There is still some great fishing to be had around the Neerim and Noojee districts as we inch towards Christmas. If you are heading down this way with the family over the break, make sure you sneak a couple of rods into the boot.

The lack of rain over spring is certainly of concern as we head into summer, yet the major rivers and tributaries don’t appear to be suffering too much at the moment. Another month of no rain, however, and we’ll start to see rivers like the Loch, Toorongo and both branches of the Tanjil slow right down.

Further south, the smaller trout holding tributaries like Shady Creek and Little Moe, Lang Lang and Bunyip rivers will also slow down. Angling techniques will need to change with more daylight hours and warmer water. Trout and blackfish will usually rest up in the deeper sections under structure to keep cool.

Under these circumstances you need to get the lure, fly or bait deeper down. Continue using bladed spinners like Celtas or Gillies 5g Hoppers, but give them time to sink down before winding. Instead of using a F5 Rapala, try a CD3 Rapala or similar sinking minnow. Beaded nymphs and wet flies imitating local insect life are worth a try.

Young angler Tom Zanca from Bentleigh emailed me a report after a trip to Noojee with his dad. At the junction of the Loch and Latrobe rivers it took five minutes for Tom to land his first fish for the day, a brown trout of 200g, which he caught by drifting a worm on a small hook.

The trout were finicky biters so they tried leaving their bail arms open so that the fish wouldn’t feel any resistance. Tom’s dad caught and quickly released a small blackfish. Tom then landed a rainbow trout weighing 300g. Feeling rather accomplished with the worms, he tried his luck flyfishing with a beaded nymph. This was straight away rewarded with another rainbow of around 200g.

Regular correspondent Wally Ronalds from Rokeby came across some very cheap bladed spinners for 50 cents each at a bargain bin in Rays Outdoors. He picked up two and, being a nice bloke, handed one to his fishing mate Dave Pike from Neerim Junction.

Dave called him back a week later to report that he had caught and released 11 brown trout to 400g from the Latrobe River in Noojee, all on the bargain spinner.

Wally also reports that there are lots of big browns to 600g in the Tarago River and he also backs up Tom’s report in saying that there are heaps of rainbows around the Latrobe River.

Please feel free to email me any reports, photos or questions and have a safe and happy Christmas. Happy fishing!

Tom Zanca casting a line in the Latrobe River. There are good number of both brown and rainbow trout on offer in this river.