Wurdiboluc Reservoir

Welcome to Wurdiboluc Reservoir Fishing Guide. Wurdiboluc Reservoir is a large water storage system part of Barwon Water located roughly 40 kilometres past Geelong off Cape Otway Road. Initially built in the 1930s, it has undergone several upgrades throughout its journey and now supplies water to Geelong, Anglesea, Torquay, and surrounding regions. Located 40 kilometres past Geelong, it is often referred to as the land of a thousand casts. Although not the most scenic of fishing destinations, Wurdibuloc Reservoir offers excellent trout and redfin fishing during certain seasons, but it requires considerable effort. Its water levels are currently very low, making this a challenging fishing destination. There are regular reports of nice-sized trout and Redfin being taken.  This can be a difficult destination to navigate. Those who come to the main entrance are forced to walk down a steep and long rock wall. I have slipped on these rocks myself and broken gear before even starting my day.

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Please note that Wurdiboluc Reservoir is part of the Barwon domestic water supply. Therefore, boating, wading, and berley are not permitted. Some signs help you identify the sections of the reservoir that you can and cannot fish.

Fishing at Wurdiboluc Reservoir

Wurdibuloc Reservoir is a challenging fishing destination, especially on cold and windy days. However, you can catch brown trout, rainbow trout and redfin and trophy-size trout and redfin are not uncommon at this location. The reservoir itself is relatively shallow and weedy in many areas. This is an excellent location for lures and soft plastics. Check out our guide on the best lures to catch Redfin. Long casting metal lures and spoons are a must-have option when fishing from the rocks or banks. They will allow you to cover the great distances needed, and also allow you to target both trout and redfin at the same time. Top options include the Nories wasabi and the Pontoon 21 Paco Spoon. Shallow diving hard body lures and heavily weighted soft plastic minnow imitations are also excellent choices. Some good options include bullet lures in bright and natural colours, Daiwa double-clutch, Rapala Countdown series, and Savage gear minnows, which are also excellent choices. Traditional lures such as spinners and Tassie devils will also work really well, especially in bright colours. You often see trout surfacing to take flies and crickets off the surface, so fly and cricket imitations, lures, and plastics such as the savage Gear Mayfly are also great options.

Bait fishing can be challenging here, as it’s hard to get your baits out far enough to get a bite. However, should you choose to fish with bait, then mudeye on a float, or scrub worms on a running sinker rig, it is an excellent choice for both trout and redfin. You may also like to try Power Bait and yabbies. When targeting freshwater species such as trout, redfin and estuary perch, we recommend fishing with a light spinning rod. This will make the experience more enjoyable and improve your catch rates. We suggest a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod. Coupled with a 2000, 2500 or 3000 size reel that’s been spooled with a decent quality braid between 4-8 pounds, finished with a rod length of a quality fluorocarbon leader. Trout and Redfin are notorious for feeding more heavily at Dawn and Dusk. My personal favourite is fishing at sundown.

Trout and redfin are notorious for feeding more aggressively at dawn and dusk. So we highly recommend fishing in the first and last hours of sunlight. Redfin is more active in the warmer months, and trout are more active in the colder months. In recent years, the reservoir has been heavily stocked with trout fingerlings. Use this link to follow Victorian trout stocking programs.

Targeting Trout at Wurdiboluc Reservoir

We would highly recommend that you read our detailed guide on how to catch trout which details our favourite lures, baits and techniques. You can follow trout stocking timelines by reading the Victorian trout stocking guide as part of the target 1 million by 2020 and 10 million by 2022 initiatives. When targeting trout with lures we recommend using shallow diving hard body minnows, metal spoons, spinners, Tassie devils and soft plastics which are also very effective on trout. If your bait fishing, then Mudeye, scrub worms, power bait, yabbies and minnows suspended from a float or a running sinker rig are great options when targeting trout at this location. Trout are more active in cold conditions with most catches on the first and last light of the day. We recommend targeting trout with a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 1000, 2000, or 2500 reel spooled with 4-8-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. If there are larger trophy size trout around then you can go heavier moving up the scale to a 3-5 kilo class spin rod spooled with fine 8-12-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader.

Targeting Redfin at Wurdiboluc Reservoir

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 respond really well to lures and soft plastics so do check 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, allowing you to cast great distances and target the bigger size reddies. Just remember, they are quite heavy and very prone to snags in small inland systems like this one.

Watch our detailed video guide on our top 10 redfin lures below

This is not a great fishing location for kids. Quite often, you are required to walk down a challenging rock wall, and there isn’t much to keep the kids occupied should the bite be quiet. Walking the Rockwall can be very hazardous, so be careful. I myself have slipped down the rocks, broken my brand new rod, and had severe scratches and bruises for a quick lapse of concentration. Always let others know where you are fishing. Also, always be on the lookout for Brown and Tiger snakes, which can be apparent in the immediate area. Thank you for reading the Wurdibuloc Reservoir Fishing Guide. If you believe this location guide is missing key information or requires corrections, please email our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details. Please also feel free to share any fishing pictures you have from this location with us. Thank you