VIC
Breaking records? EILDON
Peter Burtchell
Will March bring about a change from La Nina, or will it continue for its fourth year breaking previously known records? It’s anybody’s guess. One thing for sure is that Lake Eildon will still be full and the surrounding streams and rivers will be
photo opportunity. On the Lake it was all about surface fishing for Paul Thomas, a great angler who regularly fine tunes his surface fishing skills around Eildon. He recently landed a 112cm Murray cod in quite different circumstances. Tangling his Kingfisher Abela surface paddler on the cast Paul was quite surprised that the 112 took it on a fast to untangle retrieve.
yellowbelly that Paul landed, the first looking timid whilst the second fish looks more aggressive with its dorsal fin fully extended. The fish use their dorsal fin to stabilise themselves against rolling so when taking a photo you can roll the fish slightly and it will instinctively extend its dorsal fin making for a great photo. The fish will also extend their dorsal fin to
Kate Norman has been as successful as ever.
Paul Thomas has been getting good catches off the surface. running, which will provide some amazing angling opportunities. With the rivers running, Craig Parker from Eildon Bait and Tackle recently took some time out from his busy schedule and found that fishing the Goulburn River below the weir resembled fishing in a trout farm! Each cast brought high numbers of following trout all eagerly attempting to eat his lure, and with one succumbing to each cast. Craig finished his session early as he felt that there was no sport with so many fish. Jason the proprietor of Eildon Pondage Guiding Services also took a day off to fish the pondage and, along with his son Noah, they were able to land a nice brown trout for a great
His opponent instinctively dove to the nearest snag with Paul trying to stop it with full weight on his Venom 7’ 8kg baitcaster to no avail. It took over an hour to retrieve the fish from a snag it had retreated to. I was very impressed with Paul as he explained the episode to me with not one expletive used. Kate Norman is again in the spotlight after fishing during a windy evening that would have assisted in unsettling the bait fish. As the wind died down making perfect conditions, Kate was again landing and retrieving another monster Murray cod. Yellowbelly have been fishing well with Paul Thomas spending some time chasing them. I have added two photographs of two
discourage predation and to wedge themselves into rocks and snags using it as an anchor. LAKE EILDON FISHING CHALLENGE If you want to try out your Dorsal extender skills be sure to mark your calendar for the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge beginning on Friday the 19 May 2pm registration and competition start through to the presentations beginning midday on Sunday the 21st.
Jase and son Noah spending some quality time together.
There are some quality fish on offer at the moment. 96 MARCH 2023
The annual communitybased fishing competition raises much needed funds for Variety, the Children’s Charity, and has been running since 2017. Held on Victoria’s premier inland fishery Lake Eildon, anglers have the freedom to bait or lure fish, with or without a boat non-stop for the two full days and nights of the competition. The event is always a fun action-packed weekend.
Details of the event can be obtained from their website lakeeildonfishingchallenge. com of on Facebook Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge. If you want to know more about anything fishing at Eildon you can contact Craig from Eildon Bait and Tackle for Lake Fishing and Jason who runs the Eildon Pondage Guiding services. Another great resource for all things fishing at 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 their 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.
