Over the last couple of months the Goulburn River around Seymour has provided some excellent results for anglers targeting trout and redfin. Both bait and lures have proved equally successful.

I have had reports of some very big trout taken on both fly and lures between Trawool and Seymour. Redfin have also been active almost anywhere along the river, with some fish of 750g-1.5kg being caught, as well as many small fish. The most productive areas have been from Seymour to downstream of Mitchelton Winery.

Getting in close to the weed beds and willow trees gives the best results. I prefer to cast lures such as spinnerbaits or hardbodied lures. Of the hardbodied lures, I like StumpJumpers in the small to medium range. Fluoro greens and purple are the best colours.

This year my wife Carol and I purchased a canoe, which enables us to get in close to the snags and weed beds. We have experienced great success using this method on the redfin and we are looking forward to the upcoming cod season. We now have access to places where boat launching is not possible.

Before the cod season opened there were many reports of cod being caught (and promptly released) by those fishing for reddies. It’s a good sign for the new season. As the weather and the water warms up, the cod will become even more active.

Between Murchison and Undera the Goulburn has been slow, but again as the weather warms up the fish will become more active. Some very good golden perch have been taken at Toolamba by anglers fishing with bait. This area has many camping spots along the river. It is an ideal area to launch the canoe, as boat access is limited.

The beauty of fishing the Goulburn is that you can fish for both reddies and Murray cod and not have to change gear. The reddies don’t seem to be put off by heavier lines, so generally I use a baitcaster outfit of around 6-8kg for the smaller lures and a little heavier for the larger lures. On both of these I use 15kg braid and 15-20kg fluorocarbon leader. If fishing with bait you will need to use at least 10kg mono.

The author’s new canoe will help him get right in close to the snags this cod season.