Welcome to the Boats & More Fishing Report! Our very own Terry Phillips and Mike Scandolera have all the news and latest updates on how to get the best catch in your local area. Terry also got a chance to be part of filming for an episode of Fishing with Mates which will be airing soon, read all about it below!

Fishing with Mates…

I spent two days fishing with Al McGlashan shooting an episode for his next season of Fishing with Mates.

We were meant to be fishing in Lake Mulwala – but the wind and rain had other ideas for us.

We spent about three hours getting blown all over the lake, which made it near impossible to fish – or film for that matter.

We made the call to head up to the top of the lake and fish Bundalong in amongst the trees to get out of the wind.

We casted up a couple of cod from in under some willow trees in the first hour on spinner baits and then did it real tough for the remainder off that day.

The next morning was an early start and the wind was still blowing a gail ,so we decided to head further up the Ovens River out of the wind and away from all the other boat traffic.

This decision paid off as we found a few fish in the shadows casting spinner baits. We had one of the fish coming in at 80cm and the other between 55 to70cm, making for a great day out.

It was an amazing experience seeing how they put fishing shows together and I a great laugh with Al – he’s a real character!

Below is a full breakdown of what’s happening across all the local areas and channels for anglers.

Local Area

Since the season opened, targeting cod has been the main focus in the Shepparton area. There were 500 attendees at the 2018 Codference at Eastbank Shepparton, showing how popular targeting cod has become!

Since the season opened in Goulburn River, catch reports have been impressive. There are good reports of cod taken off the surface on all types of surface lures. If targeting natives on lures, whether it be in channels or the rivers, a wide variety of lures have been successful including Jackalls (TN range), Stumpjumpers and spinner baits.

Local Channels

Although most angler activity has been focused on the Goulburn River since cod season opened, the channels are still definitely worth a try.

There may be prevalent levels of cod and yella in some areas, whilst redfin may be more prominent in other areas.

If the water clarity becomes dirty due to rain, bait may be the better option. Worms, yabbies, shrimp and cheese will work fine. Lures will work on all of the mentioned species if water clarity is good. It’s worth trying after dark as well and going ‘nocturnal’ is a great way to fish, whilst avoiding the heat of the day.

Goulburn River between Nagambie and Shepparton

When it comes to chasing cod off the surface, there’s been a lot of good fishing reported in this area. Whilst the area can be hit and miss, it’s important to get out there and have a go! It’s the only way you’ll increase your chances of getting a fish.

Many experienced anglers like to head out in unsettled weather, particularly at dusk and dawn. Driving lures and bait work well.

Eildon Area

For anglers looking to pick up their quota of large rainbows, Eildon pondage is still resulting in good gains, despite the strike rate slowing down. Persistence is certainly needed and mixing it up will help result in success.

The best spots to target at the moment are the pondage Caravan Park, Cemetery Drive, the footy oval, Bourke Street and Riverside Drive if the flowing is not too hard.

For catching rainbows, the most successful bait has been orange powder but chunky cheese and lemon twist are also working. For live bait, scrubbies are working well in the pondage.

Environmental flows started on September 24th and the morning height has been at the 60% mark, however this is expected to fluctuate wildly.

The Goulburn River is still a good spot for catching large rainbows, with several being caught on motor oil soft plastics, worms, power bait, small hard bodies, gold Celta type lures and maggots, sometimes as large as 7.5kgs.

There are a few reports on Murray cod up to 110cm being caught near the Goulburn arm in the lake on large yabbies. Towards Jerusalem Creek, the main arm and Wilson’s inlet large surface lures, star jumpers and swim baits have resulted in some very large cod catches.

Brown trout are biting brighter coloured Tassie Devils and are also interested in stump jumpers. Near power lines, yellow belly are favouring read and black spinner baits.

The Rubicon, Acheron and Stevenson Rivers have seen success with caddis and beetle patterns, whereas at the big river scrubbies and fluoro Vibrax spinners are the way to go.

Murray River

The water clarity has been good thanks to the high river flows, however this is set to change thanks to the recent rain and water coming down the Ovens River.

Healthy numbers of cod in the 35-55cm range have been caught on bait, with the occasional larger sized fish successfully caught on lures.

Trolling lures are the way to go and will help you strike successfully, as with the high flows it can be difficult to cast and drift with the current.

There are some very large fish being caught early in the season, it’s a mixed bag so surface lures are always worth a shot.

Port Phillip/Clifton Springs

There’s been snappers up to four kilos caught on the edge of the channels, with 5 to 6 inch gulp plastic casting. The bait seems to go be going well during a slack tide around sunset or sunrise.

Whiting and squid were around the weed beds in 4 to 6 metres of water.