The Murray River at Echuca has continued to run high and fast after increased released from storages further upstream and in the Goulburn River to allow for future rainfall and snowmelt. Most impoundments were close to capacity.

These conditions have made it a battle to get fish.

The action around Barmah slowed with the influx of water but the clarity was much better than below the Goulburn Junction. Before the close of the cod season there were still a just few being caught. One fortunate angler managed to troll up a 7kg cod but this was his only result for the day.

Moama’s Nick Wren released a 53cm trout cod that took a shrimp. With the shrimp being harder to catch in the cooler weather, Nick used ones he had frozen when they were plentiful in the warmer water. Great ideas like this can make all the difference.

Further downstream at the Five Mile boat ramp at Moama, Nick Kiely and Justin Cain had a good day before the close of the season. With their boat tied up around the timber, they used bardi grubs and scrub worms to land five cod to 71cm. Having their baits close to the snags played a big part in their successful.

Nick also had been catching plenty of undersized cod at Mathoura in a deep channel.

Greens Lake, just out of Elmore, has had some more water pumped in and this is usually prime time for the pre-spawn golden perch.

Worms, small yabbies and shrimp would be the pick of the baits for the yellas, as well as shrimp and worms loaded on the same hook. If fishing from the boat, it won’t hurt to bob the bait up and down; yellowbelly love a moving bait.

Small hard-bodied lures, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and blade-style lures will all be fair game if there is a yella about.

Natural colours work really well and anything with an orange/brown pattern has been successful in hard-bodies and spinnerbait skirts. Outlaw and Bassman Spinnerbaits do this colour combination right across their ranges, a worthwhile colour to have in the tackle box to tangle with Spring yellas.

By October all the irrigation channels around the district will be full and with the onset of warmer weather there should be a few yabbies on the move, as well as the odd redfin.

Squidgy Bugs in wasabi and jelly prawn have been proven performers and the ever-reliable Hogback lure should also get a run.

Now is the time to get into the golden perch and enjoy the warmer weather. Areas such as Kow Swamp, below Torrumbarry Weir, the Campaspe River and Lake Eppalock are all worth a look for yellowbelly.