So the trout season has come to a close and what a finish to the season it was. With the sudden cold change, a good drop of rain was expected, however we only received a drop here and there. This didn’t stop the trout moving up the rivers though.

The Morwell River fished exceptionally well up high before the closed season commenced. The fish weren’t huge, mostly around the usual 25cm mark, but they were caught in huge numbers. Lures were definitely the most productive. Celtas and Bangtails were the best.

Traralgon Creek has had a low flow for a while now. Flyfishers using lightweight nymphs were doing well up high. No.1 Celtas were also working in this low water situation. There was a slightly better flow downstream, which attracted anglers. There have also been large numbers of redfin caught out of the creek lately.

In early June, there were some large fish, up to 4 pounds, taken out of the Thomson catchment. Tassie devils were the lure of choice for most anglers although there did not appear to be any ‘hot’ colours.

The Macalister catchment remained too low to fish. I did not hear any favourable reports before the closed season commenced.

The bass in Lake Glenmaggie are doing well. The latest DPI Fisheries surveys are showing phenomenal growth rates. The fish caught have had a total length of 30cm. These bass are probably from the March 2002 stocking. These growth rates are so good that Fisheries are comparing them to the growth rates of Queensland bass, thought to grow much faster in the warmer climate. This is a great sign and with some care and good regulations we may all be enjoying a top bass fishery soon. I certainly hope so!

Blue Rock has been fishing reasonably with trout caught up the Tanjil arm in amongst the timber. Further upstream, well up the Tanjil arm, the flyfishers are also doing very well. Some good browns and small rainbows have been taken on bead head nymphs and Mrs Simpsons. Remember that the stretch of Tanjil River from the Blue Rock wall downstream to Lake Narracan is classified as a tailrace fishery so you can’t have a rod and reel in your possession within 50 metres of this stretch during the trout closed season.

The 2005 DPI Fisheries stocking program has also commenced down our way. Brown and rainbow trout will be stocked into Blue Rock, Lake Glenmaggie and Lake Narracan. The smaller waters such as Kunai Lake in Morwell and Lake Hyland in Churchill have already been stocked with rainbow trout for the 2nd semester school holidays.

Even though the trout closed season has commenced in rivers, we can still fish for trout in lakes and impoundments. So all of the waters listed above can still be fished. Check your Recreational Fishing Guide 2004/2005 for all the details.

For more information about the fishing in central Gippsland, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on (03) 5174 8544.