Victoria and Tasmania are blessed with plenty of freshwater lakes, many of which are stocked annually with trout or contain wild populations that breed in tributaries during the cooler months.
Assuming you have a boat or kayak, trolling is a great way to catch these lake fish.
As a teenager in the 90’s, my trout trolling was done from a second-hand 12ft Savage tinnie that dad had bought for $400 and a 9.9hp Johnson two-stroke outboard. It wasn’t pretty by today’s standards, but we caught plenty of fish flat-lining from the likes of Eildon, Modewarre, Toolondo and Murdeduke.
These days I’m in a much more comfortable 4.35m SeaJay; padded seats, flat floor, storage compartments and wide gunwales to mount accessories, such as rod holders. They’re all important features for a long day’s trout trolling. It’s powered by a four stroke 40hp Yamaha; tiller steer for maximising room in the boat, super quiet, very fuel efficient, power trim tilt and electric start for those cold winter mornings.
A picture speaks a thousand words so here are a few photos of my tinnie and how it’s been set it up for trout trolling. Whether your boat is old or new, hopefully there’s a few ideas for your rig.
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A good rod holder is worth the money. I bought four Attwoods initially and a couple more since. They’re strong, come with good base mounts and are easy to use. Try to buy one brand so that every rod holder fits into every mount. Plus, when you’re using th
Victorian anglers can use two rods each in inland waters. (Tasmanian anglers can use two rods with the purchase of a two rod endorsement on their licence). I like to run one flat-lined and the other a bit deeper on a downrigger. I’ve deliberately created
When trolling lead lines for trout, I like to run them from the back corner of my boat. They’ll get deeper than flat lines so I don’t need to worry about spacing them apart too much: depth does that for me. I’ll often run four or five colours of lead line
Ignore the 2kg rainbow from Lake Bolac and look at the rod storage down the side, under the gunwale. The two rubber rod racks (one is visible) support the rods midway and then again towards the tips. Wide mouthed collapsible nets are great too, especially
Flat lining lures is a sporting way to catch trout, including big browns early in the morning. This one weighed nearly 3kg. Note the rod storage down the side and the rubber ‘feet’ from the hardware shop that were screwed into the back deck to support the
A tiller steer outboard means the skipper is at the rear and has an excellent view of what lies ahead, and most of the rods. Side consoles take up deck space and push rod holder mounts to mid-ship if they’re to be seen. Having said that, if you’re fishing
I don’t like trolling with treble hooks on winged lures. They tend to ‘prick’ fish rather than ‘hook’ them. These single Gamakatsu Siwash fly hooks have a big eye and can be rigged on a brass and split ring combo. I’m increasingly just fishing with one ho
A well-equipped trout trolling tinnie will improve your chances at trophy fish like this hook jawed male. For a few hundred dollars you’ll have well configured rod placements, convenient rod storage and a few tricks to land that fish of a lifetime.
