Now that trout season is over, many anglers have been looking towards other options to fish over winter. One of those options is bass.

Firstly, we had a good dose of rain before the end of trout season that got our rivers looking healthy again. Locally, Traralgon Creek still hasn’t fished well at all. Despite the water looking good, there really does seem to be a lack of trout in this particular river and it will be interesting to see if any trout return to spawn over the next few weeks and months.

Morwell River fished a little better with a few anglers getting out for a fish and catching some nice trout up to 30cm. I was told by a few anglers that the numbers here seemed to be lacking a bit as well, but we did only just get the first rain we have had in three months so hopefully a few trout start moving around for next season.

The Thomson River fished a little better, and plenty of trout to 30cm were caught before the close of the season and Rohan Burge even got himself a 40cm plus brown from around Coopers Creek area which is a great fish for this section. Rohan and his dad Wayne fish the area a lot and told me that it fishes better when the flow is down a bit and obviously it is controlled by the dam so if you don’t get any fish one week, it might fish a lot better the next.

Soft plastics and small hardbodied lures have been the best. The Macalister hasn’t fished that well but Shaws Creek hasn’t been to bad and the fly anglers have been catching some nice little trout averaging 25cm and a couple slightly bigger. It’s also worth trying little hardbodied lure and baby spinners as well.

The bass have seriously become a contender for this area over the past 5 months and I want to say a big thanks to everyone who keeps sending me in bass photos. Please keep it going. The bass stocking program seems to be a success and with the guarantee of at least another two years worth, I think we are in for a real treat around here over the next few years.

The interesting thing will be to see if we do have a bass fishery over winter. Clive Rendell and his son Zac had a session at Blue Rock Dam and Zac caught himself a healthy 27cm bass on worms from the bank edge. They also managed a bag of redfin as well. This could be classed as a winter bass and it’s the first one of heard of caught this time of year, so this is a good sign.

Andrew Keteller has not only been catching stacks of Blue Rock bass but also some monster redfin as well. Most of his fishing is done trolling and casting out of his kayak, so redfin are also another good winter option.

For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 51748544. You will get expert advice and great deals on fishing bait and tackle., Turn in to Rex Hunt and Lee Rayner’s “Off the Hook” on 1242 to hear Will’s Report on what’s going on in Gippsland!