The Werribee River by Brenton Hodges

Winding its way through the picturesque townships of Ballan and Bacchus Marsh, the upper reaches of the Werribee River are little more than a series of pools linked by a small creek. The river continues its journey through Melton Reservoir, until it widens considerably as it makes its way through Werribee, behind the open range zoo and the golf course, eventually emptying into Port Phillip Bay at Werribee South.

A TOUCH OF SENTIMENT

I caught my first fish as a five year old, a small redfin taken from the banks of the Werribee River while fishing with my father Mike and brother Brad. During the same year I caught my first bream, again while fishing the Werribee River and some twenty years later I took my first bream on a soft plastic lure at the same location.

I grew up in Werribee and thought it was time to pay tribute to a river that rarely attracts the attention it deserves. As teenagers, Brad and I spent every spare moment developing our skills on the banks of our local waterway and it now serves as our training ground where we prepare for tournament fishing. Although we have recently graduated to the Maribyrnong and Yarra rivers in and around metropolitan Melbourne, it still feels special to return to our home water, a place that helped mould and shape us as anglers.