Trout season is still closed so most anglers have been heading to the local lakes to get a trout fix, but instead many are getting a pleasant surprise and catching a few bass and redfin instead.

The season ended in yet another dry spell and while we did get a massive downpour, it was a week too late. In fact our area well and truly flooded and most freshwater anglers had been waiting for this, but we really needed it about 2-3 weeks prior to trout closing. Our local streams should benefit dramatically for this huge amount of water, but I went up Traralgon Creek for a quick look to see if I could see any trout, but it was still too dirty to tell.

We have had huge problems in the Strzelecki area this year. Traralgon Creek has been by far the worst with a complete absence of trout throughout the whole river, but even the nearby rivers such as Merrimans Creek and Morwell River have fished very poorly this year, so it will be very interesting to see if we get a new run of trout running back up the rivers after this rain and re-establish another population.

The northern rivers such as the Tyers and Tanjil rivers fished quite well and I had some nice photos of 1kg plus fish that were taken over the long weekend.

Blue Rock has been fishing very well, and is becoming ever more popular each day. I have heard a few whispers that the current restrictions of a 9.9hp motor might be lifted soon. This will be the best thing ever to happen for the area and will end up with a seriously awesome bass fishery that people will drive a long way to get here. The bass fishing in Blue Rock has continued to surprise me and they are still getting caught in good numbers from kayak anglers and land-based fishers alike.

Most land-based caught bass are being caught on worms fished on a light running sinker rig, whilst the kayak anglers are doing well either trolling hardbodied lures or casting small hardbodied lures, soft plastics and stick baits around the bank edges and into the snags. The vibes are definitely worth a go over winter. Bass are definitely getting bigger as can be seen in the photos and we have at least four different year classes of fish in the lake now and this is going to continue for at least another two or more years.

This has given us catchable bass size range of 15-40cm. With trout opening next month, it will be good to chase a trout or two, so don’t forget to keep sending in you photos.

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. Tune into Rex Hunt and Lee Rayner’s “Off the Hook” on 1242 to listen to Will’s report on Gippsland.