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Changing conditions around Bendigo
  |  First Published: May 2017



Fishing conditions can change very quickly and the Loddon River is a perfect example of this. In last month’s report I wrote about how productive the fishing had been in this river system. Soon after writing the report a significant flush of water was released down the system.

This flush reduced water clarity and the productivity of the fishing in the Loddon River has really dropped off. On a positive note, I’m happy to report that the productivity in the fishing continues to be good at the majority of the most popular destinations around the Bendigo area.

LAKE EPPALOCK

There have been blue green algae warnings in Lake Eppalock recently. With these warnings in place there has been a reduction in the amount of boat traffic on the waterway. The fishing is still productive. Redfin continue to be the target species for the majority of anglers. If you are prepared to hunt around to find a good concentration of redfin, catches of over 100 redfin a day can be made.

The condition of the redfin being caught is excellent. The redfin are feeding up on good amounts of juvenile redfin and are putting on good condition. The best concentrations of redfin are currently being caught in deep water. I have been finding the larger redfin in depths of around 10m. Deep diving hardbody lures such as Custom Crafted Basshunter and Australian Crafted Invaders have been working well.

Trolling is a good technique to find a school if you don’t already know where some fish are holding. Other techniques that have been working well on the redfin are casting soft plastics, blades and jigging ice jigs. The productivity of the golden perch and Murray cod fishing continues to be low. Most of the golden perch have been caught by anglers casting the rocky shorelines with lipless crankbaits.

CAMPASPE RIVER

Fishing in the Campaspe River is continuing to be productive. Good numbers of golden perch are being caught along the Campaspe River lately. The most productive lures for the golden perch have been a combination of both spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. The most productive fishing times have been the first couple of hours in the morning and late afternoon.

The fishing has been slow during the middle of the day on most days. Small numbers of Murray cod are currently being caught in the Campaspe River. Productive lures for the Murray cod have been a combination of hardbody lures, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. A few Murray cod are still being caught on surface lures. The productivity in the fishing will start to decline by the end of the month when water temperatures start to drop.

CAIRN CURRAN

Water clarity is still only average at this location. The productivity of the fishing is still good. The majority of anglers are targeting the redfin at this location. Lately the best concentrations of redfin are holding in shallow water. The most productive depth range has been 2-4m of water. Trolling shallow diving hardbody lures has been working.

Casting soft plastics and blades has also been good on the redfin. While the majority of anglers are targeting the redfin there are a few anglers who are concentrating their fishing effort on the native species. Small numbers of golden perch have been caught by anglers casting around the rocky shorelines. Likewise, Murray cod have been reportedly caught by anglers trolling hardbody lures and casting lipless crankbaits.

LODDON RIVER

As I wrote earlier in this report conditions can change very quickly. Water clarity is currently poor at most locations along the Loddon River system. For those anglers who are still fishing this destination, a few golden perch have been caught. Most of these captures have been by anglers casting lipless crankbaits and brightly coloured spinnerbaits along the edges of weed beds and around fallen timber.

The occasional Murray cod has also been caught. It’s a lot of work for little action. What happens to the productivity in the fishing at this destination will largely depend on the water releases over the next two months. If the releases are minimal then water clarity will improve again and the productivity in the fishing will also improve. If we see another large flush go down the system the fishing will continue to be disappointing.
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