The start of autumn has officially arrived in Melbourne and the weather has been tranquil, with typical calm and crisp mornings followed by a peek of sunshine throughout the day - almost perfect fishing conditions. While we haven’t had the much-needed rain for some of the smaller rivers and creeks, hopefully there should be some on the way to breathe life into them.

Speaking of rivers and creeks, the Yarra has been fairly consistent over the last few months. The last couple of months have been a bit slower on the trout front, but until season close they should be worth a shot. The upper river section from Warburton to around Reefton has been the most productive, with plenty of feisty little browns to keep bait, lure and fly anglers busy.

The ever productive method of drifting a small bunch of worms through some deeper section has been good, especially if these are fished lightly weighted with a couple of splitshot sinkers. Small, slim profiled hardbodies are also excellent through this section; with lures like the Ecogear MX48 and Pontoon21 Greedy Guts proven fish takers, especially in gold tones or juvenile trout patterns.

Further down the Peninsula at Devilsbend Reservoir, the fishing has been good over the last month or so with some nice trout and redfin caught. The trout have become more active as the water temperature cooled off over the last month, with fish cruising the weed edges. Early mornings have been the most productive time with both trout and redfin actively feeding. Many anglers have reported using small ‘nymph’ style soft plastics and have achieved excellent results on these margin feeding fish, as generally they are in this shallow water looking for food. The odd rainbow has also been caught using PowerBait fished under a float out over the deeper edge of the weed beds during the day as well.

• 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. For our other latest fishing reports and to download information sheets, go to www fishingcamping.com.au