Over the last couple of months I’ve been promising hot action to come on Gippsland streams. At long last there’s no need for any more predictions, because it has arrived!

Right now is the time to drop everything and get out on the water because throughout west and south Gippsland the trout fishing has been as good as it gets.

I’m not exactly sure where to start because, in truth, it probably doesn’t matter where you go. On almost any of the renowned trout waters you’re likely to encounter high numbers of feisty trout looking for a rumble. Probably the pick of the lot has been the west branch of the Tanjil River.

It seems there have been fish caught all along this reliable stream from its headwaters above Tanjil Bren all the way down to Blue Rock Reservoir. I’ve heard of up to 49 trout landed (and almost all released) by two anglers in an afternoon session.

70% or so of these trout are browns and mostly, they are your run-of-the-mill pan sized Gippsland trout, but there are some better ones amongst them. Fish of over 1ft in length are common, but I have heard of one brown trout landed by Neerim-based angler Dave Pyke that pulled the scales down to over 1.5kg! That’s a tremendous fish in anyone’s language, especially good for the Tanjil.

There has also been good fishing in the Icy Creek, a tributary of the west branch, accessible off Costins Road, as well as the east branch of the Tanjil.

Elsewhere in the region, heaps of anglers have been taking advantage of easy access and great trout fishing along both the Toorongo and Loch Rivers. All of these streams are in great condition at the moment, with water flows and clarity suitable for whichever technique blows your hair back, be it bait, fly or spinner. The exception is the bigger Latrobe River, which still seems to be running a bit high and is unusually quiet.

Looking ahead into late summer and there’s likely to be more of the same top-shelf trout angling providing the weather holds – which it should. Larger terrestrials should be forming a greater part of the trout’s diet so there’s a clue for everyone. There’s no need to get too technical though. If you’re on the water in February you’ll almost certainly catch trout but you definitely won’t catch them from your lounge room. So put this mag down and get out there!

Bendigo-based angler Rod Luke has been taking advantage of some great angling on the Tanjil recently.