Things are looking pretty sad up the Doon end of the lake to say the least. We really need an absolute truckload of rain to bring the water level back up to at least 50% or we will be in a lot of trouble in the coming 12 months.

On a brighter note, it is going to be an amazing run through to spring with no closed season for cod on Eildon this year, which will attract loads of keen anglers to the area and do a fair bit for the local economy.

I don’t know about you guys but I’m a little bit concerned about the carp herpes virus, because of the sheer number of carp in Eildon. If released we would require a small army of vessels and people to even put a dint in the amount of dead fish that could potentially damage this pristine waterway. I know that when the time comes to infect Eildon with the virus I will be putting my hand up to volunteer to help the cause, as you would have to be a genius to predict how many carp are actually in this massive lake – it could be hundreds of tonnes. I hope Charlie Carp is getting involved with it rather than having to bury them – but who knows how it’s all going to pan out. Hopefully they will start on small waterways and come up with a solid functional plan to make sure things don’t get out of hand.

On the fishing side of things it’s all been pretty good up the top, with solid reports of cod up to 90cm. Once again Neil Main is doing his thing picking up a 72cm model that was as fat as a pig. There have been steady reports of brown trout up to 3.5lb getting caught flatlining Tassie Devils with the clown pattern is a clear standout at the moment. Still no sign of reddies, which is very disappointing.