Although it remains dry throughout the region and the much-anticipated early autumn rains haven't arrived as yet, some great catches have been recorded locally, mainly in the deeper lakes and the rivers and streams. As the water temperatures in the shallower lakes drops, we can soon expect to see good numbers of trout come on the chew and the redfin school up just prior to their winter retreat.

As the region is desperate for rain with water storages dropping back at a rapid rate we all hope that the rain gods are kind to us this winter. At this time we look to the North East and see massive amount falling all up the East Coast, including Sydney, having in excess of 300mm in places... if only we could get that here!

Reports of great catches throughout the whole system are very encouraging and testament to the valuable stocking regime by DEPI. Research and careful planning are bringing the river back to life after it’s been on the ropes for a long period of time. Many happy anglers are now enjoying some great native fishing with yellas, cod and silvers being landed by persistent fishos.

Yabbies, worms and grubs continue to be the prime baits and I'm very happy to report what seems to be a decline in carp numbers in the areas that the natives are located. Casting the snaggy areas with spinnerbaits and rattle style lures is working well for the yellas and a few intrepid punters have done okay late afternoon on the cod with surface lures.

Leading into winter, the cod seem to feed higher in the water column and anyone who has targeted them on the surface lures will tell you of the excitement of this style of fishing.

As we are only just starting to see the weed drop back in the cooler weather, it is still not quite a trolling prospect as yet. Bait fishing has been very hit and miss but those that persist have landed a few very nice fish. Keeping in mind there was no stock liberated in here last season due to low water levels, the smallest trout you are likely to encounter will be around the 1.5kg mark.

After sighting many fish lately, and catching a few as well, it's an exciting prospect in the future with several fish better than 3kg on offer. I have no doubt that there is fish in here that will break the magical double figures this season, a 10-pounder is only a matter of time!

Browns dominate the catches and the ever-elusive rainbows are a real prize with their aerobatic displays and pretty colours. Fly fishos working the wind lanes on the lake are reaping rewards with bead head nymphs and the Toolondo special called the Shrek.

Woolly Buggers and smelt patterns have also taken some nice fish. Redfin are schooling now but as yet we haven't seen the run of big girls that congregate and stick together leading up to their late winter spawn.

Trout here have become a bit scarce but those working the wall area and the shallows with both bait and fly have done okay the last few weeks. Trolling seems to have slowed on the trout, but the redfin are in good numbers. Sorting through the smaller fish is a problem as they are willing to hit anything dragged past them, even if it is bigger than them!

As with Toolondo we will see the bigger girls mass up and roam looking for a feed prior to the real cold moving in, so don't be afraid to take a feed of these tasty critters as a lake the size of Fyans would only need a population regeneration by probably 6-10 of these big girls.

Redfin have been the mainstay of the Wimmera for many years but with the resurgence of other species we don't want to see over population, which leads to stunting of growth and a pygmy redfin strain developing. Let's face it everyone loves to catch a big reddie!

DEPI have just stocked the reservoir with brown and rainbow trout and, although they don't always show a great return due to fishing pressure and ease of catch on the troll, we are hoping most anglers do the right thing and release these little fellas so the future stocks are bolstered. Like back in the 1990s, when some big fish were caught, mainly by mudeye fishos in tree areas.

There are still some big trout to be had but as I always say they don't get big by being silly. Redfin numbers have been down on previous years and I'm putting this down to low water levels and more concentrated schooling. The coming weeks should see some schooling big girls like most lakes and trolling in around 4-5m of water will put you in the zone.

Bass continue to be a great sport fish and there's a few anglers now confident to target them as the numbers grow. Most are around the 25-40cm mark but there is bigger fish in there. The odd surprise catch of a cod too, either on lure trolling or a bait on the bottom of the reddies and carp don't get there first.