While most of Melbourne is out battling the tide of snapper in the bays, the freshwater fishing just keep kicking along.

Milder weather this month always makes getting down to the local lake or river enjoyable, with a few different options for anglers in October.

Rowville Lakes is a good spot to head to if you’ve got a spare hour or two and you’re keen to catch some redfin, trout or carp – all three species are active at this time of year. If you’re a lure angler, fishing small ‘creature’ soft plastics around the reed stands and over the muddy bottom can see you catch all three species, in the order listed.

If sitting back with a bait soaking is more your thing, then grab yourself a punnet of maggots and some fine grit berley and grab a comfy chair. By using a fine grit berley mixture you bring the fish into your area and hold them there, and so long as the berley is fine enough they won’t feed on it.

Just make sure you don’t move around too much, as the whole idea of this style of fishing is to bring fish to you, rather than go looking for them.

The Yarra River continues to produce trout above Warburton, with some nice fish coming from the pools up around Riverside Drive. Scrubworms drift down amongst the timber can pull some big browns out of their hiding spots, just be ready for them when they hit.

The same technique can also yield a blackfish or two, especially late in the day. Just remember to release all blackfish unharmed as their closed season runs until December 31. There are normally a few nice redfin to be caught at this time of the year in the Yarra, especially when fishing lower down around Yarra Junction and Launching Place.

When targeting the redfin, look for the long, slow pools as they don’t like fighting the current. A juicy bunch of scrub worms is a pretty tempting meal for the reddies, but a more active and effective method is to cast a 2-3” soft plastic around the fallen timber and rocks. A good style of soft plastic to use on the redfin is a ‘wriggler’ type – one that has a long, undulating tail. This type of tail will ‘swim’ seductively down as it sinks, and also when hopped or jigged back.

Sugarloaf Reservoir has started to heat up and while the golden perch aren’t quite red hot just yet, this next month should see them kick into gear. The main triggers that bring the golden perch on the bite are the increase in water temperature and also rise in water levels.

At this time of the year the days are longer and the increased sunlight is what makes the water temperature creep up, sending the goldens into feeding mode. For anglers heading over this way to try and find a golden or two, the most effective (and legal) approach is to pack a small box of assorted lures and work your way along the shoreline.

Because most of the golden perch in Sugarloaf aren’t huge, smaller lures work the best. Small 1/4oz spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits in the 50-60mm size would be the main choices, along with a few floating crankbaits from 40-50mm in size. Pack a few bright ‘reaction’ colours along with some natural patterns and work them slowly along the edges, right back to your feet and you should come across a perch or two this month.

If you have had some success in these areas lately send me a photo and go into the draw for your chance to win a store voucher valued at $100

For up to date fishing information, contact the guys at Compleat Angler in Dandenong on 9794 9397 or drop in and see us at 241 – 243 Princes Hwy, Dandenong, we are open 7 days a week.

Redfin like this can offer great action in local lakes . Photo courtesy Jordan Cervenjak.