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Autumn rains hold the key
  |  First Published: March 2007



I hate to start my report again with rain details, but we have actually had a couple of inches of rain recently and it has brightened up the whole area. Some areas received three inches, and even if nothing ran off, it still put three inches of water into a few of our lakes.

One immediate result was that the minnows in Bullen Merri moved to the edge of the lake. This should mean the trout, salmon and maybe even bass will follow the minnows out of the deeper water and start feeding along the banks. Wouldn’t that make a great start to autumn?

Purrumbete has still been the shining light, although it is low and a bit hard to get your boat in. There have been some thumper browns from here, and a mudeye under a float is proving the best method with one fish reportedly weighing 5kg. Chinook are still taking pillie pieces floated down with berley and as a bonus rainbows are also being attracted to the berley and being caught up to 1kg.

Of course at this time of year, if you feel like a feed of redfin, fishing behind the weeds with minnows or close to the bottom with plastics will soon result in a good feed. Eels have also been taken in good quantities by those targeting them on the bottom with a bunch of worms.

Redfin at Lake Colac have been taking local smelt at Meredith Park, which is a beach and camping area in the northeast corner of the lake. Smelt can be caught by wading with a drag net along the beach in knee-deep water.

The local rivers, especially the Gellibrand, have had some good catches of blackfish, with fish to a kilo being common. Mudeyes, small yabbies or even a wood grub fished on a single hook paternoster rig is the best method to catch these culinary delights.

The West Barwon Dam also received a boost from the rain and has been producing some nice browns and rainbows on lures. Tassies and Lofties are the way to go if you are considering a trip up there.

As soon as you hear our promised autumn rains have kicked into gear make a beeline for Purrumbete or Bullen Merri – I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

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