Trout Fishing in Victoria
By Bob Ives
Many Australian fishermen love to trout fish in Tasmania because it
offers so much for anglers. But Victoria is not to be overlooked as a
hot spot. Trout fishing in Victoria is great and there are a number of
stocked waters to keep you busy for awhile. However, be sure to check
the Trout fishing season
and regulations for Victoria
The mountain streams and many rivers in the high country of Victoria
provides trout fishermen many exciting fishing opportunities. Two of
Australia's best trout fishing lakes are near Falls Creek:
Pretty Valley
Reservoir and
Rocky Valley Reservoir. In mid-summer these waters are
amazing for trout fishing.
Also, very large browns and rainbows are found in
Lake Dartmouth, and
the lower
Mitta Mitta River is a prime trout fishery. The
Mitta Mitta,
the Ovens, the
Kiewa, the
King and the Indi are popular with trout
fishermen from all around Victoria. In summer, Snowy Creek and Little
Snowy Creek are excellent for trout fishing.
Near Melbourne, you'll find many trout streams and rivers. This is also
where Lake Eildon and the Eildon Pondage are found which contain browns
and rainbows. Rivers and streams here include
Howqua and the
Delatite, a
tailrace river in the
Goulburn, the Rubicon,
Big
River and
Jamieson, the
Acheron and Taggerty.
The volcanic craters of Lakes Purrumbete, Lake Ellingamite and Bullen
Merri in Southeast Victoria contain some sizeable brown and rainbow
trout. In Southeast Australia, the Great Dividing Range's foothills
offer the Cobungra River, one of Victoria's best trout streams. This
river has limited access because of the rough country, so the trout are
not as lure shy as in some other waters.
Lake Purrumbete
Lake Purrumbete is definitely one of the more interesting trout
fishing lakes in Victoria. While it's not all that big, it is very deep;
down to about 150 feet deep. Don't drop your rod here. The cover and the
amount of baitfish availabe in this lake makes it perfect for grooming
some very big and healty trout in the double figures. All methods of
trout fishing work here, including bait fishing and fly fishing, but it
is a great lake for trolling for trout.
Purrumbete is regularly stocked and you will not only find some big
rainbow trout and brown trout, but while you're there you might as well
check out the chinnok salmon and redfin. The average size of the fish
you will catch here is 1kg to over 3kg. But that's the average - as
stated before, there are some monster size fish fish in this lake.
Lake Bullen Merri
Bullen Merri is also a very deep lake reaching 180 feet. A decade or
so ago this was THE place to go trout fishing in Australia, but toxins
from the volcano killed off the fish. Fortunatley, the native bait fish
survived and the lake has rebounded with the stocking of brown and
rainbow trout, quinnet and Atlantic salmon and even the introduction of
Australian bass.
This is a good lake to walk around fly fishing, but it's not good for
wading. There are a lot of deep drop offs near the shore, and when the
sun comes up over the hills this will come in handy because the trout
will head down deep. So expect good surface action at first and last
light, but get your lure deep during the rest of the day.forcing the
smelt and minnows to scamper in to the shallows in an effort to escape
their pursuers. So during the brighter part of the day you'll need to
switch to methods that will get your lure down deeper to where the fish
are holding.
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