Welcome to the Lake Benalla Fishing Guide. Lake Benalla is located in northeast Victoria roughly a 2 1/2 hours drive from Melbourne. It was established in the 1970s and become a quiet and scenic area niece for walking and cycling. It has nice surrounding birdlife including ducks, pelicans, cockatoos and kookaburras. In recent times has had issues with flooding, dangerous levels of organisms and poor water clarity. It’s supposed to have golden perch but we have only seen carp caught from this lake. It does have over 4 kilometres of lovely walking tracks around the area.
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Things to do at Lake Benalla
There is a scenic 4-kilometre walking track around Lake Benalla which offers scenic views. It’s a relaxing way to capture some scenic photos whilst enjoying the local fauna, birdlife and wildlife. Nearby attractions include the Benalla botanic gardens, adventure playground of bridge street and art gallery. A couple of years ago swimming was prohibited at Lake Benalla due to poor water conditions. So check for updates before entering and don’t eat fish caught from here. Always beware of snakes in rural areas, which are known to have brown, tiger and red bellied.
Fishing Lake Benalla
At Lake Benalla, you can catch carp, eels, and tench. Thanks to recent initiatives by the VFA there have also been programs to stock native fish species including Murray cod and yellow belly. Let’s first cover carp you can learn more about catching carp have a read 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 great in this area. So, does suspending 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 difficult technique that generally requires sight casting. This means spotting a nearby carp and 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 kilo 7 foot in length. We recommend a 10 pound line and a strong leader. Again you can go heavier if you wish, for fun I have caught some monster size carp using 2-4 kilo rod and a 6-pound braid. But I am prepared to lose some good fish in the process.
Most freshwater species have a tendency to feed more aggressively at Dawn and Dusk. 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 get 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 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.
Best baits at Lake Benalla
- Corn
- scrub worms
- earthworms
- bread
- maggots
- boilies
Targeting Carp at Lake Benalla
There is a large volume of carp in local lakes however they are fun to catch and you can learn more about catching carp have a read 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 great in this area. So, does suspending 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 difficult technique that generally requires sight casting. This means spotting a nearby carp and 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 kilo 7 foot in length. For fun, I have caught some monster size carp using 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.
Lake Benalla News
- In March 2019 40 fish habitat structures were installed on Lake Benalla by the Tatong Anglers club. This is in an attempt to restore the lake to its founder glory and to start stocking it once again with native fish species.
- In 2020 the VFA and Goulburn Murray water have teamed up to relocate native fish species including Murray cod and yellowbelly from local irrigation channels into Lake Benalla. This is welcome news.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. Header featured from timeout.com/melbourne. All other images and videos shown on the Lake Benalla Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.
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