Trelly's Weekly Fishing Report - February 20, 2026
by Trellys 20 Feb 08:35 UTC
20 February 2026
Redfin © Trelly
As I type there is some half decent rain in the forecast, 2 lots of rain in fact. Will it arrive? I will believe it when I see it. Fingers crossed for a good soaking but it is disheartening when the rain disappears off the forecast a day before it is due.
This week the VFA (Victorian Fisheries Authority) announced that they will be holding their annual Arcadia Fish Hatchery open day on Saturday 21st March from 9am to 4pm. This is a free family event and is always a lot of fun.
You can take the kids fishing in the stocked fish out dam, take a tour of the fish hatchery and see how it all works, play in the kids park, get a selfie with the giant Murray cod or just come and say g'day. There are many other activities on offer as well.
I will be there all day just mingling with people and talking fishing. It's going to be a great day.
Now to the fishing:
Lake William Hovell
I've had a lot of fun fishing at Lake William Hovell lately. I have been up there several times in recent weeks and have caught redfin each time. Worth noting is that all the fish have been small. I have not managed to catch one worth keeping.
It's fun and relaxing up there, and a great way to escape the heat but it isn't the place to go if you are after a feed of redfin at the moment. That place is Lake Hume.
Lake Hume
Lake Hume has been fishing very well for redfin. Most fish that have been caught from the bank have been quite small, but those fishing from a boat have been catching some larger fish to around 30cm.
It's amazing how only 12 months ago redfin were almost non-existent in Lake Hume and now they are dominating people's catches. This is EXCELLENT news for anglers.
Irrigation Channels
(Redfin in Waranga Western Channel and 68cm Murray cod caught in Main Eastern Channel near Shepparton on spinnerbait targeting yellowbelly)
It's amazing how the redfin have gone from being almost mythical in Lake Hume this time last year, to dominating fishing reports this year.
Ovens River
The ovens River has been fishing very slowly since around Christmas time. It has been a bit hit and miss, but mostly miss for many anglers.
Some anglers have been catching fish but the majority of reports that I have heard have been quite poor, and that includes my own report.
Yesterday after, I went kayak fishing on the lower Ovens River with my friend Sonny. We fished for around 3 and a half hours, and between us caught just 1 fish. I caught a 40cm Murray cod on a n orange OneWell Sumo diving lure and that was it.
Lake Nillahcootie
Last week while fishing for Yellowbelly at Lake Nillahcootie I placed a 360 degree camera under water for an hour and a half. What I saw shocked me! Large schools of small redfin.
So this week I went back targeting those redfin, and didn't catch a single one. I fished in that same spot with tiny Strike Tiger Micro Minnow soft plastics for an hour and a half and didn't catch a single thing. Those small soft plastics are dynamite on small redfin.
Towards the end of the day I moved around to another bank further up the lake. Casting slightly larger soft plastics and vibes, I had a few strikes but the fish just wouldn't hook up.
When I did finally hook up, the fish was truly enormous and after a 30 second fight, it just got off. I was heartbroken.