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. Originally built in the 1930s throughout its journey it received some upgrades 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. It’s not the most scenic of fishing destinations but Wurdibuloc Reservoir seasonally produces amazing trout and redfin fishing but much effort is required. Its water levels currently are very low making this a challenging fishing destination. There a regular reports of nice size trout and Redfin being taken. This can be a challenging 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 key gear before even starting my day.
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Please note that WurdeeBoluc is part of the Barwon domestic water supply. Therefore boating, wading and berley are not permitted. There are also signs which help you identify the sections of the reservoir which you can and cannot fish.
Watch our detailed video guide on our top 10 redfin lures below
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 quite shallow and weedy in many areas. This is a great 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 great distances which are needed and also allow you to target both trout and redfin at the same time. Top options include the nories wasaby and 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 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 flys 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 getting 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 is a great 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 pound. Then finished with roughly 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 the 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. With redfin more active in the warmer months and trout 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.
Check out this video on how to catch recently stocked freshwater fish
Recommended fishing lures Wurdiboluc Reservoir
- Daiwa DR joint minnows
- Daiwa Presso minnows
- Bullet lures 5-0 minnow
- Bullet lures 3cm lure
- Noriws Wasabi spoon
- Pontoon 21 paco spoon
- Tasmanian Devil Blade
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
- Tasmanian Devil lure
- Gulp 3-inch minnow
- Zman 2.5 inch grub
- Daiwa Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
- Zerek fish trap
- eco gear ZX40
- Savage Gear Fathead crank shallow diving
- stump jumpers
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.
We conducted a test to see which would perform better for stocked trout power bait or lures. Watch the video below to find out the results which were interesting.
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 targeting the bigger size reddies. Just remember they are quite heavy and very prone to snags in small inland systems like this one.
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 and broke my brand new rod and had severe scratches and bruises for 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 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