Episode 409: Lake Hume Yellowbelly With Jake Hill

Jake’s Lake Hume Yellowbelly Fishing Tips

• There are more oversized yellas in Lake Hume than most people realise – it’s a bit of a local secret in terms of it’s productivity on big fish.
• Early in the season Jake likes to focus his attention on the grassy banks in bays and short arms of the lake, where he’ll work out to 6m or so in depth. The yellowbelly seem to congregate in these areas looking for warmer water as the air temps rise and warm the shallows. As the season progresses they move onto steeper, rocky banks
• Lake Hume is very accessible if you put your boat in around the mid sections at the Bethanga Bridge you can get to most parts of the lake easily. Even smaller embayment’s that only extend a few hundred metres from the main basin are worth fishing.
• A good strategy is to work the rocky banks, but especially those that have fallen timber on them. Even just the odd fallen tree here and there is beneficial, but the more timber the better. Yellowbelly move along rocky banks feeding and then retire to the timber to rest up. It’s worth peppering the timber as well as the rocky sections between the trees.
• The first few hot days in September and October are prime times to fish for yellowbelly in Lake Hume. Jake likes clear, sunny, winless days and is happy to fish right through the daylight hours, although the very last light of the day is always a time when a hot bite is likely. Windy days might not affect the fish too much but they make it difficult to get the lures where you need them.
• Any time the water level s falling even slightly the fishing is going to be tough. If the water levels are rising the fishing is generally much easier.
• Jake will use sonar to identify whether there are fish around. He’s not usually targeting specific fish that show on the sounder but as long as there are fish showing he knows there is a school around.
• Land based fishing is also possible, especially around the Bethanga Bridge area or the river immediately below the dam wall.
• If you’re having a tough day, slow down the lures, use the lightest lures possible and let the lure.

Jake’s Yellowbelly Fishing Tackle

• A 7’, 2-5kg Millerod Finesse Freak spin rod coupled with a TD Sol reel in the 2000-2500 size and 10-12 lb braided line with a 10-12 lb fluorocarbon leader.

Jake’s Lake Hume Yellowbelly Lures

• Berkley gulp grubs in black colour and up to 60mm in size are definitely worth having in the boat. These are fished when the yellas are holding in vertical timber. Fish them on the lightest jig head you can get away with and 1/8-1/6 jig head. Sink the lure as close as possible to the trunk of a standing tree until it reaches the bottom, then simply slow roll them back up. The slower the better.
• The Ecogear ZX blade in 40mm size with assist hooks is another great yellowbelly lure when the fish are shut down or if you prefer numbers over quality of fish. They’re great in the grassy bays an areas where creeks come into the lake, cast well and are easy to use. Position the boat so that you’re casting parallel to the bank and work the lure along the same depth contours with 30cm lifts of the rod tip followed by letting the lure sink back down and sit on the bottom, sometimes for up to 30 seconds. Yellowbelly will often pick the lure up while it’s sitting stationary on the lake bed. A little S-Factor attractant can make all the difference.
• The Zerek Fish Trap in 95mm size is a fairly large lure for yellas, but is a great option on deeper water, across grassy banks or fished vertically beneath the transducer when a fish appears on your sounder. The Fishtrap is used more aggressively than the blade, often using the shake and bake technique to get an aggressive vibration whilst keeping the lure close to the bottom.