Trout firing up at Bolac

TROUT ABOUT: Dylan Pace catches a good one at Hopkins River.

By Adam Van der Lugt

This week saw the trout fishing all over the region fire up with the cold weather.

Lake Bolac is back on the radar with numerous reports of rainbow trout pushing 4kg being banked.

Powerbait has always been productive at Lake Bolac and this recent bite has been no exception with anglers doing well using sherbet and fluro orange.

Lake Purrumbete produced big brown trout for anglers casting bent minnows around the weed beds.

Motoring slowly around the weed to the right of the boat ramp while casting netted trout about 2kg.

Trolling lures up and down the east side of the lake also saw trout caught, along with good numbers of redfin.

Hopkins River in Warrnambool hosted great river fishing for trout now that it is exempt from trout season closure.

Casting lures such as the classic Rapala F7 in spotted dog and bassday sugar minnows saw anglers land a number of fish both above and below the falls.

The Aire River fished well for Bream this week.

Bait anglers using small freshwater yabbies and scrubworms caught bream around the camp ground while one lure angler reported catching bream to 35cm by casting motor oil grubs hard against the river edges from his boat.

Australian salmon were caught along the coast by anglers casting metal lures anywhere from Moggs Creek to Apollo Bay with one angler reporting catching his bag limit from the sand out the front of Pisces Caravan Park.

Squid and whiting remained the target for anglers fishing out of Clifton Springs.

Casting size 3.5 jigs in 3m to 4m over the weed beds saw squid caught while the whiting responded well to pippie as bait in 5m to 6m.

Parents with kids on school holidays can take advantage of the recent trout stockings in small suburban waterways.

St Augustines water hole in Highton received a few hundred rainbow trout ready to be caught.

Powerbait and garden worms are great bait options while casting small celtas should also work well.