As winter descends upon us with gusto it is good to report that it’s still well worth the effort to brave the elements and spend the day on the water in the Echuca area.

The Murray cray fishing season is now in full swing with most cray fishers able to get themselves a feed of good-sized crays. Most areas both up and downstream of Echuca are productive, with the area from Echuca East Boat Ramp upstream to the Goulburn-Murray junction probably the most productive.

The area around the Five Mile Boat Ramp, just out of Moama, is also well worth the effort. Myself and Martin Auldist, the good editor of this very magazine, tried our luck just recently and for our morning’s effort we caught a good bag of crays. The deeper water was the best on this day and old fish frames were the bait of choice. This area of the Murray has a very good boat ramp and easy access for vehicles as it is just off Perricoota Road. The water levels are average for winter.

Murray cod are still being caught in the area around the Torrumbarry Weir. The area from the Headworks Boat Ramp and upstream past the willows towards the old Perriacoota Homestead is the best place to start your trolling. The deepest diving lures are still accounting for most of the cod caught. The odd golden perch is also being taken in this area using these tactics.

The Murray River around the Gulf out near Picola is another area where golden perch are being caught. The tactics in this area are very different, with small yabbies bobbed around the snags the way to go. The water around Picola is very low and clear, with plenty of snags showing – all are well worth a try.

The channel system around Echuca has started to produce some excellent redfin. With the channel levels very low, this gives all the ‘reddie’ fishers plenty of chance for a great bag of these sweet tasting fish. All techniques are catching fish in the channels, including spinners, soft plastics, small hard-bodied lures and good old worms. Fish up to 2kg are common around the stops in the channels.

For more information on the area around Echuca call in and see Garry at Gone Fishin’, Annesley St. Echuca.