Nature has its own way of keeping things in check. Last year we finally got the OK to fish from boats on Lake Purrumbete throughout the year – then this year we can’t get them in due to low water levels!

Even with the boat launching problems, Lake Purrumbete is a great bet if you are looking to catch a trout in the area. Winter has always been a good time to spend a day walking the eastern shore. Fish are often found smelting throughout the day and with the lower levels it is a lot easier to get to those fish that rise along the back of the weeds.

Bait fishermen are spending some time along this shoreline, with good results. Many years ago, way back when I was a boy, the eastern side was thought of as the only side to fish with bait. Back then a wood grub threaded up the line above the hook with a bunch of worms covering the hook was the standard bait. Now mudeyes or a minnow are the most commonly used bait. Nevertheless flyfishing will continue to be a successful method too, while quite a few browns have also been taken by anglers wading off Horans Point and casting Tassie Devils or Lofties Lures.

Scott Gray has been amongst the anglers getting in the action, catching some great trout to 3kg, particularly brown trout. He has also caught plenty of small Chinook salmon to 1.2kg.

Bullen Merri is still fairly tough, though deep trolling is producing some trout. Fellow VFM correspondent John Dalla-Rosa was successful there recently using this method, catching eight trout to 1.3kg over the course of a weekend.

From the Bullen Merri bank, bait anglers continue to catch mostly newly released fish. There have been a few better fish taken from the bank but reports are very spasmodic. Some anglers have a good evening then nothing for the next few trips.

A local water that is improving is the West Barwon Dam. As the dam is slowly filling, browns and rainbows of up to 1kg are feeding along the newly covered ground. Better known as a good spot for anglers tossing lures, we now have bait anglers doing very nicely using bunches of worms (see also the Apollo Bay report on page 8 – Ed.).

Wurdi Buloc is also starting to cover some new ground. With that in mind, and remembering the extra fish stocking that it received last year, this will be another spot worth looking at in the coming months.

We have not had any floods as yet, but with most of our rain coming in the spring months we are still hoping for an increase in the local water levels.