This us the time when we see more kids and families out chasing fish.

Great weather makes it ideal to be out and with warmer water the fish are usually a lot more active. Cod, yellowbelly and silver perch in the rivers and redfin in the lakes and channels should be in good numbers.

The reddies have so far been hit-and-miss but I have no doubt that they will fire up and anglers will bag big numbers. Last season soft plastics and blades were all the rage and rightly, so with the local irrigation channels, Warranga Basin and Lake Eppalock regularly showing big schools of reddies or a few fish around 50cm.

Golden perch have been caught in good numbers in the Murray River and many of its offtakes. Evenings have been prime time in the rivers with yellas feeding in close as the sun falls behind the trees. Many anglers have caught them from sandbars using shrimp or a shrimp/worm cocktail. Don’t cast too far for yellas cruising the shallower water.

Fish up to 49cm have been caught from these sandbars and plenty of these areas are close to town.

Other anglers report that the yellas are taking only worms, while the next one you speak to says only yabbies, so it pays to have a good mix of baits because they all catch fish on the right day.

At the first regulator on the Edward River at Mathoura the odd yellowbelly has been caught on slowly retrieved spinnerbaits with chartreuse/purple skirts. This section of river is full of timber and home to a many cod fond of spinnerbaits and hardbodies.

The Goulburn Junction upstream of Echuca has been fairly quiet for the goldens but this area can produce good fish. At the time of writing the Goulburn had dropped about 35cm with minimal flow; another rise in the water should mean a few fish on the move.

Anglers fishing with scrub worms in the dirty water at the Campaspe Junction have caught yellas to 43cm at the mouth and further back towards the road bridge. The junction itself has been a hot spot in the past for silver perch, which as they get bigger fight a lot harder.

Below Torrumbarry Weir there has been quite a lot of boat activity, a sure sign that word has got out of a few fish on the go. This area has always produced yellowbelly in increased flows, along with some thumping cod caught on lures trolled on the downside of the weir.

Dick King from Echuca landed seven yellas in Taylors Creek, one an absolute stonker, casting Oar-Gee Plows in the CR colour; all fish were released. Kingy was also busted off by quite a large cod in the Gunbower Creek recently.

Kow Swamp, out from Gunbower, continues to fish well for yellas with many reports of bag limits (5) within an hour. Unfortunately some got greedy or exited and took undersized fish, exceeded their limit or both.

Just because this area receives golden perch from a stocking program doesn’t mean you can take as many as you can fit in your esky, these are for everyone to enjoy for years to come.

Hats off to Fisheries inspectors for weeding out those doing the wrong thing.

Upcoming competitions: Deniliquin RSL Fishing Classic is on February 16-17 with over $50,000 in prizes; then on February 22-24 the Koondrook Barham Fishing Competition will have a $10,000 boat package to give away. 

For more information on what’s biting in the Echuca and Moama area, drop into J.T’s Fishing & Camping (opposite the Border Inn Hotel) or phone Justin on 0354 803 868.