The cooler weather has well and truly to kick in. Plenty of trout will be starting to run up the top end of the lake to spawn. This is an excellent time to target the larger trout, although a lot of these fish are feeding themselves up for the spawning run so it might be best to return these fish to continue for the future.

At this time of year, I always use larger minnows for trout in the process of feeding up for the spawning run; they will take larger presentations. Running a hot pink colour seems to work incredibly well on the big girls.

An effective method for catching the big fish is to troll the entrances to the river arms up the top end of the lake. There is an abundance of lures to choose from. I’m quite bias towards the Balista Triggers, however the large Rapala minnows and Tassie Devils are also excellent choices.

One of the things I appreciate about this time of year is that you get plenty of fish on the flat line, especially first thing in the morning and late afternoons. During the day a spread of lead line and flat line will keep you in the zone to land good fish.

The natives are well and truly shutting down to the point where I find it’s not worth targeting them at this time of year. Nevertheless, there is always an exception in fishing – if the conditions are right (water clarity is good, preferably a high/rising barometer) you can target large Murray cod a couple of days either side of the full moon. And where possible try to be on the water a couple of hours both sides of the moon rising and setting. One or two killer rock banks are all you will need for a session, peppering casts along the bank with spinnerbaits, large lipless crankbaits, big divers.

Trolling these banks with large hardbodies is also well worthwhile.

Eildon has some true monster Murray cod, you don’t see them very often but they are there. If you target these bigger fish specifically with the largest spinnerbaits and divers you can get your hands on, you will significantly increase your chances.

With the onset of winter, overall the fishing in Eildon can be pretty tough. However, there are still good trout to be caught for those willing to work for them. For me, May is one last crack at a monster trout, and potentially a once a month visit for a big cod and then its biding my time watching my mighty blues in the AFL until spring rolls around again.

• Our Balista range of lures feature LED technology and are designed specifically for natives. View the range at www.balista.com.au or join us at facebook.com/balistalures.