Trolling for trout
by Jarrod Day on 22 Mar 2012
This plump little bloke couldn't resist a trolled lure. Jarrod Day
Located just two hours drive from Melbourne’s CBD; Lake Eildon is a Mecca for trout fishing enthusiasts. Whether it is rising before the sun in Ernst of flicking a dry fly to a rising trout on the edge of a shallow bank or trolling lures along the edge of the tree line, Lake Eildon has it all.
Lake Eildon encompasses an area of 13,840 hectares with a 483 km shoreline. Holding 3,390 000 Mega-Litres at full capacity, it has a maximum depth of 76 meters. With this much water, anglers from right around the state descend on Lake Eildon year round in search of many species including brown and rainbow trout, redfin, golden perch and Murray cod.
While all these species are highly sought, it is the trout that gets most of the attention. When it comes to fishing for trout in Lake Eildon there are many different techniques used from general bait fishing, lure casting and of course trolling.
Trolling lures is highly effective and can be undertaken in a variety of ways. Down rigging is an effective technique allowing anglers to get lures down to certain depths where fish maybe holding. Another technique utilizes a lead filled braid known as lead core. This is used to acquire a depth for the lure to reach, while the simplest method called flat lining is the most common technique. Flat lining is where a selection of lures is simply sent out the back of the boat and trolled along. The lures will dive to their maximum depth depending on their range but is still one of the most easiest and effective techniques used.
Where to troll: Lake Eildon can be a little daunting on its appearance. With a vast covering of water, one can become quite perplexed on where to begin. Once the boat is in the water, the first place to head to the nearest tree line. Trout tend to hide amongst cover and with plenty of old trees sticking out from the water surface, this is the place to start.
When the river was originally dammed, the area filled covering vast areas of forest. While these trees are now covered with water, there are plenty of locations for fish to hide.
Working the edges of the tree line is the most effective area allowing the lures to dive within reach. Unfortunately though, there will be many lures lost but if you’re not losing lures, you’re not within reach of catching a fish.
Technique: When it comes to flat lining lures there is no simpler technique. Once you have your lure selection, simply set your spread. As a minimum, three lures should be trolled but if you can cope with it, four is ideal. The perfect trout setup consists of four deep diving lures reaching a maximum of three letters each. Two lures can be set around 5 meters behind the boat while the other two at 10 meters. This will allow the lures to reach their desired depth to run around the timber where the fish are holding. You will need to keep your lures quite close to the boat mainly due to the amount of timber you will be trolling over and around. The further you have your lures back, the less you will be able to manoeuvre around the timber.
Once the spread is set, pick your desired trolling speed. This will take time to be determined and to find it you will have to vary your trolling speed until you get a hook-up. Once you do get the first hook-up take note of the speed at which you’re trolling. After landing your fish, reset your lure spread and once again troll at the same speed in which you got the first hook-up. This is detrimental if you want continuing success.
If you notice some of the lures pulling out and splashing one the surface, you may be travelling to fast for some of the lures. In this case by you may have to change lures until you find ones that will hold in.
Another issue you will face when tolling the edge of the tree line is that you will have lures become snagged and caught up in the timber. This is part and parcel of having success and something you have to deal with. When this happens, you can simply reverse back up to the lure to get it free; which will require you to bring in the entire spread so they don’t tangle around the motor when reversing or just break it off and re-tie another. This can become expensive as you will find you get snagged quite a few times.
Proven lures: With the thousands of lures available, it takes time and repeated trips to fine tune your lure selection. Over the years, my success has come from a handful of diving lures. These include Yo-Zuri’s 50mm Stoop, Eba Shad and the Duel Hardcore minnow. All these lures dive to different depths covering a variety of water levels. This ensures that when working the water, you are increasing your chances at gaining a hook-up.
As for colour, I find trout patterns work exceptionally well with the exception of green and the odd pink thrown in the mix. different days can often have fish target just one particular colour but if you up to trolling four different colours you can get a good idea which colour they favour after getting a hook-up. If you find one particular colour is working well, then it will pay to change all the lures to a similar colour to try to get multiple hook-ups and further your success rate.
Trolling for trout is an extremely relaxing way to spend a day on the water. If you’re thinking about heading out to a nearby lake, or keen to take a trek to Lake Eildon, pack a selection of diving lures and set you spread. Work the tree line and you’ll have a blast.
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