Fantastic to see so many anglers getting out and about over the past couple of weeks and also the quality of fish being caught.

All methods, whether it be using lure or bait, have been producing good fish. Walking the river banks around town can also be very rewarding.

Recently I was asked by a friend to show him how I fish with surface lures, so we decided to go down to McLean Beach after work and cast from the river’s edge.

After about 20 minutes of casting my favourite 120mm Bunji surface lure around, the silence of the night was interrupted by an all mighty explosion and after a quick tussle a solid cod of 78cm was landed.

Surface fishing isn’t for the faint hearted, it doesn’t matter how many fish you’ve caught you still get the fright of your life when these mighty cod strike.

It’s the unexpected strike whether it be as soon as your lure hits the water or just beside the boat, and once you’ve experienced it you’ll be hooked for life.

TIP: Cast your surface lure toward your target and let it sit for five seconds, give it a few twitches and retrieve it slowly, pausing a couple of times on the way back, repeat many times, be patient and in time you’ll be rewarded.

My ‘go to’ lure is the 120mm Jointed Bunji Surface Lure, which you can buy through the Bunji Lures Facebook page, alternatively check out our local tackle stores who also have a great range of lures.

Also walking the banks through the Willoughby’s Beach area can be worth a try, casting alongside the willows and the numerous snags that lay about.

The Four Post area is still fishing well with a few of the local lads getting amongst the cod.

Pat Westcott, Charlie Waters, Tom McCallum, Jai Ezard and Kai Hillier caught nine cod between them, the biggest being 75cm.

Leigh Westcott was also lucky enough to finally get among the fish with a healthy 58cm cod caught casting into the timber in the same area.

Down the river Tim ‘Wiggie’ Maher hooked in to some solid fish, the biggest being 84cm caught on his trusty Basko lures, and a ripper 73cm cod off the surface. Well done Wiggie.

Michael Buchanan also landed nice 85cm cod in the middle of town after dark using bait.

Shane and Lee Mann had a great afternoon out with Shane catching a few solid cod using a 90mm AC Invader with the biggest cod coming in at 96cm followed with a 67cm and a 51cm cod. Well done Team Mann.

It just goes to show you don’t need to go far from town to catch some quality fish.

Down to Benarca Bend where Scott and Darcy Nilsson teamed up with Darren ‘Bishy’ Bish to catch a few smaller cod trolling lures. It’s great to see young Darcy showing his old man hows it’s done.

The Colligen Creek is also worth a try with reports of some nice cod up to 75cm being caught using yabbies and some small cod caught trolling lures around the willows.

The Wakool River is still on fire with the Way family proving you don’t need deep water to catch quality fish.

Steve, Matt, Harry and Tom Way all got amongst the fish with Tom nailing his personal best cod of 68cm on an Oargee Lure and a couple of fish up to 65cm, Stevo catching a 69cm on a Predator lure and Matt ‘Milky’ Way showing the others how it’s done by catching a huge 90cm cod off the surface using a 110mm red and black Kingfisher mantis.

The Billabong is still producing the odd yellowbelly and cod on bait, with the best bait being shrimp and worm cocktail.

The weather is looking great for the Easter weekend with daytime temperatures hovering around high 20s and nights around the mid teens, this should make for a fantastic weekend.

If you see or suspect illegal fishing, please call 13FISH (13 3474).

Make the call and make the difference.