Ballarat and district anglers have been having a tough time trying to catch a fish in our local waters in the last month, however this should not put them of venturing out to wet a line.

I recently went for drive around all the local water storages and couldn’t believe how much they had dropped in a month. This worried me a lot at first, but what I did see was the opportunity for anglers to fish areas that wouldn’t have been accessible when the lakes were full. There were lots of weed beds that were once close to the shore and impossible to fish through that are now high and dry, which gives the angler new water to fish. Anglers should also look for any deep holes, gutters or structure along the shorelines for future reference when these lakes fill again.

Tullaroop Reservoir has again been producing fish. The trout fishing has gone quiet and the redfin have now come on the bite. The best method for catching redfin is to fish with either a yabby, bunch of worms or minnow presented on the bottom with a running sinker. First and last light are the best times to catch a reddie at Tullaroop.

Keith Riddsdale has been fishing Talbot Reservoir at Evansford and catching brown trout using a mudeye fished under a bubble float. Overcast days seem to be the best for fishing Talbot. Redfin have also been caught using worms fished on the bottom.

Lake Purrumbete at Camperdown has been producing excellent trout. Brian Hughes has been flyfishing out of a boat, drifting along the weed beds and catching brown and rainbow trout to 2kg. The trout have been chasing smelt on the surface so the most successful patterns have been an olive Woolly Bugger and grey BMS special. Brian Nyygaard, another Ballarat angler, has been large brown trout to 3kg at Purrumbete, fishing mudeyes suspended under a bubble float near the weed beds.

Gong Gong Reservior has also been fishing well during the evenings, with trout chasing caddis moths and midge. Ian Penberthy has been catching rainbows of about 500g.

Cosgroves Reservoir is one of the lakes in which the water level has dropped dramatically, allowing new shoreline to be fished. Trout and redfin have been caught using all methods from flyfishing to baitfishing.

Newlyn Reservior is again the most consistent fishery in our region with trout and redfin being caught. The best time to fish Newlyn is at first light or in the evening. Flyfishers can look forward fishing Newlyn over the next few months, first with mudeye hatches in the evenings, and then the cricket migration later on. It’s something to look forward to!