Lake Elingamite

Welcome to the Lake Elingamite Fishing Guide. Lake Elingamite is a 2 ½ hours drive or 200 kilometres from Melbourne. Located off Oates Road in the Corangamite region, past Geelong, close to the townships of Cobden. A small circular lake 2 kilometres in diameter holds a good volume of redfin and trout, and some good-sized ones too. There is a basic boat ramp and jetty, which can present challenges when water levels are low.

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Things to do at Lake Elingamite

The Lake is located in a relatively isolated area between Geelong and Warnambool. A lovely scenic location, the lake is open and exposed on windy days. The closest lakes to this area include Lake Bullen Merri and Lake Purrumbette. Nearby attractions include the Camperdown Botanic Gardens, the township manifold clock tower, the Camperdown Courthouse, and Rennie’s Hill lookout for great views of neighbouring lakes. Play a round of golf at the Camperdown golf course or take the kids to the miniature railway park.

Watch as we fish at Lake Elingamite

Fishing at Lake Elingamite

This is a shallow system, and water levels have been challenging in recent years. The water level is currently just high enough for a boat ramp launch, but this is an ideal fishing location with a kayak or small boat. At Lake Elingamite, you can catch rainbow trout, brown trout, redfin and tench. Seasonally, redfin are more active in the warmer months, and trout are active in the colder months. Historically, the lake has been heavily stocked with both rainbow and brown trout.

The lake is only 2 kilometres in diameter, allowing you to cover a large portion of it. Redfin will school up in big numbers, so stay on the move by casting or trolling lures until you find them. Your sounder will be a great asset in helping us locate the schools. Shallow and mid diving hard body lures have worked very well to find the redfin. Lake Elingamite is an excellent location for lures and soft plastics. Check out our guide on the best lures to catch redfin. Shallow diving hard body lures and soft plastic minnow imitations are also excellent choices. Traditional lures such as spinners and Tassie devils will also work really well, especially in bright colours. You won’t need to get too fancy here a simple cast and slow roll will be effective. You may also consider trolling these slowly from your boat or kayak. In the early mornings, you may spot trout breaking the surface to take flies and crickets. Therefore, fly and cricket imitations are also options worth trying. When targeting freshwater species such as trout and redfin we recommend fishing with a light spinning rod. We recommend using a 2-4 kilo fishing rod with a 2000 or 2500 size reel, spooled with 6-8 pound braid and finished with one rod length of fluorocarbon leader.

If you plan to fish with bait, then good options include mudeye, powerbait and minnows pinned on a small hook suspended by a float or using worms and maggots on a light running sinker rig. We have seen many trout and redfin caught using these baits and methods. A simple yet effective fishing rig involves threading a small running sinker through the mainline, typically around 8 pounds, as shown in blue. Then tie a medium swivel to the end, allowing the sinker to run up the mainline freely. Then tie on the other end of the swivel 50cm of 8-pound fluorocarbon leader (the leader is shown in grey ). Finished with a hook. I generally use a size 6 bait keeper hook or size 10 long shank, which is perfect for corn kernels or scrub worms; however, you can also use small treble style hooks, which is a better setup if you’re using bread.

Trout and redfin are notorious for feeding more aggressively at dawn and dusk. We highly recommend fishing during the first and last hours of sunlight. Redfin is more active in the warmer months, and trout are more active in the colder months. Many lakes and reservoirs in the area have been stocked with trout fingerlings. Use this link to follow Victorian trout stocking programs.

• Mudeye
• scrub worms
• power bait
• maggots
• minnows

• Tasmanian Devil Blade
• Daiwa jointed minnow
• Bullet Lures
• Daiwa Double Clutch
• Tasmanian Devil lure
• Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
• Strike Pro Bob n Spoon
• Gulp 3-inch minnow
• Zman 2.5 inch grub
• Daiwa Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
• Zerek fish trap
• Jackall transams
• eco gear ZX40
• Savage Gear Fathead crank shallow diving
• stump jumpers
• Rapala jack deep