Well it sure has been a long, hot summer here in the Wimmera region with record temperatures, wild fires and barely a drop of rain. Our remaining waters remain very low and badly in need of some good inflows or at least a few showers to freshen things up a bit.

The Wimmera River is now in a very bad way with many sections dry and many of the remaining waterholes getting very salty and stagnant. The river around Horsham is the lowest I have ever seen it with only a handful of decent fishing areas left. Without some rain over the next few months there is a very good chance we will see the river run dry this year.

Let’s hope that this run-off season all of the Wimmera’s natural flow is allowed to run down the river and not be diverted to run into Taylors lake and the unusable Pine Lake, which is what happened last spring.

Despite the very low water there has been some good fishing had at Horsham Weir, Riverside and at the Big Water. Catfish, golden perch, carp, redfin and the odd Murray cod have been taken with the best fishing to be had in the late afternoons and evenings.

Baitfishing with worms, yabbies and peeled yabby tail has been best with catfish and golden perch being fairly easy to catch once a good area of water has been found. Lures and spinnerbaits cast at the snags have also accounted for some goldens, some of which have been taken to around the 3kg mark.

With the river doing it so tough at the moment catch and release fishing is really the only sensible option here if we are to have good fishing in coming seasons.

The redfin fishing remains very good with areas below Rocklands, Fulham Reserve and at Cherrypool producing good bags of fish in the early mornings and late afternoons. Some of these redfin have been well over the kilo mark but most are 400-600g and good fun on light gear. Most anglers just walk the banks casting small spinners and minnow lures looking for a school of fish. Small soft plastics twitched around the snags and weeds can also be dynamite here at times, often when nothing else seems to be working.

Baitfishing with worms and small yabbies has been productive as well and can also turn up a few river blackfish, tench and goldfish carp. I like to fish using a bubble float as the bottom is often very snaggy in the better spots.

With the onset of some cooler and more settled autumn weather the trout and redfin fishing has been on the improve.

Some nice redfin around 500g to 1kg have been caught lately along with browns and rainbows up to 1kg. A few very large brown trout over 3kg have also been showing up. Weed has made trolling very difficult but drifting and casting small spinners, minnow lures and soft plastics have been working very well.

The lake is still very low but small boats can be launched with care at the south shore launching area. I would expect the fishing to remain very good as we head toward the cooler months.

This lake is still very low and hard to fish at most areas with deep mud and abundant weed growth but there has been some good fishing to be had around the north west corner where it is a bit deeper and the bank is firmer.

Anglers fishing from the shore are taking a golden perch averaging around 1kg but better fish are getting up to 2.5kg, redfin to 500g, a few Murray cod to 70cm and a few carp.

Baitfishing with worms, gudgeon and yabbies has been good but most fish are being caught walking the banks casting spinners and small lures. I have been having a lot of fun catching and releasing many goldens that have shown a liking for the good old reliable Hogback Spinners. A few Murray cod have also been hitting spinnerbaits but they have been very few and far between.

The good fishing continues with action coming to boat and shore based anglers. Trolling from electric powered boats is the most productive method here with small minnows and winged lures doing very well on most days. Baitfishing with mudeye and worms has also been doing very well.

Redfin are the main fish being caught in good numbers and average 300-500g. The rainbow trout continue to do well and are mostly around 800g to 1kg but a few larger trout to nearly 2kg have been showing up in catches lately, providing some very entertaining and acrobatic displays.

The trout have often been moving close into shore early in the mornings and in the evenings chasing minnows, which has provided some great visual fishing for lure casters and fly anglers. Best flies have been Mrs Simpsons and Matukas fished from the shore to cruising fish.