We are well into the new year and at last we have some great summer weather to kick-start the year; warm, sunny and not too windy.
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Great for holidaymakers to go to the water, dams, rivers and the seaside.
With this has also come an increase in drownings, as if one goes with the other.
Swimming and boating, so how well do we know how to survive in the water? Like me, we grow up learning to swim, but it seems people of today for some reason or another are not safe around water.
For a start, common sense is an important thing to have when boating or fishing from the shore.
If you are like me, you are not a strong swimmer as age catches up with you so you become water smart.
The same applies when fishing from the bank. Be smart. It is not dumb to wear a life preserver even if you can swim, but if you are not a swimmer it is not too late to learn.
Learn-to-swim programs are held for people of all ages. Contact your local council and staff can direct you to the right place to learn.
The number of drownings and near-fatalities so far this year is way above the norm, so let me say once again, be water smart when either boating or fishing from the bank.
Around our region, I heard that there were a couple of large cod caught in the Broken River just below Gowangardie Weir.
Both fish were around the one-metre mark and were released back.
The Broken, while flooded, did not suffer anywhere as badly as the Murray or Goulburn rivers.
It is fishing reasonably well between Benalla and Shepparton.
Best method has been by anglers using bait such as yabbies, worms, grubs, cheese and chicken as well as shrimp.
So why not give the Broken a go. Good luck.
The word on fishing the Goulburn has been patchy.
Those that are having good luck have been using bait, fish the backwater and use as little weight as possible. The same goes for the Murray River.
You can get some good results in Mulwala and the Ovens where it runs into Mulwala.
Still high on the list of spots to fish is Lake Eildon.
It is crowded with holidaymakers but is still big enough to provide some good fishing spots. At the present you can catch cod, yellowbelly, redfin and the occasional trout.
Best times are early mornings and best locations are the river arms and the deep water around the wall and the boat harbour.
Redfin are also being caught at Waranga Basin as well as Lake Hume which is possibly the best spot in the state for redfin and has been for the past couple of years.
Early morning is the best time to fish Lake Dartmouth for trout. They will be on the surface feeding until around 9am or 10am. Then they will go deeper in the water as the day heats up.
There is one thing anglers should be wary of and that is the presence of snakes, normally around at this time of year.
But the recent floods have increased their numbers and while tiger snakes are from around the water, the past couple of years has seen a dramatic increase in eastern brown snakes, possibly the most dangerous snake in our region.
They can be found in residential areas as well as in the bush.
Take care and it is smart to know how to treat snake bites.
It is time to take a look at saltwater fishing and Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff said that in the bay and off the shore outside the heads, snapper fishing was as good as it had ever been. He was catching plenty of good pinky-sized fish on bait and even on soft plastics.
Rod said he was also catching salmon, some kingfish, flathead and King George whiting inside the heads around Swan Bay and off Point Nepean.
Rod said it was a similar story in Western Port off Hastings and along the rubble bed of the shipping lanes as well as off the steel works and the submarine for snapper and whiting along the shallow grass beds.
Flathead and gummy shark were biting around the islands around Lady Barron at Flinders Island, according to James Luddington, north of the border while reef fish were still biting along the inshore reefs at Eden and Narooma.
Both John Liddell and Graham Cowley said the water currents were still too cold for game fishing. Graham said that only a few signs of tuna were seen off the shelf at Montague Island with most of the big fish being north of Batemans Bay.
So all in all, stay safe, learn the rules in regards to safety gear, and wear a life vest when required.
Do the COVID things and good luck with your fishing.