Despite the trout closed season on the rivers there’s always a shining light up at Eildon and it takes the form of the Eildon pondage. There have been some big trout landed and there ought to be plenty more throughout the winter months.

The pondage is fishing extremely well to all methods for stocked brown trout and rainbow trout. They’ve ranged between 2lb and 12lb.

Bait anglers are having success using maggots and PowerBait in the pink and orange colours, while lure fishermen are taking large trout on Tasmanian Devil lures.

Fly fishermen are also taking a few trout when searching the water with wet flies like size 10/8 Woolly Buggers in olive green, black and orange or Matukas in olive green and grey. The best fishing area has been along the Bourke Street shoreline.

These big trout captures will continue throughout the next month especially if the pondage drops to a low level.

With Lake Eildon at 26%, boat anglers downrigging Rapalas and Tasmanian Devils in black/gold and pink are taking nice trout from 1lb to 4lb.

The main arm of the lake has been the best area with the early morning most productive.

The coming month will see boat anglers continue to capitalise by downrigging. Big winter trout a real possibility!

Although the trout closed season is now underway, the fishing on the Goulburn in early June prior to the closure was fairly quiet. Insect hatches were small and patchy. Surface feeding trout were few and far between. On my last trip to the river for the season I saw a few trout rise but they didn’t show themselves again.

There has been the odd report of trout taken to 1lb on weighted nymphs but even this method of fishing was been slow.

Bait fishermen continued to take the odd trout on worms and PowerBait right up until the final whistle. Gilmore’s Bridge was the best area.

In early June, the Rubicon was flowing low and very cold. As a result insect hatches were not occurring. Nymph patterns worked through the fast water leading into the deeper pools produced the odd trout, but a lot of perseverance was needed.

Bait fishing with earthworms and scrubworms was much the same – minor results for a lot of effort.

The odd report suggested that bait anglers took small trout on scrubworms and maggots in the lower section of the river above the Breakaway before the closed season commenced.

In the Buxton area, flyfishers took the odd trout on weighted nymphs patterns.

The Tallarook General Store reported a few brown trout and small Macquarie perch taken in the King Parrot Creek on earthworms and scrubbies in early June. They also suggested that the Goulburn River, at Horseshoe Bend near Seymour, produced better-sized trout up to 2lb for bait anglers.