Eildon

EILDON Peter Burtchell

A week of 14 hour days flicking lures without a bite saw four best mates from Ballarat spend the last day and night of their stay in total shock, consoling each other for what was their Tate aka ‘Fine Cotton’ who travelled to Lake Eildon from Griffith on his first ever trip and, without a working fish finder, hit his personal best with a horse of a 121cm Murray cod, their annual tour may have finished differently.

The mates have vowed that they will be back next fishing, river anglers have the opportunity to continue to hone their skills as Murray cod fishing at Lake Eildon remains open. Many river anglers reconnoitre the lake throughout the year in preparation for when their fishing grounds close, and some travel great distances from other states in search of their favourite sports fish during their local closed seasons.

One such angler from Echuca, Jake Bullock, spent mid-winter at Eildon with his family and managed to land a nice 101cm on his first day on the lake. Jake plans to return for even better fishing as the lake’s water temperature increases.

As with Murray cod fishing, trout fishing is also open year round on the pondage and lake. With the rivers closed to trout fishing, Jordan and family fished the pondage and managed to

Adam Lines the day he made partner of KPMG, he loves fishing Lake Eildon.

first ever fishing trip to Lake Eildon and their first ever fishless tour. In their words, they had travelled to Lake Eildon as Murray cod were easy to catch.

Their luckless efforts had them truly believing that Lake Eildon was home to some of the greatest photo shoppers of all time manipulating images of Murray cod caught elsewhere to look like they were caught and released in Lake Eildon. Had they taken the advice of the fishing guide to follow year to conquer their fishless demons and disprove the theory that Lake Eildon is home to the best photoshoppers of all time. I am sure it will also be just a matter of time before Fine Cotton once again bolts down from Griffith for another few days of flicking, much to the dissatisfaction of Eildon’s metre-ies and who knows what Fine Cotton will hook into should he bring a working sounder with him.

With the rivers now closed to Murray cod

Open for breakfast from 6am 7 days a week

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‘Fine Cotton’, on his first trip to Eildon, got a PB of 121cm and over 6m of fish landed during a few days in mid July. This one was 101cm off the roof.

fishing, sounder tuition and accommodation options around Lake Eildon.

This spring smaller Murray cod, yellowbelly and redfin will be taking advantage of the newly inundated grass beds due

Jordan showing off Dad’s 66cm brown trout from the pondage.

land a very nice 66cm brown trout flicking a Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5” soft plastic.

Once again this year the Victorian Fisheries Authority will run the annual Goulburn Fishing Festival at Eildon coinciding with the opening of the trout fishing season. It is a great family event and to keep up to date with the unique activities that will be on offer visit vfa. vic.gov.au or drop into the Eildon Community Centre on 3 September from 9am to 3pm to join the festivities. Jerusalem Creek will once again have their fishing guides attending so please drop in and say hello. They will present Australian, Megabass and Asakura lures, Murasame rods, the latest in Garmin Fish Finder technology and also be on hand to answer any questions relating to guided Jake all the way from Echuca lands his targeted metre-y on day one of his adventure.

to the higher than normal lake levels. Many an angler will be trying out the new Megabass Sleeper Gill range in these areas due to their versatility. With a dorsal fin protected hook snagging in weed beds and/or branches will be a thing of the past. The unique design also allows the user to skim the bait across the water surface enabling the lure to slide under overhanging branches and rocks where the yellowbelly, Murray cod and redfin await. For larger fish the new range of Phat Lab lures should also prove successful. To view both the Sleeper Gill and Phat Lab range drop into the Jerusalem Creek Marina and Holiday Park where you can check out the colour range and filming of the lures in action to keep updated on how successful the ranges have been for catching fish in the local waterways. • For more information on fishing Lake Eildon you can contact the Jerusalem Creek Marina & Holiday Park, a friendly, family-orientated annuals cabin park and Houseboat Marina, that makes the perfect home away from home. If visiting Lake Eildon you can opt to stay in one of the floating apartments (Boatels), hire a houseboat or fishing vessel, visit the Megabass Elite Pro Store, or book a Megabass Elite Pro Fishing Tour with one of the many leading Australian Fishing guides operating from Jerusalem Creek. For more information on all of the activities and attractions that Lake Eildon has to offer, visit jerusalemcreek.com. au, give them a call on (03) 5774 2585 or email info@ jerusalemcreek.com.au.