The weathers being playing a steady game of ‘good conditions - bad conditions’ up until the real summer-style weather kicked in. The Yarra River has followed suit and the water level and clarity have been hit and miss!

But don't let that put you off, oh no!! It's trouting time and the natives are only just around the corner.

From Woori Yalloc upstream is your best bet to tangle with the trout and local worm drifter Bernie Blackfish has been drifting up a hailstorm of our spotted brown friends as well as quite a few black fish. A large scrub worm on a 6 or 4 Gamakatus Baitholder hook with a 'AA' split shot 10cm up the line is all you'll need (you actually need a lot more than one because this rig gets snagged heaps).

Casting upstream and winding it back at the same speed or a little faster than the current is the game you need to play to fool a trout.

Don't forget as you move along and see a slow moving undercut, this is where the blackfish are; you need to 'lob' the worm in and let it sit for 5-minutes and then move on if there are no bites.

The higher you go in the Yarra at the moment the clearer the water will be and if you’re a lure nut, then try Reefton and above. The water is semi-stable up here and casting and retrieving lures is the best way I know to catch a trout out of this part of the river.

Try minnow style lures like Rapala CD3 and 5F in RT and P colours or Berkley 3B's Puppy Dogs in Mongrel and Growler colours. Don't forget a few bladed spinners for the really shallow runs and riffles as well.

The native end of the Yarra (Yarra Glenn to Kew) has been a little slow because of the cold water, except for the Macquarie perch! They have fired up according to my sneaky sources with the odd fish around 1kg starting to be seen.

This would coincide with their spawning habits and if caught should be released.

I can’t wait till summer proper when I can start to tell you stories of Murray cod and golden perch and some fine dry fly fishing in the upper reaches that this beautiful river can produce.

Hold on to your hats till then.

Royter out.

Smaller hardbodied lures are the go-to method for December trout anglers.