Back in the 60s and 70s when I was a kid I would catch the old railmoter at Lilydale and head out for a days fishing at Yarra Glen, Tarrawarra or Healesville. In those days every bend on the Yarra had a beach of almost pure white sand - they were so bright you could spot them in the distance from the train. Sadly these days the beaches for the most part are now covered in mud. I've talked with Davo about it and he has similar memories to me from those days.
I read the recent posts about how hard it is to catch redfin in the Yarra these days. Forty years ago 70% of the catch during the day were redfin which were abundant in the river and the lagoons. There were good ones around too with a six pounder being caught in front of the Yarra Glen railway station. Also common were roach with fair numbers of brown trout and the odd Macquarie perch and blackfish. Eels were abundant if fishing at night in the warm months.
Anyhow, yesterday I ventured out to Yarra Glen to relive some of memories using some pretty light tackle (3 kg line). It is easy to forget just how beautiful the Yarra Valley is:
After a bit of walking I found the remains of one old sand bank - only a shadow of what they were like but it will give you some idea:
After a while I extracted one of these pests and two more followed soon after:
Then a couple of small redfin:
The crouch reel got into the act with this carp:
Next in the passing parade were three maccas around 20 cm long:
Followed by this good one well over 30 cm:
Then the eels came out to play and I gave it away and I headed out in the twilight:
Tally for three hours fishing was 4 carp, 4 maccas, 2 redfin, 3 eels plus a few fish which the hooks pulled out of.
A great session with many memories from the past relived.
Best Wishes
Truedogz
Yarra Glen
- davek
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Re: Yarra Glen
Good report Will, brings back good memories, cheers davo. :a_goodjob: :nicefish:
It's an exhilarating feeling catching a fish
But it's an even better feeling releasing them
But it's an even better feeling releasing them
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- Bluefin
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- ChrisD
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Re: Yarra Glen
Well done Mate. Sounds like a good session was had.
With this warm weather and reduced water flow, the Yarra in the Yarra Valley is producing really well at present.
River access can be dificult but if you put in some effort to look for the spots , as you did, the reults are rewarding.
With this warm weather and reduced water flow, the Yarra in the Yarra Valley is producing really well at present.
River access can be dificult but if you put in some effort to look for the spots , as you did, the reults are rewarding.
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Re: Yarra Glen
It's funny TD, I was just thinking about Yarra Glen this week.
I used to fish that stretch a lot back in the early '70's and there were some cracking fish to be had there.
It's good to see that the Maccas are still there. Used to love catching them. There were some great spots just behind the old tin exhibitors sheds in the showgrounds that would nearly always produce a few maccas. I don't even know if the old sheds are even there now.
The big redfin were good fishing too. They were suckers for a small roach put out as a live bait in the deeper pools.
Thanks for bringing back some great memories.
:thumbsup:
I used to fish that stretch a lot back in the early '70's and there were some cracking fish to be had there.
It's good to see that the Maccas are still there. Used to love catching them. There were some great spots just behind the old tin exhibitors sheds in the showgrounds that would nearly always produce a few maccas. I don't even know if the old sheds are even there now.
The big redfin were good fishing too. They were suckers for a small roach put out as a live bait in the deeper pools.
Thanks for bringing back some great memories.
:thumbsup:
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Re: Yarra Glen
Great report mate, and seems like a great day. you paint quite a picture of what the yarra used to be.
- Boonanza
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Re: Yarra Glen
Nice work mate :thumbsup:
A smart person knows what to say. A wise person knows whether to say it.