Although several of Victorian football teams are in the finals and our eye is on their progress, many of our customers still got out for the highly anticipated trout opening weekend.

The weather and conditions were excellent, with only slight winds, sunny days and good water levels. We had reports of fish being taken from in the Yarra River from Yarra Glen right down to Warrandyte.

This was probably the first time in a long time that the fly anglers seemed to have the most success on opening. Justin, Matt and Tom targeted the area around Warburton, catching six trout on the Saturday, all taken on fly. Two were taken on an olive bead-head nymph, and the others on a Mrs Simpson and a Red Tag. The water was clear in most places and sighting of fish was easy. Although the morning was slow, success came later into the afternoon.

Ringwood customer, Chris, fished around Woori Yallock. He could see trout but he could not tempt them with scrubworms, so he changed to a Stiffy Gold Nugget Minnow that brought success.

Several other customers fished around Launching Place, with one reporting success while fishing a Squidgy Pro Critter in bloodworm colour on a TT 1/20oz jighead. These ultralight weights are needed when fishing soft plastics in small streams.

One thing Glenys and I noticed when we where down at Warrandyte recently was the amount of insects around the edges in the weed. As the weather temperatures increase this activity will only get livelier. Although the Warrandyte area is generally slow at the moment, fishing in this area should provide great success over the coming couple of months, especially on the balmy hot nights which should see some great terminate hatches. This will be the time to hit the Warrandyte area.

Pete has been attacking the smaller streams with his favourite Jensen insect lures. Working the smaller Yarra Valley streams under the cover of bankside trees, Pete reports good catches of up to 15 trout each session.

The early part of the season will give you more success if you bait drift. An easy rig is to use split shots placed approximately 10cm up the line, which will allow the scrubworm to drift freely close to the surface.

Ringwood staff member, Steve, has been hitting Lilydale Lake most nights after work since coming back from holidays. He has had great success twitching mudeyes behind a bubble float and then switching to a brown trout Rapala lure. On windier days he has had more success around the rock wall, and on still evenings over towards the boat ramp.

Other customers report that Lilydale Lake continues to fish well for trout, redfin and carp. Celtas in red and green have been having success, as have scrubworms and maggots.

Also, several customers have been trying their luck at Sugarloaf Dam, where late afternoon sessions are producing redfin.

Had some success? Send me the details via email at --e-mail address hidden-- Include the angler, species, where the fish was caught (you don’t need to give me all your secrets) and what bait, lure or flies you used.For up to date Yarra Valley fishing information, contact the boys at Compleat Angler in Ringwood on 03 9870 7792, or better still drop in at 92 Maroondah Highway. We’re open 7 days a week, with plenty of top quality fresh bait and a great selection of freshwater gear.