Ballarat anglers have been rewarded for their efforts. The trout season kicked off with a bang as anglers travelled far and wide to wet a line, with excellent results.

Members from the Ballarat Flyfishers Club mostly fished down in the Western District at lakes Purrumbete and Bullen Merri. Bryan Nygaard, fishing from a boat at Purrumbete, caught excellent brown trout over 2.3kg using mudeyes suspended under a bubble float at depths varying from 1.5-3m.

Shane Jeffrey, another club member also fishing from a boat, caught two lovely rainbows of nearly 2kg, once again fishing with mudeyes suspended under a bubble float. Shane and Russel Eldridge managed to also catch a lovely bag of redfin using Baltic Bobbers in 28m of water.

Boat access is limited at Purrumbete, with the water level being too low for the ramp at the caravan park. Access can only be gained through private property.

Land-based anglers have had excellent results, capturing both rainbow and brown trout using all forms of angling methods.

Nearby at Lake Bullen Merri, young Callum McKay fished with dad Garry and uncle Mick, capturing a magnificently conditioned rainbow trout weighing over 2.7kg. Callum (only 8 years of age) caught the rainbow on green PowerBait fished on the bottom. He did everything by himself, including casting out the line and winding in the trout. Dad only netted the fish for him, and says you couldn’t keep the smile off Callum’s face.

A group of members from the Ballarat Anglers Club ventured up to Lake Eildon to fish the Jerusalem Arm. Excellent catches were recorded for the weekend, with all trout caught by anglers trolling lures behind the boat. Notable catches included those by Brendan Calleja (2.94kg brown trout), Paul Ballinger (2.35kg trout) and Ian Gull (2.16kg trout).

In the Ballarat area, Keith Ridsdale fished Jubilee Lake at Daylesford, catching a lovely rainbow trout of 1.25kg on mudeye suspended under a bubble float. Keith said there were plenty of fish moving as there has been a recent stocking of large trout up to 4kg.

Other waters in the district that will be worth a look as the weather warms up in the coming months include Tullaroop and Cairn Curran reservoirs over near Maryborough and, one of my favourites, Lake Fyans at the foot of the Grampians.

Callum McKay with a rainbow trout from Lake Bullen Merri that weighed a smidge over 2.7kg (photo: Garry McKay).