Over the last month reports have been flooding in of bass being caught at Blue Rock Lake in good numbers.

The typical size of the bass ranges from 20-30cm and the techniques used also vary. The great thing is that anglers are catching them in the cold icy Blue Rock waters, which means with closure of the stream trout fishing season there are other fishing options to consider in the West and South Gippsland region.

Stream trout fishing closes on June 9 at midnight and reopens midnight on Friday the 5 September. The closure of the season brings some relief to the stream trout population, which relies solely on natural spawning high up in the tributaries of the catchment. There are no stream trout stocking programs in West and South Gippsland so we rely strongly on anglers catching and releasing their trout.

The closed season means that stream brown and rainbow trout can spawn and then migrate back downstream to feed, all in time for the season opening in September. If you are heading out to target stream blackfish or eel, or just happen to be passing through and spot illegal activities, please report to 13 FISH.

Regular correspondent Toby Eastburn of local fishing social network WiFish has once again been smashing it on the bass out at Blue Rock. Obviously Toby has got it ‘down pat’ when it comes to Blue Rock bass. On his last outing he got up to 30 bass all around the 20cm mark with the biggest being 30cm on the nose. His trick was casting his self-made hardbody lures and spinnerbaits from the kayak against dead trees up the Tanjil Arm. He reported that the fishing was hot up until midday then it went quiet.

Jack Methven, son of John Methven who runs Mountain Bait & Tackle in Healesville recently had an outing at Blue Rock and did really well on the bass in the evening. They caught and released 10 bass on unweighted scrub worms; Jack caught the biggest at 30cm. John tells me that they were busted off three times with what they believe to be even bigger fish than 3lb. Before bait fishing in the evening they trolled up the arm and caught a number of redfin and one trout to add to the haul of fish for the trip.

Bass reports at Blue Rock seem to indicate that the fishing is good either early or late in the day. The other thing that really stands out is that they are being caught on a variety of techniques, which really opens up the bass fishing sport to anglers of all ages and skill. Unweighted scrub worms, garden worms under a float, trolling Tassie Devils, casting plastics and hardbody lures have all produced bass at Blue Rock.

The stocking program has been a blessing for this lake historically dubbed ‘Lake Disappointment’. With a continued stocking program and increased fishing activity from land-based, boat and kayak anglers, things are certainly looking up.

Feel free to send me a report or photo particularly if you have any success stories before the closure of the trout season or bass on Blue Rock. Happy fishing!