Fishing Victoria Forum

Spent the better part of today throwing SPs at Aura Vale lake.
I haven’t been there for a few years but the first thing I recalled upon arrival was………bloody water lilies……..
The lake is ringed with them – from the bank to a few meters out. There are small breaks here and there, and it Is clear along the bank where the picnic ground is, but the vast majority is ringed by water lilies.
This does make retrieval of a SP or any lure that much harder, as you have to cast over them and try lift just as the lure reaches them.
After many, many casts I did get one solid strike, but no hook up. And nothing else for the whole session. On the upside I did not lose any lures.
Also note that the rock wall is quite unstable, I lost my footing more than once trying to find a casting spot from there.
All up I think the lake could be more successfully tackled if you have a kayak or canoe.
Short of that – worms under a float, cast just past the water Lilies…or maybe even amongst them. Which is a method I may yet try on another trip.

There is also a small pond just past Aura vale – called Bob’s Park. It is not open to vehicles, but you could park at the gate and get in there. The pond is only small but did not appear to have the water lily problem – may have to explorer that one at some stage.

What fish are there? Redfin? Trout?
Never fished there before. Nor been there.
So there's good kayak launching area? I might try one day.

I have only heard of redfin there., not sure if it hilds anything else.
There is a small boat ramp at the main park

Has anyone had any recent luck here? Looks peaceful and possibly deep for some big fish (other than reddies).

viscosity wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 30, 2020 1:03 pm

Has anyone had any recent luck here? Looks peaceful and possibly deep for some big fish (other than reddies).

No fishing in VIC atm, so probably no.
Plus heavy rain recently, probably discoloured.

The last few times I went there zip. Had a few great sessions a number of years ago now.

Fair point about COVID-19 restrictions, query was more in the last few years.

Anyone know where the water ends up? i was at the overflow tower a few months back, looks substantial.

Aura Vale has small reddies and roach and as a local I have never had much luck there. Odd place that looks like it should produce, but rarely does. Some locals reckon it turns on sometimes, but my long association tells me otherwise. Cardinia Creek is more reliable.

viscosity wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 30, 2020 1:28 pm

Fair point about COVID-19 restrictions, query was more in the last few years.

Anyone know where the water ends up? i was at the overflow tower a few months back, looks substantial.

As I understand Auravale is basically a storm water drain, diverting water that can't go into the water supply at Cardinia. That's second hand information and I have no idea if it's true, but it makes sense.

Rospo wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 10:46 pm

Aura Vale has small reddies and roach and as a local I have never had much luck there. Odd place that looks like it should produce, but rarely does. Some locals reckon it turns on sometimes, but my long association tells me otherwise. Cardinia Creek is more reliable.

The super hot weather used to turn the reddies on, all the sessions where I scored 20+ there were on 40 degree days. It's a nice place to fish, but there are certainly better waterways close enough.