Eildon trout

[Irishfisherman]

Dad and I had a trip up to Eildon over the last couple of days with the objective of catching trout. On the first day we fished the Goulburn just below the pondage with mepps spinners and managed 3 small stocked rainbows and even a little brown trout. The following day we rose early with the ambition of kayaking upstream to some of the better spots. I drew the short straw and therefore had to take the dog, a big, excitable, 30kg mungrel who had never been on a kayak before, what could possibly go wrong? I managed to board the kayak with the dog perched precariously on the front, peering cluelessly into the cold water. Well, I paddled about 20 metres and with my confidence building I headed for some faster water and as soon as I edged in the current the kayak flipped. I was frozen, and being carried downstream at a fast pace, however, I was more concerned about the dog who had not yet emerged from the water, eventually I found my footing on the rocks and continued to search for the dog, suddenly his head popped up in the current and he managed to find his way to the bank. He was wearing a life jacket but I believe he may have been trapped underneath the kayak which was now 50metres downstream. My dad managed to catch up with it and lead it to shore. After that it took me some time to comprehend what had actually happened, especially the fact that I had lost a rod and reel. But I was glad that I and the dog were safe, my dad however thought the whole incident was terribly amusing. Anyway after this I bought a new rod for $80, it was a daiwa aird 2-4kg, with a spare sienna that I had thankfully brought. We then fished the pondage where my dad hooked a large fish that managed to unhook itself during the fight, afterwards we caught a few more little rainbow stockies up to about 1lb. That evening I proceeded to give the Goulburn another try on the kayak, this time my dad was staying back at camp with the dog. I was trolling a size 2 mepps with red spots which is a recipe for line twist but that really didn’t bother me at this stage, I travelled about 300metres before my rod (now with a lanyard) was violently tugged, I instantly knew it was something large and after and intense fight I landed one of the big stocked rainbows, weighing 7.38lbs.
It was a personal best rainbow trout for me so I kept it without hesitation or remorse. The following morning I got up even earlier for our last day, I paddled upstream casting along the way and eventually caught a wild brown trout of about 3lbs, I was contemplating keeping it as I didn’t have a camera, however I knew already had enough fish to eat so I let it go. After that I caught 1 small brown and my first wild rainbow from the Goulburn which was also quite small, before heading back to camp. To conclude the trip was definitely a success we managed to catch lots of trout and have plenty of fun doing so, I’m not sure if my dog will forgive me, but at least he’s not still speeding down the river. I apologise for rambling on, but it’s hard to communicate all the fun we had through a paragraph. Hope this helps or encourages anyone thinking of heading down that way.

[Irishfisherman]

http://www.fishing-victoria.com/downloa ... w&id=33713

[Sebb]

Sounds like you had a great time.
Thank God you and the dog are okay.
That is one beautiful fish!

[happyfriggincamper]

Scary experience mate - thanks for sharing. Good on you for putting in the extra safety measure of a life jacket on your pup. Lucky all safe and a few fish + pb too!

[Lightningx]

Very nice rainbow!
That’s a beauty.
Cheers

[CannonsJS]

Great report. That's a good size trout!

[smokin_reels]

Nice fish!

[meppstas]

Great report and that's one very nice 'bow, well done on the PB as well.. glad to see you & the dog survived what could have been a real disaster..
Good to see you both had life jackets on, next time I wouldn't have the dog in the kayak if I were you..
cheers
Adrian

Here's how to stop the line twist..

Inline blade spinner anti kink set up..

[Irishfisherman]

Thanks Adrian, definitely learned my lesson with the dog. I will have to give your method a try as trolling spinners has proven to be quite effective.

[Boonanza]

Sounds like an eventful trip well done on the fish caught