Welcome to the Campaspe River Fishing Guide. The Campaspe River spans 160 kilometres starting near Bendigo and finishing near Echuca. The river in stretches provides terrific freshwater fishing for species such as golden perch, redfin and cod. The Campaspe River starts along the Wombat State Forest near Bullengarook and Macedon. The river then flows to the township of Woodend and continues through to Kyneton. The middle reaches of the river are joined by Lake Eppalock and the Coliban River. The towns of Elmore and Rochester lie on the river’s lower reaches. The river finally meets the Murray River near Echuca, located on the border between Victoria and New South Wales.

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Things to do along the Campaspe River

The Campaspe River runs along with many popular rural Victorian townships including Kyneton, and Echuca. These spots are popular for camping, historic attractions, and water activities including swimming, canoeing, jet-skiing, kayaking and fishing. Why not go for a scenic walk along the river on the Campaspe river walk. A 3.5-kilometre walk to take in the scenic views, fauna and birdlife. There is also the Kyenton Botanic Gardens which regularly attracts visitors. There is also the sculpture park and deep pools near the wier which make terrific swimming grounds.

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

Fishing the Campaspe River

At the Campaspe River, you can catch

  • Yellowbelly ( Golden Perch )
  • Murray cod
  • Brown trout
  • Rainbow trout
  • Redfin ( English Perch )
  • Silver Perch
  • Tench
  • Carp
  • Roach
  • Eels

The Campaspe River is a great freshwater fishing location great for small tinnys, kayaks, and shore-based fishing. It has been stocked with over 2 million fish since 1990. Much of this stocking in recent years has been natives including yellowbelly and Murray Cod. You can also catch redfin, trout and carp with many of them removed from the system on annual carp removal days. The river can be divided into three main sections, each quite different to the other. The upper section above Lake Eppalock rises near Woodend and flows for 50 km to Lake Eppalock. This section of the river flows in volcanic country with extensive rock substrate and has good pools closer to Lake Eppalock. The section from Lake Eppalock down to Campaspe Weir at Elmore has some areas of deep water and predominantly rubble and gravel substrate. Whilst the lowest section from Campaspe Weir down to the Murray River has a uniform channel shape, sand substrate, abundant snags and shallow water.

The closer you get to Lake Eppalock, the more golden perch and Murray cod can be found. In town around Kyneton, there are 3 kilometres of the river around the township which is a great spot for a picnic and fishing with the family. Below Lake Eppalock at the spillway is a popular spot for families with access to the bank and some deep pools. Park up near the water tower and walk down the access road alongside the spillway. Most fish caught here are small redfin. Further downstream, access to the river is good around Axedale and at English’s Bridge near Goornong, where deep pools and plenty of snags can produce nice-sized cod. Large numbers of Murray cod are stocked in this stretch of river, as well as golden perch.

Along the Campaspe, the best baits include Scrub worms, Crickets, Power bait, Yabbies, Mudeye. We also recommend flicking a wide range of spinners, soft plastics & lures can be a great method of catching a prized redfin or golden perch. Why not read our guide on the best lures to catch redfin & golden perch. Small shallow diving hard body lures are also very effective in this system. As are old favourites such as spinners and Tassie devils. Ideally in smaller sizes and nice bright colours. Metal lures and spoons are also an option. Allowing you to cast great distances and target slightly bigger fish. But they are quite heavy and very prone to snags. If you are targeting golden perch then vibes, blades, spinnerbaits and lipless cranks are also a great option, slowly worked ideally close to structures such as submerged trees. When targeting cod and yellow belly then some great lure choices would include lip-less crank-baits such as Jackall TN series, stump jumpers which can be cast or trolled, surface lures, vibes, spinnerbaits, bassman spinners, large grub style soft plastics in dark colours & Savage Gear swimbait. Cod also do take a liking to large surface lures, slowly worked along with structure. There are some weird and wonderful surface lures and swimbaits new to the market so get creative and mix up your retrieval technique.

 

Fishing Gear Guide for Campaspe River

Good gear selection here would include a light spin rod or a light to medium baitcaster depending on what you’re targeting and how you plan on fishing. For trout, redfin and even yellowbelly a 2-4 kilo or 2-5 kilo spin rod coupled with a 2000 or 2500-size spin reel spooled with 6-10 pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader is a great option. It’s nice and light so you can enjoy the experience but heavy enough to land a decent fish. If you intend to target Murray Cod and Yellowbelly by casting or trolling bigger lures then a medium to light baitcast outfit would be more suitable.

Trolling Tassie Devils, stump jumpers and minnow imitations such as the Daiwa double clutch at different depths is a great way to fish here. We have also had great success fishing with a range of soft plastics & lures. Click here to see our best lures & plastics to catch redfinIf bait fishing Mudeye, live minnow and power bait on a float is a great choice when targeting trout. Other good options include scrub worms and yabbies. I would do so using a very simple running sinker rig with a small hook or treble, and a small pea size sinker.

 

Recommended baits Campaspe River

Bait Choices

  • Scrub worms
  • Powerbait
  • Yabbies
  • Mudeye
  • maggots
  • Corn

Recommended lures Campaspe River

Soft Plastics

  • Stump jumpers
  • Spinnerbaits
  • Bluefox spinners
  • Daiwa DR joint minnows
  • Jackall TN50/60s
  • Berkley powerbait grub
  • Daiwa Presso minnows
  • Tasmanian Devil Blade
  • Bullet lures 5-0 minnow
  • Jackall Pompadours
  • Bullet lures 3cm lure
  • strike tiger nymph
  • Nories Wasabi spoon
  • Rapala countdown floating minnow
  • Pontoon 21 paco spoon
  • Daiwa Double Clutch
  • Tasmanian Devil lure
  • Gulp 3-inch minnow
  • Zman 2.5 inch grub
  • Zerek fish trap
  • eco gear ZX40
  • Savage Gear Fathead crank shallow diving
  • Squidges biotough grub

Targeting Yellowbelly at Campaspe River

Golden Perch

Yellow belly is a beautiful freshwater fish found in this system and with a rich food source available the yellowbelly here grow to good sizes. Curltail and paddle tail soft plastics in black colours are standout choices so are soft vibes, blades, lipless crank-baits such as Jackall TN50 and TN60s.  Other favourites are the reliable stump jumpers and spinnerbaits. Soft plastics work best on a 1/8 or 1/4 jig head slow-rolled or jigged along any structure. Even tie your boat or kayak up to trees and work the soft plastic adding noise 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 well in open water being slow-rolled or trolled.

A light spin rod around 7 feet in length in 2-4 or 3-5 kilo paired with a 2000 or 2500 size reel. Spooled with 8-12 pound braid and an equivalent fluorocarbon leader. Light to Medium baitcaster combos is also a very popular choice when targeting Yellowbelly with spinnerbaits and larger lures. Good bait rigs 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 Campaspe River

Murray Cod

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 needed when targeting these large and powerful fish. Good lure options for Murray Cod include hard body lures, surface lures, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, shads, lipless crankbaits, paddle tails and curtail soft plastics cast towards structure or trolled.

Targeting Trout at Campaspe River

Trout

We recommend you read our 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 you’re 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 than 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.

We conducted a test to see which would perform better for stocked trout powerbait or lures. Watch the video below to find out the results which were interesting.

Targeting Redfin at Campaspe River

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 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 targeting the bigger size reddies. Just remember they are quite heavy and very prone to snags in small inland systems like this one.

Targeting Carp at Campaspe River

Carp

There is a large volume of carp however they are fun to catch. You can learn more about catching carp by reading our guide to carp fishing around Victoria. When targeting carp baits such as corn, bread, and maggots work great with a running sinker rig with a pea-size sinker. So, does suspend baits using a float and even unweighted baits. You can also target carp with hard body lures, soft plastics and fly but this is a difficult technique that generally requires sight casting in shallow clear waters. Most however will stick to targeting them with bait. For rod selection, a 3-5 kilo rod coupled with a 2500, or 3000 size reel is suitable. You can also fish heavier or lighter if you like. We like to target carp on sundown, in the warmer months when you see carp swimming along the edges or jumping out of the water around September-November during their spawning season. European carp must not be returned to the water. 

A simple effective rig is to thread a small running sinker through the mainline (shown in blue) 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 (shown in grey ). I generally use a size 6 bait keeper hook or size 10 long shank which is perfect for corn kernels or scrub worms, or treble style hooks for baits like bread.

Running sinker fishing rig

If you’re getting snagged up then 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 breeze which will stop the float from coming back to you. If you’re not getting bites then adjust the line depth and If necessary add a splint shot to add weight.

Float fishing rig

Stretches of the Ovens River contain venomous snakes so do take care. You can see more details about Campase River water levelsImages of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos on the Campaspe River Fishing Guide page are Fishing Mad originals.

Thanks for reading our Campaspe River 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 enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details in the email. Please also feel free to share any fishing pictures you have from this location with us. Thank you