Arthurs Lake — Matt Sherriff

Jack Gillespie — Megabass X-80 Jnr at Arthurs Lake.

ARTHURS LAKE

Matt Sherriff shares his knowledge

Arthurs Lake would have to be my favourite trout fishing destination. Whilst the fish in neighbouring Great Lake have a bigger average size, to me the moonscape of Great Lake has nothing on the setting offered in Arthurs. Watching the sun rise over Arthurs, with the dead trees emerging eerily from the morning mist, epitomises what a special place this is. Damming the upper Lake River and flooding the area that originally contained two lakes, Blue Lake and Sand Lake, and the Morass Marsh made the modern day Arthurs Lake. The water in Arthurs Lake is used for hydro electricity generation with the water being pumped into Great Lake to feed the power station at Poatina. Arthurs has a self-sustaining wild Brown Trout population and is one of the most popular Trout fishing destinations in our state. It did suffer a decline in recent times and Woods Lake just down the road took over, but that is changing back.

Lure fishing, in my opinion would have to be the most successful way of targeting fish in this water. While there are some great days for the fly fisherman to enjoy success during hatches, those fishing lures will consistently find better numbers of fish.

SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS

Lures

I find it best to set up three rods to cover most situations you will come across throughout the lake as this will allow you to quickly change tactics as you go from one area to another. Two of these rods will be running hard bodied minnows with a profile that closely resembles the Galaxias that the trout feed on. One shallow model that runs down to around 1 metre and the other a deeper version which dives to two metres or so. The third lure is a soft plastic “T” Tail with a 1/16th or 1/12th jig head and 1/0 hook.

The shallow minnows are best used tight in against the shores and when I say tight, I mean as hard into the shores as you can! It is surprising how close to shore the Hawk Sniper 60S

fish will smash your lure. Results in these areas often better on overcast days with some wave action which will stir the Galaxias out of the rocks.

Deeper minnows work extremely well amongst the trees and along the outside edge of the various tree lined shores where water depth is around three metres but weed beds come up to within two metres of the surface. Trolling the outside of the tree lines with these lures is a great way to catch a couple of fish while you’re enjoying a bite to eat or a coffee break as well!

Soft plastics are a great option for targeting fish hanging on deeper weed beds but also work well in places like the Lily Pads, where weed is thick and comes to the surface. Due to running a single hook, they are much less prone to getting caught in the weed and give you the best opportunity to cover this productive area of the lake. This also applies to Cow Paddock Bay. Some of these areas would be near on impossible to fish with hard body lures as the trebles will snag the weed immediately.

To fish these lures successfully, braided lines are key. Not only can you feel the action of the lure, even the slightest hit from a fish can be felt which allows you to throw in an extra twitch to bring the fish back to your lure. Likewise, if you’re using a plastic, if you feel a hit, most times a pause and dropping the rod tip will see the fish return and grab the lure. As braid has virtually no stretch it will also allow you to set the hook well which is important due to Trout having a relatively hard mouth!

Four to six pound braid is more than adequate and the fine diameter of these sizes will assist in helping to cast the light lures. Four to eight pound leader of around one and a half metres for an invisible link to your lure also acts as a shock absorber due to its inherent stretch which helps to avoid break-offs! I’ve found that four pound leader is more than adequate to fish this water and have not suffered from any fish related break-offs. I have had good success with Sunline Shooter FC but have recently changed to Jinkai premium and rate it highly as a leader material.

Rods in the 1-3kg or 2-4kg rating are best suited, paired with a balanced reel in the 1000-2500 size range. 7’ rods are a great allrounder but if you’re comfortable with the extra length of the 7’ 6” rods you will find the extra casting distance is great for covering more ground!

Going the extra mile

Those extra one percenter’s can be the difference between fishless days and taking your bag! Keep an eye on the weather in the days leading up to your trip. For instance, if there has been a prevailing westerly wind for two or three days before your trip, fishing the eastern shore of the sandlake or the shore opposite Jonah Bay can be very rewarding. This is due to the wave action of the lake concentrating the food onto these windblown shores. A good indication of this is seeing foam along the shore edge. These areas are often productive and even though at times fishing the wind blown shores can be a little uncomfortable, you will be rewarded for your effort. Calm bays will seldom give you the same results.

Good work by Jen Westwood.

Like any fish, trout can at times be unpredictable and will be feeding along the lee side of the shore. A good way to figure this out is to hit up some of the smaller islands on the lake, working around the island to determine where the fish are feeding. This will often give you a good indication of the shores to hit up. When fishing shores, give extra focus to any points jutting out as they will often hold fish, especially ones with foam lines!

Make sure to mix up your retrieves as well. Sometimes trout prefer a slow rolling retrieve, other times twitches and pauses will do the trick. If you find fish following your lure but not committing a quick erratic retrieve will often get them to strike! When using plastics, a hop and drop technique is good for working deeper weed beds, whereas when working shallower sections, a slow roll through weedy areas is a deadly technique.

Arthurs Lake has great shore and boat access, good camping facilities as well as having more shelter than Great Lake when it’s windy. The trout are generally in very good condition and the catch rate is above average when compared to other waters. If you’ve never fished Arthurs, make sure you put it on your to-do list and give a few of the above techniques/lures a crack; I guarantee it won’t be the last time you visit! I hope those that already fish the lake may be able to take something out of here to try as well. The best part about fishing is that every day is different, and it’s a never-ending learning curve!

Favourite Lures:

Shallow

Hawk Sniper 60S Megabass X-70 Megabass GH70

Deep

Hawk Sniper Deep 69 Megabass X-80 Jnr

Soft Plastic

Strike Tiger 2.5” T Tail Megabass Hazedong Shad 3”

Matt Sherriff

Let the little ones grow.

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