Fishing Report NE Victoria

Well, it’s unmistakeable! It really is a bait angler’s paradise up here at the moment. All alpine region rivers and streams are running high and fast and offering excellent conditions for bait fishing and also lures. Water clarity was affected following heavy rain last Sunday and Monday, but is improving by the hour.

By the way, in describing the rivers as running high, please be aware that “high” is not the same “high’ that it used to be: then, rivers that breached their banks in spring were called “high”. Now they only reach about two-thirds of that volume to be considered “high”, thanks to global warming.

Bogong High Plains: Rocky Valley and Pretty Valley reservoirs at Falls Creek remain snowbound and will be unavailable for fishing for a while yet. The snow skiing season ends this weekend so access for fishing should improve quickly, especially when the Bogong High Plains Road is reopened between Falls Creek and Anglers Rest.

Lake Guy: Lake Guy at Bogong Alpine Village is low and hardly worth fishing at the moment. The inflow streams are producing many brown trout to 400 grams on worms.

Mt Beauty Pondage: The pondage at Mt Beauty is full and fishing is excellent, with rainbow trout to 750 grams being taken on worms drifted under a bubble float and trout-patterned rapala lures, according to reports. The outflow into the Kiewa River is running hard and should hold brown trout to around 1.5 kilograms, as is usual at this time of year. The most successful anglers fish at or near the bottom with heavy sinkers and large bunches of worms that are cast into any quiet water available, especially glides, eddy’s and backflows.

Kiewa River: The Kiewa River from Mt Beauty through Tawonga to Mongans Bridge is running high and a bit coloured today but will settle down by the weekend if it doesn’t rain. Brown trout to 700 grams and rainbows to 900 grams have been caught in good numbers since the opening weekend, all on worms according to reports.

Ovens River: The Ovens River from Germantown to Porepunkah is high and running fast with some colour in the water today, but clearing. Many brown trout to 450 grams are on offer this week and anglers are doing well fishing the quieter sections, away from the current, according to reports.

Lake Catani: Lake Catani at Mt Buffalo is at 100% capacity with good fishing on offer this week. Trout to 450 grams are plentiful and responding to wet flies and lures that are fished at mid-depth or deeper, according to reports. Take some warm clothing when fishing this water as the temperature can drop suddenly at times.

Upper Mitta Mitta River: The upper Mitta Mitta River from above Anglers Rest to Benambra is running high and a bit coloured after heavy rains, but should clear up by the weekend. Many brown trout to 1.5 kilograms have been caught in recent weeks, most taken on drifted worms and a few on lures, according to reports.

Bundara River: The Bundara River at Anglers Rest is running quite high and clear, according to reports. Good fishing results are a feature of the Bundara at this time of year although I have no information regarding catches this week.

Cobungra River: The Cobungra River is also running high with a bit of colour in it this week and fishing is excellent above the Blue Duck Hotel, according to reports. Most fish are brown trout and they are being caught on drifted worms.

Victoria River: The Victoria River at Dinner Plain is running high and fast, with lots of colour at the moment. Brown trout to 1.5 kilograms and larger are caught on big bunches of drifted worms when the river is high. Most fish are taken from under or close to the bank and put up a strong fight when caught, with many break-offs a feature for anglers who are inexperienced at controlling very large trout on a short fishing line.

Lower Mitta Mitta River: The lower Mitta Mitta River from Mitta Mitta to Eskdale is running at 200 megalites a day, with excellent fishing conditions although safe wading in the current is a problem. Many brown trout and numbers of rainbows have been caught in recent days on drifted worms and lures fished down deep, according to reports.

Snowy Creek: The Snowy Creek at Granite Flat is running high and a bit coloured this week with brown trout to 550 grams taken on worms from many parts of the creek in recent days. Most fish tend to be down deep and a rig of two or three split shot on a 3 kilogram b/s line about 100mm above the hook is finding the fish, according to reports.