Lake Hume fishing has been steady with redfin making up 90% of catches.

Bait has been the most effective method but trolling deep-diving lures like the 50mm and 60mm Vikings and Australian Crafted 50mm Slim Invaders has also produced some rippers.

Worms and yabbies are the best baits, used on paternoster rigs around trees in five to six metres of water.

Targeting reddies by trolling has been a matter of finding a school and going back and forth through them until they move on. A fish finder is a must or you could find yourself trolling aimlessly around the lake picking up only the odd reddie that in most cases wouldn’t even pass as a fish finger.

The golden perch in the weir have turned off since the start of the year with only the odd one or two coming out by trolling and not many more on bait.

With the fishing being quite steady lately, I never head out on the water without my fly rod because in the case of a slow session I have been pulling up in random bays to walk the banks chasing carp.

These noxious fish would have to be the most underrated freshwater sport fish around and easily turn a dull afternoon into an action-packed session. There are also plenty of small redfin that will happily devour a fly so blind casting in deeper water can also be fun.

A few months ago lake Hume received 10,000 yearling rainbow trout as a restocking project and on a recent camping trip with some mates I saw at least five healthy rainbows with their fins clipped caught and released.

This is a good sign that they are flourishing in the lake and I can’t wait for Winter to come when they really start biting. There were also 30,000 brown trout fingerlings released at the same time so things should be good for a few years.

Below Lake Hume in the Murray River there have been excellent reports right down to Mulwala of decent Murray cod being caught. Not only have most been released but nearly all of them have been caught on lures, not the usual green cord that the area is renowned for – a good sign that anglers are moving on from the old poaching techniques to a more conservative method of fishing.

Reports of cod from 500g to 26kg have been regular among local anglers, with trolling by far bringing the best results.

Casting has been very difficult lately due to Lake Hume letting out so much water for irrigation purposes but there are still plenty of slow backwaters worth having a look through.

The Upper Murray above Lake Hume has been completely different. Due to lower water heights, casting has been better with areas to troll quite difficult to find. Spinner baits that have been working best. Surface lures have also been stirring up some action with plenty of strikes per session. This style of fishing is really starting to take off for cod with each strike absolutely breathtaking.

The author with a Murray cod caught while casting spinnerbaits in the upper Murray River.