G'day, fishos. Well, it looks like Victorian Fisheries are certainly getting bang for their buck out on Hume Dam this year.
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They've been releasing a lot of trout over many years, but this year will go down as one of the best trout seasons, if not the best, in the past 50 years! The only other year I can remember coming close was 1982.
That season was a beauty too and was a direct result, I believe, of breeding from wild brown trout roe, which was brought across from Tassie and hatched at a private hatchery in Ballarat, if my memory serves me correctly.
These fish were purchased by the Murray Regional Anglers Clubs Association two or three years earlier and thrived, resulting in that great season and a couple of reasonable ones either side.
MRACA was a group of local angling clubs who banded together to create a voice that could fight the political fights in fishery circles, as well as doing a fantastic job of lobbying for releases of yellowbelly and cod into Hume. A few of the initial releases were actually done through fundraising by MRACA itself.
Maybe a few of the older readers may remember the "I Helped Put Cod in Lake Hume" car stickers we organised back in the day.
Anyhow, I digress, the trout we're catching now are obviously a culmination of the restocking program Vic Fisheries has been working at for many years.
Rising dam levels and the resulting abundance of tucker would be part of the reason this year has been so successful compared to others, but whatever the reason, I'm sure we all hope it continues! On that note, continue it does! Another 20,000 trout were released into Hume on Monday, with the much-appreciated help of volunteers.
Of those 20,000, there were 1000 18-month-old fish of catchable size, similar to the fish stocked into local waterways by Vic Fisheries during school holidays. These were only part of the 200,000 allocated for release into Hume this year. I know this season is far from over but let's also keep our fingers crossed for next season.
Hume at 97.3 per cent goes along its merry way, keeping fishos of all persuasions happy. Doesn't matter if you want to troll, fish with bait, lure or fly.
Doesn't matter if you chase reddies, trout, carp or yellas, everyone is in with a big chance of success at the moment and will be for a month or so yet.
It doesn't happen too often, but it's hard to find a fisho that isn't catching at least a fish of some kind out there.
Trout trollers might have to work a bit and put a bit of time in but some of the rewards are spectacular, with quite a few being landed over the 600mm mark - a few over 700mm. Tassies in the K-9 series are going really well, as are McGraths and similar divers.
Yellas are just starting to come in some numbers, although this bit of rain and cooler weather will probably push the main bite window back another week. Grubs, vibes trolling, and casting, seemed to produce a few for those chasing them last weekend, as did yabbies angled from the bank.
Some nice reddies are being trolled up on Halco "Crazy Deeps" and other divers, particularly if you run a plastic above, but most are still being flicked up on plastics, vibes or simply angling bait between 5 to 15 metres.
Dartmouth (81 per cent): fished well again this week and flatlining continues to be quite successful. Not a desperate need to get too deep as yet, although lead line has also produced quite a few too.
Those tassies are still doing the job in a variety of colours.
Streams: got another drink this week and, while a few fish are being picked up on lures, fly and bait, they really need to drop and clear a little more before we could class them as "good". They're fishable but tough going.
The wall: is a lot more comfortable to fish without those valves spraying away all day and there are a few more yellas starting to show up there as well.
Trout are still on the chew, but not quite as much as they have been. With the water dropping slightly, you'd expect a few more yellas to show up in the Howlong/Corowa areas too!
Blowering (96 per cent): continues to improve for reddie fishos, with some reasonable fish about. Yellas are also showing up in the shallows, as is the cod, but you'll have to work for them. Smaller blades and vibes are working well.
Snowy Lakes: are looking good and fishing ok but remain off limits due to COVID restrictions.
Hopefully, they'll open up in the not-too-distant future, although it's pretty hard to go past the fishing we have locally at the moment anyway.
Good luck if you're heading out this weekend.
Send your fishing photos and details to 0475 953 605.
