrumbete and Bullen Merri.

Anglers of all ages are heading out and most are coming back with big smiles on their faces.

Lake Purrumbete continues to produce healthy fish to 2kg and over. There hasn’t been any of those monster browns been pulled in over the last few months but I’m sure there are a lot of anglers ready with their rods close by for when they do come on.

Choice of bait is still mudeyes suspended under a bubble float or trolled slowly behind fenders. Fish these roughly anywhere over 1m deep; this seems to be the feeding depth.

Redfin have been smashing the live baits down on the bottom but don’t seem to come on the bite until around 6pm and feed hungrily until dark.

I went out a few times myself with a bucket of minnows and had to leave them biting. Such is the size of the redfin population in the lake, and as they form large schools, redfin can wipe out areas of food in a day, making it harder for the trout to find there food and fatten up, so the more you can take the better.

We have had some hot summer days, which did bring the algae up off the bottom at Lake Bullen Merri but that didn’t stop the skiers and anglers making the most of the weather.

It certainly didn’t take the fish off the bite, with trollers fishing 6-10m down using down riggers and paravanes to reach the desired depth doing well.

When the algae does rise it is only a thin layer on the surface. When past that the water is at its crystal clear best. Tassie Devils have been the popular choice as usual for trolling anglers, changing colours and depths is important until you find the right combinations.

But the fun wasn’t just for boat owners with land-based anglers doing well catching good-sized rainbows and salmon which feed along the black sandy beaches which surround the lakes edge.

The fish are averaging the 1.5kg mark but are built like missiles and sure do love to run.