Welcome to the Melton Reservoir Fishing Guide. Melton Reservoir, also known as Exford Weir, was built in 1916 as a water irrigation supply for local farmlands and runs from the Werribee River. It was upgraded in the 1930s and again around 1990. Melton is roughly 35 kilometres or 40-minute drive from Melbourne. This once small country township was initially known as a thoroughbred country, but rapid population growth has also brought with it a harness racing track, wave pool, parks, and shopping centre.
Melton has several fishing spots, but none better than Melton Reservoir. Thanks to stocking efforts by the VFA, it has become one of the best native fishing spots close to Melbourne. Rather than driving 2-3 hours to known freshwater fishing spots like Eildon or Eppaclok, you can consistently catch Yellowbelly, Murray cod, Estuary Perch and Redfin without the long drive. Access to the reservoir can be tricky as the only boat ramp access requires you to be a member of the Melton Runabout speedboat club; it does have access via Clakes Road for land-based angling and kayaking. Melton Res is on the radar and a big part of future native fish stocking programs, making it an exceptional freshwater fishery for native species in years to come.
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Watch the video below as Al from FishingMad shows just how good Melton Reservoir can be
Things to do at Melton
Melton is a growing township with many things to do for families and kids—plenty of parks with swings, walking tracks and running areas. Navan Park is a terrific spot to take kids, who can play on the large adventure playground and feed the ducks. The lakes are generally topped with rainbow trout each school holiday break, making them an excellent spot for kids. Local attractions include Tabcorp Park Harness Racing Centre, Woodgrove Shopping Centre, Melton Valley Golf Club, Melton Botanic Gardens, Hannah Watts Park, the Cinemas, The Willows, and Woodlea Playground. You can also go for a short drive to the neighbouring Eynesbury and Bacchus Marsh townships.
Fishing Melton Reservoir
At Melton Reservoir, you can catch ( see how to target each species below )
- Yellowbelly ( Golden Perch )
- Murray Cod
- Redfin ( English Perch )
- Estuary Perch
- Silver Perch
- Carp
- Eels
Melton Reservoir is a fascinating fishing system that has greatly changed recently. I can remember catching so many Redfin here historically, but now we’re catching many more natives, particularly Yellowbelly. Access to the boat ramp requires you to be a member of the Melton Runabout speedboat club, but you can access land-based fishing and kayaking via Clarkes Road beyond the Melton Gun Club. You can drive down the dirt track and park near the water’s edge. We would advise parking at the entrance unless you have a 4WD. The road entrance has been closed for a period of time due to new housing developments. It’s a strange location with a long history of litter and car dumping, which is a shame as its potential as a family-friendly fishing destination has never been truly explored. There are no basic onsite facilities such as toilets or picnic tables, which is a real oversight by local councils.
Despite the dumped rubbish, abandoned cars, and lack of facilities, the fishing here is excellent. Melton Reservoir has always had a healthy population of redfin, estuary perch, bass, carp, tench, and goldfish. In recent years, it has also been heavily stocked with native fish species, including Yellowbelly, Murray Cod, Silver Perch, and Golden Perch. Many yellowbelly and Murray cod were stocked into Melton Reservoir in 2019 and again in 2024 thanks to the application process, but keen local anglers and speedboat clubs were working in conjunction with the VFA. The stocking of native species will grow in this area in due time. Nearby, there were also native fish and stonker trout stocked into Navan Park in early 2020.
Below are the fish stocked here in 2022. However, Melton has received 112,300 fish stocked over the past 10 years. We are hoping that the cod will take to this system.
You can fish land-based Melton Reservoir, on a kayak or small boat. It can be incredibly productive for schools of yellowbelly, redfin and estuary perch, especially if you have a sounder to mark up schools or if you have a live score. We have caught many redfin up to 50cm in this area, working soft plastics slowly in open water along the edges of submerged trees. The depths vary, and perch will often sit right on those drop-offs. Please note that there are restricted areas leased by the Melton Runabout and Speed Boat Club. Boats will come through at high speeds, so you will want to make sure you stay out of their way. You can also fish on the banks with baits or walk the banks, flicking soft plastics and lures.
In recent years, some of the most successful techniques here have been to troll lures at the back of your boat or kayak for yellowbelly and Murray cod. Working lures in the bottom third, ideally a few meters from the banks along the edges. Trolling lures such as stump jumpers, mid-diving hardbody lures, soft vibes spinnerbaits, Tassie devils and double clutches at the back of your boat or kayak. Electric motors work great for this, and the reduced noise will help increase catch rates. Generally, we are trolling with 2 rods out the back, motoring along between 2.5 and 3.5 kilometres. This simple technique works exceptionally well for Murray cod, yellowbelly, redfin and estuary perch.
However, the technique that has worked best for me in recent years is to work the bank edges and any visible structure, such as trees, bridge pylons, and dumped cars, with soft plastics, blades, and vibes, slowly, for Redfin, yellowbelly, cod, and eps. When you find a school, you’ll often land multiple fish from that one spot.
The township of Melton has other freshwater fishing options, including Navan Park Reservoir, West Lakes and Darlingsford Lake. These are choc-full of carp but also hold a good population of redfin and are stocked regularly with trout Victorian trout stocking guide. If you are fishing with bait, then scrub worms, powerbait, yabbies, and mudeye are great options, either suspended from a float or running sinker rig. Flicking lures can be challenging as the shallow areas are full of weeds and grass, so you need to cast beyond those areas to have any success. Soft plastics and spinners are also fantastic options. We encourage you to read our detailed guide on the best lures & plastics when targeting Redfin. Shallow diving hard body lures such as bullet lures, Daiwa double-clutch, Rapala Countdown series and Savage gear minnows are also excellent choices.
Checkout our detailed video of kayak fishing at Melton Reservoir
Rod & Reel Setup for Melton Reservoir
Multiple target species are at this location, all requiring quite different setups. Murray Cod caught in this system are as small as 30cm and as large as 80cm. Cod lures can weigh anything from 20 grams to 200 grams. Generally, when targeting cod, ideally, a heavy baitcast combo around 6″6 in length and 8-15kg in class paired with a 150/200 baitcast reel spooled with 50lb braid. You can go a bit heavier here if you’re targeting huge fish with large lures or smaller if you’re casting smaller lures for smaller cod.
When targeting yellowbelly, you can significantly reduce this to a Light or medium baitcasting rod paired with a 150 baitcast reel or, as we often prefer, targeting them with a 2-5kg spin rod paired with a 2500-size reel. When targeting redfin and trout, we recommend a 2-4 kg spin rod paired with a 2500 size reel. If bait fishing for multiple species such as carp, yellowbelly, and redfin, a 3-5kg spin rod paired with a 2500 reel would work great.
Recommended baits for fishing at Melton Reservoir
- Scrub worms
- Yabbies
- Mudeye
- Maggots
- Corn
Recommended lures for fishing at Melton Reservoir
- Stump jumpers S3
- Gulp 3-inch minnow
- 2.5-inch grubs
- 3-inch soft plastics with jig spinners attached
- Soft Vibes
- Blades
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- Tasmanian Devil lure
- Zerek fish trap
- eco gear ZX40
Targeting Yellowbelly at Melton Reservoir
Yellowbelly, AKA Golden Perch, is a beautiful freshwater fish thriving in Melton Reservoir. In recent years, I’ve had sessions catching 20 or 30 of them. With a rich food source available, the yellowbelly here grows too thick and plump sizes. Good lure choices include curl tail soft plastics with the zman 2.5-inch grubz and Gulp 3-inch Grub Minnow, both in black, which are standout choices. The ever-reliable stump jumpers are a great option, especially when trolling. Soft vibes such as the Zerek fish trap, Jackall transams and Samaki vibelicious are great options. Lip-less crank-baits such as Jackall TN50 and TN60 continue to be very popular so do blades such as the eco gear ZX40 with stinger hooks.
Soft plastics work best on a 1/8 or 1/4 jig head slow-rolled along with any structure. This works particularly well when tying your boat or kayak up against trees and working the soft plastic slowly up against the tree and adding some noise to the action by tapping the butt of your rod or by hitting the jig head into the timber. This brings out the predatory nature of the yellowbelly. Take advantage of down scan and side scan technologies on your sounder and spend some time moving between the structure to find the fish. Other lures can be worked amongst the timber but, in general, work really well in open water being slow-rolled or trolled. When it comes to rod selection, we generally use a light spin rod that is around 7 feet in length in 1-4, 2-4 or 3-5 kilo class paired with a 1000, 2000 or 2500 size reel and spooled with 8-12 pound braid and an equivalent fluorocarbon leader. Baitcaster rods and reels are a very popular choice when targeting yellowbelly. Good options include a 3-5 or 4-6 bait caster with a 2000 bait caster reel. When bait fishing a 7 foot light rod paired with a 3000 size reel. Good bait rigs would include a paternoster rig with a small sinker at the bottom or a running sinker rig with scrub worms or yabbies.
Targeting Murray Cod at Melton Reservoir
The cod in Melton Reservoir were only stocked a few years ago but are now becoming more common catches. Their sizes in this system have really started to grow, with the odd one above 70cm being caught now. In years to come, this will only get better and better, and we encourage all anglers to release these fish so they can grow and flourish.
Murray Cod is Australia’s largest freshwater fish that grows to impressive sizes. Cod are ambush predators that love the cover of structure, so make sure you concentrate your efforts on any visible structure, including logs and submerged trees. They will also seek shelter in deeper holes and rock ledges. Cod are most active in low light conditions such as sunrise and sundown. A medium to heavy bait caster rod is ideal when targeting cod. This might be a stiff 6-foot rods in 6-10 kilo class matched with a suitable size bait caster reel spooled with 20lb to 30lb braid and 30lb to 40lb leader. Good lure options for Murray Cod include hard body lures, surface lures, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, shads, lipless crankbaits, paddle tails, and curtail soft plastics. These should be worked slowly or tolled from your boat or kayak if access is permitted. There are some amazing surface lures on the market these days, including imitation mice, frogs, ducks, and snakes with realistic action that are fun to target cod with. Bait anglers can target Murray cod with live yabbies and worms.
Targeting Redfin at Melton Reservoir
Redfin once were the prime target species at Melton Reservoir, but this has slowly changed with the stocking of Yellowbelly, Murray Cod and Estuary Perch. We recommend targeting Redfin with a light spin outfit. This will make the experience more enjoyable and improve your catch rates. A 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 2000, 2500 or 3000 reel spooled with 4-8-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader should be perfect. Redfin responds really well to lures and soft plastics, so check out our guide on the best lures for catching Redfin. When using soft plastics, we highly recommend curl tails, minnow imitations, and paddle tails in both natural and bright colours—rigged with a jig head that’s 1/8 through to 1/20 in weight. The most effective way to use these is to cast towards visible structure and slow roll the soft plastic with lifts and pauses for the retrieve.
Shallow diving hard body lures, blades and vibes are also very effective in this system. So are traditional spinners and Tassie devils in bright colours. Metal spoons also play a role in allowing you to cast great distances and target the bigger reddies. Just remember they are quite heavy and very prone to snags in small inland systems like this one.
Targeting Estuary Perch at Melton Reservoir
Another highlight of fishing in this area is targeting Estuary perch with surface and shallow diving lures. The action can be frantic on warm, balmy evenings with low wind. Listen for the sound of breaking water, which indicates that EPs are feeding. The excitement an angler gets from an EP smashing a surface lure on light gear is something that genuinely needs to be experienced. It almost catches you by surprise when that aggressive strike comes. Small surface poppers, cicadas, blades, surface minnows and pencil lures work well here. So do shallow diving hardbody lures. Noteworthy options include bent minnows, Rapala countdown series, nories laydown minnows and shallow diving cranks. Basically, anything that doesn’t dive too deep and makes a good vibrating action will work well. You can use any colour choice, and we often start with silvers that mimic small baitfish or mullet.
EPs also respond incredibly well to a whole range of soft plastics that are lightly weighted. Including curl tails, paddle tails and minnow imitations. The trusty 2.5-inch grubs and minnows are an excellent choice. These imitate small baitfish that the EPs are actively feeding on. We would recommend mixing up the retrieval speeds and pauses and playing around with different colours. Where possible, fish along with the structure and stay alert for signs such as breaking water. Fishing for Estuary Perch requires finesse. We recommend an ultralight fishing combo consisting of a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo spin rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 1000 or 2000 size reel spooled with 2-8 pound line and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. When bait fishing, use a 2-4 kilo rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 2500-size reel, either a float or small running sinker to a swivel and a very fine leader.
Targeting Carp at Melton Reservoir
There is a large volume of carp in local lakes; however, they are fun to catch, and you can learn more about catching carp by reading our detailed guide to carp fishing around Victoria. When targeting carp, standard baits such as corn, bread, and maggots work great for carp here. Using a simple running sinker rig with a pea-size sinker works excellent in this area. So, do suspend baits using a float. We have also fished well using unweighted baits. You can also target carp with hard body lures and soft plastics. This is a complex technique that generally requires sight casting. This means spotting a nearby carp casting right in there and working the lure of plastic slowly, hoping they will strike. It’s tough but very rewarding when you catch a carp using this method. Most, however, will stick to targeting them with bait.
For rod selection, a 3-5 kilo rod coupled with a 4000-size reel is very suitable. You could even fish a little heavier with rods designed for snapper that are generally 4-7 kilos and 7 feet in length. For fun, I have caught some monster-sized carp using a 2-4 kilo rod and a 6-pound braid. But I am prepared to lose some good fish in the process. We like to target carp on sundown, particularly in the warmer months. This is often when you see carp swimming along the edges or jumping out of the water around September-November, which is their spawning season. European carp must not be returned to the water. Always carry your Victorian fishing license.
A simple yet effective fishing rig here is to thread a small running sinker through the mainline shown in blue, which is usually around 8 pounds. 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 using bread.
If you’re getting snagged, you can also use a float rig. Attach a quill or bubble float to your mainline. Thread the line through and adjust the length using a size 6 bait keeper hook or size 10 long shank to keep your bait suspended at a good depth. Ideally, cast down the breeze, which will stop the float from coming back to you. If you’re not getting bites, adjust the line depth and, if necessary, add a splint shot to add weight.
Always carry your Victorian fishing license. FishingMad encourages the catch & release of all native species to help maintain the water quality within the lake; however, European Carp must not be returned. Melton has always been a great hunting ground for snakes, so in the warmer months, always be wary of Tiger Snakes, Brown Snakes and Red-belly. Wearing protective footwear in the middle of summer is a good idea. Swimming, camping, boating and open fires are prohibited. Always carry your Victorian fishing license. FishingMad encourages the catch & release of all native species to help maintain the water quality within the lake; however, European Carp must not be returned. Images of fish and stocking information supplied by VFA and DEPI. All other photos and videos shown on the Melton Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.
Thank you for visiting the Melton Reservoir Fishing Guide. If you feel this location guide is missing key information or needs any corrections made, then please let us know by emailing our team at [email protected] with specific details in the email. Please also feel free to share any fishing pictures you have from this location with us. Thank you
