An Australian trout adventure

As you all know I’m from the land Down Under. Yes, we have creatures that look strange and Christmas is a summer festival but we have more in common than you think

A welcome sight for any travelling fisherman

You know its not always warm n Australia

My father fishing a «mud eye» in the midday sun

The spooky sight so common to Australia lakes

There are many unknown qualities to my vast homeland. Australia’s PR image is of a land covered with red dust and kangaroos. This is only partly true. Yes: thousands of miles lay waste to the red sands but 80% of the population live on the fertile east coast and within the lands east of the Great Dividing Range. You will find ski fields larger and better than any I skied here in Norway.

In our mountains numerous lakes can be found, crammed with fish. One such place that comes to mind is a lake that my father and I have fished for the past few years: Lake Eildon. It is situated at the foothills of the Victorian Alps and offers some of the worlds most exciting trout fishing. Eildon is not your average lake. It has 515 km of shoreline and holds more than five times the water capacity of Sydney Harbour. This creates a spectacular platform on which to start your trout fishing adventure in Southern Australia.

Salmonoids have an interesting history in Australia. Already during the 19th century trout where shipped over from England to be released for «gentlemen’s sport». Both rainbow and brown took to their new home like ducks to water. This program began in Tasmania and its success was soon emulated in Victoria. Now we no longer need to stock a large number of our rivers and lakes but the practice continues so as to increase the number of sport fish, thus giving the native species a chance sustain a natural level. Many attempts to introduce Atlantic salmon were made, but due to reverse ocean currents these attempts failed.

Snobs Creek Hatchery is situated on one of the many rivers entering Eildon and for many years it has breed both native and exotic species. The hatchery is owned and managed by the Department of Resources and Environment. Annually over 1 million fingerlings are released in the state of Victoria and of this number 400,000 are salmonoid. This is done to ensure a future population of the most popular sport species. Included in its responsibilities as a breeding organization, Snobs Creek has the best tourist office I seen in many years. By taking part in the tour you will learn more about the programs the government runs. Both the history of trout fishing in Australia and interesting facts about the natural history of the local environment are illustrated.

Tourism is considered one of the most important industries in Oz and our local governments have left no stone unturned when it comes to research. Over the past decade both my former colleagues and I in the State department of fisheries (Park rangers) have spent untold hours studying the habits of both local and visiting fishermen. They have concluded that 454,000 people fish for inland species each year. This generates over AUS $1.037 billion. That calculates around 4.15 billion Norwegian kroner. You must take into account that this is the income that helps financing our extensive national parks system.
These figures may give the impression that it costs an arm and leg to fish in Australia, but this is not the case. Due to the fact that National parks control all our fisheries the Government have introduced a simple and cheap system. A yearly tax of AUS $27 covers all your costs, no daily fishing cards or hidden costs that land owners benefit from. In fact the money is spent, among other things, the introduction of many of the new hatcheries.

Fishing new lakes requires a total change of your pre-set habits. Eildon is a monster lake but with a little help from the locals it is not that difficult to fish. Standard worm fishing is used in Australia as well as a range of other baits. These trout have evolved in a very different environment and therefore feed on a large range of exotic insects. One that comes to mind is the «mud-eye». It is the local name for the dragon fly larva, which makes up the largest part of their diet. The other most common way we catch our fish is by trawling with Tassie devils. These lures are the most popular lure produced in Australia. I don’t think you will find a trout fisherman without at least a few of them in their tackle box. From what the locals have told me pink Tassies are the most popular but never forget: it pays to try something new! As I tell all my readers: always find the local tackle shop and ask the locals what’s hot. Remember these people don’t make money by selling products that don’t work. A handy tip is to ask if the local kids sell bait. This is an excellent way of finding very strange but also very effective bait for local circumstances. It is good to know that your money always stays close to home.

Fly-fishing in Victoria is a subject close to my heart. I’m a newcomer to the world of fly-fishing and have found my true calling. Two years ago I had the misfortune to arrive in Australia during a severe drought that all but destroyed our chances of fish. I tried every fly in my kit but not a strike. It was not until the last day that someone told me that the flies in my kit were the totally wrong colour so again it comes back to the fact I didn’t take the time to ask the locals. They say it’s hard to teach an old dog a new trick. Well: I’m not an old dog but as for new tricks I’ve now got more tricks than David Copperfield. There is no point in me telling you what flies to take with you. I’d recommend you buy a hand full of flies from the local tackle shop in town. After all: the Australian dollar is good value and you will never have the same problems I had my last trip home. You see: I’m paid to dig out these problems. My plan is to inform our readers on the small details so as to increase your chances of a fish!!

Accommodation is never a problem. We have a large database of all the hotels and guesthouses in the surrounding area. Send us an E-mail at FISHBOOKING.COM. We can help you with all your needs. At this point I must add that there are rules applying to camping in the national parks and failure to follow these will result in a nasty fine so again contact us for the information you need.

Boat rental is never a problem at Eildon. It has a large number a boat rental outlets ranging from houseboats to small two man runabouts. A lake the size of Eildon has every boat known to man and in the height of summer there can be thousands of craft on the lake. Don’t be put off by this: there is plenty of room for everyone. One a positive note it never hurts to have a chat while fishing and we Ozzies love to say "G’day".

While researching this article I discovered that there are a huge number of other activities we can plan for you such as visiting wild life parks with nature walks and guided tours. For example the nature tours at the Northern end of the park will lead you to what was once a large gold mining area and the marked trails will give you a chance to see the local wildlife such as kangaroo, wedge-tailed eagle and crimson rosella.

This coming winter FISHBOOKING.COM is sending me on a tour of duty in the deep dark jungles of Australian fishing. My task is to scout out more locations similar to Eildon and keep you all informed on what’s hot and what’s not. My first task is to fish my home waters and then move my way up the coast collecting all the information you need to have a both safe and easy fishing adventure. Keep your eyes on our new and improved website over the winter for my up-dates from Australia and keep on fishing.

Skot