All our favourite species are all very active in very angler-friendly weather conditions as well.

Along with the great fishing, some good catches of great eating yabbies are still being taken at many lakes and swamps across the region also.

I spend a lot of time fishing the Wimmera River as it is so close to home and the fishing over the last month or so has better than it was at this time last year. However it has been a bit of a challenge at times to catch the native fish when there has been so many carp about.

Around the Horsham stretch all the way to Jeparit most anglers have been bait fishing and the best baits have been small yabbies, worms and yabby tail. There are a lot of small silver perch about at present up to 30cm, some nice yellowbelly to 2.5kg, catfish and a few redfin as well. I have found that the best fishing has been in the mornings or in the evenings. Bait fishing after dark has also been producing some very nice yellowbelly and catfish for me as well.

A few yellowbelly have also been hitting lures and spinnerbaits cast at the snags. I have been doing well on the yellowbelly with the new Dyno 60 from Balista Lures which actually has an LED light which flashes upon contact with water. This really seems to fire the yellas up and induce more strikes.

The fishing has been pretty good at Taylors over the last few weeks but the carp are pretty thick here too. A number of good size redfin to 800g along with yellowbelly to 1.5 kg and many small silver perch are being caught along with the occasional good size Murray cod to around 70cm. What has been great to see here lately is a lot of small Murray cod around 40cm. In a few more seasons these little cod will provide some top sport here.

Bait fishing has been most popular here and small yabbies, gudgeon and worms fished on the bottom is doing the trick whether from the shore or from boats amongst the timber.

The trout fishing just keeps getting better here with some of the rainbows now up around 2kg mark and the browns haven’t been too far behind them in size either. All methods are working here whether you are into bait, lure or fly and you don’t need a boat either, plenty of good trout are being taken from the shore. A few redfin are now also starting to show up in catches here as well but most have been small.

I recently took my boys for a fish here and they had a great time catching and releasing a number of browns and rainbows to 1.9kg. All we used was Powerbait on a running sinker on one rod and a mudeye under a bubble float on the other rod, simply fishing from the very safe north shore area.

This great lake has been one of our most popular waters lately with good catches being taken from Hynes all the way up to the wall. Most anglers come here to chase the redfin and they have been in good number and size this year with many topping 1kg. Trolling diving lures such as Stumpjumpers, Tilsan Minnows and Ballista Dynos is the best way to find the redfin schools here.

Once you find a good patch, soft plastics or vibes hopped along the bottom will usually work very well. A few brown and rainbow trout to 1.5kg are also being taken by anglers fishing for redfin along with the occasional bass. Interestingly there has also been a few reports of small Murray cod being caught and a few eel tailed catfish as well at the wall area.

Bait fishing in the timber is also working well with gudgeon, yabbies and worms producing good fish but there has been a lot of very large carp about so regular anglers tend to just lure fish here to try and avoid catching carp.

The yabbying has also been very good in the evenings and after dark particularly at the wall, Brodys and at Glendinning.

The trout and redfin fishing has steadily been getting better here over the last few weeks and will keep getting better here now as we head closer to the cooler months. The redfin fishing has been a bit on and off which is normal for Wartook but on the days they are going it has been terrific with good catches being taken on trolled minnow lures as well as soft plastics cast at reedy or rocky areas. A few extra large redfin to 1.5kg have been about but most of the reddies are averaging around 500g.

Most anglers come here to fish for the trout and some solid browns to 1.8kg along with a few rainbows are being taken on trolled lures and mudeye fished under bubble floats. Areas such as the wall, island and Langlands Bay have been fishing well.

The flyfishing has also been very good, especially in the mornings and evenings. On the calm mornings with little wind there has been large numbers of trout rising right across the lake making for some great flyfishing opportunities.