This month it’s all about the trout! As we edge closer to the cold grip of winter in Melbourne it can only mean one thing for freshwater anglers – trout fishing!

Speaking of trout, the Yarra River will be off limits soon enough so get out and start casting! If still water fishing is more your thing, Karkarook Park Lake has been fishing well for the little rainbows over the last few weeks. School holidays normally mean a top up for this waterway, which give kids big and small a chance to catch a few.

Two main methods have been best here; suspending dough baits like Powerbait about 60cm up off the bottom by using a fine gauge treble, and the other is fishing maggots under a lightly weighted coarse float in conjunction with a berley trail. By mixing some aniseed oil or many of the pheromone scents on the market into your berley mix you will increase the strike rate of fish in and around your trail. Rainbow trout to 400g have been taking a liking to both of these presentations in the lake lately.

If you enjoy sitting along the bank with a few baits out to tempt a trout or two, Rowville Lakes has also been worth a stop. Rowville Lakes is made up of three individual lakes that connect via a drainage system, however the main lake is the most popular for fishing. Coarse angling methods like the one mentioned for Karkarook Park work very well on most of the species in the lake. Lately the roach and trout have been on the chew using baits, however the lure anglers won’t be too disappointed either. Small hardbodies such as Bullet Minnows are deadly in the lake, and there are enough colours in the range to imitate most food items for these trout.

Devilsbend Reservoir will begin to hit its straps this month, and some lovely sized trout will start to feed up before winter. Land-based lure casting has been the most effective method here, as it allows you to cover a lot of water and put your presentation in front of a fair few fish. The average rainbow trout coming out of the lake would be close to 1kg at the moment, with some much larger browns being landed – fish to 5lb are common. For these bigger browns, larger hardbodies around 70-90mm are a good option as they resemble a decent meal for the trout in preparation for winter. Some of the better lure options for land-based casting are: Duel Hardcore Minnow 90F, Rapala X-Rap8 and Ecogear MW 72F.

Auravale Lake has still been producing redfin for bank anglers. The area around the canoe ramp has been the most popular, with deep water sloping away from the bank to the left of the ramp. Redfin to 30cm are a common catch on minnows, trout worms and also lures. Most anglers fish their baits on the bottom using a paternoster rig, which keeps the hook away from branches and rocks. Small soft plastics like Ecogear Grass Minnows are very effective, as they imitate the small minnows in the lake very effectively.

For up to date fishing information, contact the guys at Compleat Angler in Dandenong on 9794 9397 or drop in and see us at 241-243 Princes Hwy, Dandenong, we are open 7 days a week. For our other latest fishing reports and to download information sheets, go to www fishingcamping.com.au.