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Trout and reddies around the trees
  |  First Published: June 2017



June sparks the arrival of a very cunning species – the brown trout! As the cooler months approach, Lake Eildon has its ups and downs, but can still be very productive. It still offers great fun to be had chasing all species of fish.

I still applaud the avid fishers that brave the conditions that Lake Eildon is famous for. These anglers are catching good numbers of cod around rock walls near Frazer National Park Boat Ramp, with the help of spinnerbaits cast tight to the banks and even to random trees in 40ft of water, so don’t be put off because of deep water. Try different techniques and you will be rewarded with donuts or an absolute monster cod.

As the winter months have well and truly set in Lake Eildon’s trout population will be the main target species for a lot of people. There are many different areas to target them on the lake. Try any of the arms that have the river and feeder creeks running into the lake.

The one that has worked for a lot of people is the Delatite and Big River Arm. Troll pink, orange or white lures that reach 3-4m in depth. You don’t need to be touching trees. For lures, stay about 25m from them and your spread of lures will swim right past them.

I like to run two lures on the outside – the one on the lake side a fair way out and the other on the trees about half of that – and two deeper lures in the middle.

I like keeping one or two browns later in the season, when they have done their spawn run up the rivers with their mates. Be gentle with them during the fight as they stress out quite easy and their chances of survival can be very poor.

Redfin are still being caught in big numbers around Big River and the Delatite areas. Move from big trees to small trees to find them. Don’t waste too much time on one tree. Two casts tight on each tree is plenty. Move until you find them – you might even entice a yellowbelly or two.

If you have the kids on board and you see carp feeding on the white ant hatches, throw some bread on a hook unweighted for a bit of fun. Let’s be honest; carp fight crazy on light gear and it will keep the kids off your back.

The dam wall has been fishing well with large numbers of trout being sighted and about 10 bigger cod caught by anglers trolling hardbody lures. You could even try trolling spinnerbaits, 1oz is plenty enough. After dark can be a great time to chase cod. Sit in about 15m of water and cast spinnerbaits onto the bank and retrieve tight on the bottom.

Finding fish can be hard sometimes. Reading the water is the only way to know what species of fish might be around feeding. If you see something, take note. If you’re already catching, take note. Write it down, as it might be that the water is dirty or clean, it may be windy or insects are laying their eggs on the surface. All these things can play the biggest part in your success out on the water.

Remember to always to let someone know which area of the lake you’re fishing in case of an emergency.

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