Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
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- Rank: Australian Salmon
- Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 7:11 pm
Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
Victorian High Country Trout Fishing Report
After the Easter weekend crowds had died down, I decided to head up to the Victorian High Country for a couple of days to camp and fish for trout.
Prior to this trip, I had never fished for trout in a natural, freshwater river and thus spent many hours asking questions about general trout fishing and researching the area. As with all my fishing trips, I left with no expectation of catching fish - seeing or catching any fish would be a bonus.
After a couple hours of driving from Melbourne and hurtling down dirt roads laden with pot holes, I finally reached the campsite. It was nothing like I had ever seen. A beautiful, clean river ran right past where I would eventually pitch my tent. The air was clean, fresh and crisp, nothing like what we are exposed to on a day-to-day basis in Melbourne. This was true Victorian country.
The beginning of a long stretch of bumpy and dusty roads
I quickly set up camp and got the rod out. I was using a 6 foot 6 Jarvis Walker Bullseye rod with 6lb mono. I brought an arsenal of lures including some shallow divers in brown trout colour (Muzza lures - highly recommend), and a plethora of Mepps spinners, courtesy of Adrian.
The beauty of the Victorian Alpine region
The first spot I decided to fish was a tiny deep pool just upstream of my campsite. It was not very big but was incredibly deep.
I clipped on one of the Mepps spinners and cast in a few times. After a while, a small shadow emerged from the depths and followed the spinner. There was no hook up but it was clear that there was something lurking in the depths.
The first deep hole that was fished
With some more persistence, the fish eventually latched onto the Mepps spinner. After a quick battle, the fish was landed and placed in a small pool of water that had accumulated in one of the recesses of a rock. I had never caught a fish like this but instantly recognised it. A small Macquarie perch. The lure was quickly removed and it was released back into the water.
Macquarie Perch - an endangered species that can incur a $4000 fine
Over the course of the next couple of days, I trekked through many different areas, finding more deep pools to fish in hopes of catching a trout. My hands and arms were covered in scratches from the masses of blackberry bushes which I scraped along the way.
Blood was shed to reach these spots
My mate landed two beautiful brown trout which were kept for dinner. They were slowly cooked over a campfire on a hot plate. Simple but they tasted amazing.
Both were caught in the same stretch of the river so we returned the next day to the same spot in hopes of finding some more trout. A trout latched onto a hard body lure but managed to unhook itself as I attempted to tighten my drag. Nevertheless, it was an exhilarating experience to even come close to catching one.
The two browns that were caught
Trout or no trout, this was some of the most beautiful country I have ever experienced. Seeing the morning fog roll over the river in the morning and an unpolluted view of the Milky Way at night made the trip entirely worthwhile. Getting to see some fish was the icing on the cake.
I hope our future generations are blessed with this unique and largely untouched area of Victoria.
It's easy to forget how many stars are actually in the sky when you live away from the countryside
A huge thanks to the forum member who helped me prepare for the trip (you know who you are). And thank you to Adrian/Meppstas for his unparalleled generosity and advice with regards to trout fishing.
After the Easter weekend crowds had died down, I decided to head up to the Victorian High Country for a couple of days to camp and fish for trout.
Prior to this trip, I had never fished for trout in a natural, freshwater river and thus spent many hours asking questions about general trout fishing and researching the area. As with all my fishing trips, I left with no expectation of catching fish - seeing or catching any fish would be a bonus.
After a couple hours of driving from Melbourne and hurtling down dirt roads laden with pot holes, I finally reached the campsite. It was nothing like I had ever seen. A beautiful, clean river ran right past where I would eventually pitch my tent. The air was clean, fresh and crisp, nothing like what we are exposed to on a day-to-day basis in Melbourne. This was true Victorian country.
The beginning of a long stretch of bumpy and dusty roads
I quickly set up camp and got the rod out. I was using a 6 foot 6 Jarvis Walker Bullseye rod with 6lb mono. I brought an arsenal of lures including some shallow divers in brown trout colour (Muzza lures - highly recommend), and a plethora of Mepps spinners, courtesy of Adrian.
The beauty of the Victorian Alpine region
The first spot I decided to fish was a tiny deep pool just upstream of my campsite. It was not very big but was incredibly deep.
I clipped on one of the Mepps spinners and cast in a few times. After a while, a small shadow emerged from the depths and followed the spinner. There was no hook up but it was clear that there was something lurking in the depths.
The first deep hole that was fished
With some more persistence, the fish eventually latched onto the Mepps spinner. After a quick battle, the fish was landed and placed in a small pool of water that had accumulated in one of the recesses of a rock. I had never caught a fish like this but instantly recognised it. A small Macquarie perch. The lure was quickly removed and it was released back into the water.
Macquarie Perch - an endangered species that can incur a $4000 fine
Over the course of the next couple of days, I trekked through many different areas, finding more deep pools to fish in hopes of catching a trout. My hands and arms were covered in scratches from the masses of blackberry bushes which I scraped along the way.
Blood was shed to reach these spots
My mate landed two beautiful brown trout which were kept for dinner. They were slowly cooked over a campfire on a hot plate. Simple but they tasted amazing.
Both were caught in the same stretch of the river so we returned the next day to the same spot in hopes of finding some more trout. A trout latched onto a hard body lure but managed to unhook itself as I attempted to tighten my drag. Nevertheless, it was an exhilarating experience to even come close to catching one.
The two browns that were caught
Trout or no trout, this was some of the most beautiful country I have ever experienced. Seeing the morning fog roll over the river in the morning and an unpolluted view of the Milky Way at night made the trip entirely worthwhile. Getting to see some fish was the icing on the cake.
I hope our future generations are blessed with this unique and largely untouched area of Victoria.
It's easy to forget how many stars are actually in the sky when you live away from the countryside
A huge thanks to the forum member who helped me prepare for the trip (you know who you are). And thank you to Adrian/Meppstas for his unparalleled generosity and advice with regards to trout fishing.
Last edited by Ploh on Thu Apr 20, 2017 3:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Sinsemilla
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Re: Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
Good work mate. We have a beautiful backyard don't we!
Cheers, Anth
Cheers, Anth
- meppstas
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Re: Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
A ripper of a report there Ploh followed up with some top photos mate, there's certainly nothing like being away from city & suburbia life that's for sure and it's one of the pleasure of fishing inland waters, Shame you didn't catch & land your first trout, but now that you've had your first crack at it I'm sure you'll be back in a river very soon to have another go.. Well done once again.. :thumbsup:
cheers
Adrian
cheers
Adrian
'' Brand Ambassador for Mepps Lures in Australia '' Tackle Tactics, Okuma, Mepps & Platypus lines Pro Team Member
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClk58e ... m8yelCSKCw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClk58e ... m8yelCSKCw
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- Rank: Australian Salmon
- Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 7:11 pm
Re: Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
Absolutely mate. One of the best. Wildlife everywhere you step.Sinsemilla wrote:Good work mate. We have a beautiful backyard don't we!
Cheers, Anth
Thank you Adrian. It was a huge risk to bring the Canon camera on the trip but totally worth it.meppstas wrote:A ripper of a report there Ploh followed up with some top photos mate, there's certainly nothing like being away from city & suburbia life that's for sure and it's one of the pleasure of fishing inland waters, Shame you didn't catch & land your first trout, but now that you've had your first crack at it I'm sure you'll be back in a river very soon to have another go.. Well done once again.. :thumbsup:
cheers
Adrian
It is a shame that I missed out but as you said, I'll definitely be back for round 2 in the near future.
Cheers for all the print outs, lures and solid advice. I'll have to come down to Tassie for a fish some day.
- Broomstick
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Re: Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
Brilliant stuff mate. You've inspired me to explore some of the high country myself. Thanks for sharing.
- meppstas
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:32 pm
- Location: Sheffield, Tasmania
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Re: Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
Feel free to look me up when you do mate.. :thumbsup:Ploh wrote:Absolutely mate. One of the best. Wildlife everywhere you step.Sinsemilla wrote:Good work mate. We have a beautiful backyard don't we!
Cheers, Anth
Thank you Adrian. It was a huge risk to bring the Canon camera on the trip but totally worth it.meppstas wrote:A ripper of a report there Ploh followed up with some top photos mate, there's certainly nothing like being away from city & suburbia life that's for sure and it's one of the pleasure of fishing inland waters, Shame you didn't catch & land your first trout, but now that you've had your first crack at it I'm sure you'll be back in a river very soon to have another go.. Well done once again.. :thumbsup:
cheers
Adrian
It is a shame that I missed out but as you said, I'll definitely be back for round 2 in the near future.
Cheers for all the print outs, lures and solid advice. I'll have to come down to Tassie for a fish some day.
cheers
Adrian
'' Brand Ambassador for Mepps Lures in Australia '' Tackle Tactics, Okuma, Mepps & Platypus lines Pro Team Member
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClk58e ... m8yelCSKCw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClk58e ... m8yelCSKCw
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Re: Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
Top report and pic's :a_goodjob: Great to see a macca in there :thumbsup:
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- Bluefin
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- davek
- Moderator
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Re: Victorian High Country Trout Fishing
Good report and fish, lovely place, cheers davo :thumbsup:
It's an exhilarating feeling catching a fish
But it's an even better feeling releasing them
But it's an even better feeling releasing them