The western crater lakes and surrounding waterways have been fishing well of late with a good number of people interested in Bullen Merri in particular,
which has been fishing well for the chinook salmon and trout. Many anglers catch both fish on various trolling methods, generally with the use of a
downrigger as the lake is very deep. Fishing around the thermocline can produce good results along with actively searching for bait schools.
Friend of the shop John 'Mr Jinkai' has been out in the crater lakes recently where trout and salmon have been caught. John's most recent trip was last
week where some big salmon were caught deep bait fishing. The bait of choice were pilchard strips, fished on a simple running sinker rig around the
bait schools. Cubing with pilchards also helps tremendously to keep the schools of salmon around. Small metal 'flutter' jigs fished around the schools
have been working well also.
Customer Ryan and mate Nick have been fishing some of the western lakes in search of some bigger redfin. The larger redfin seem to proliferate the western
lakes, so if big redfin are your target - west is best! The guys have been fishing slightly bigger lures to weed out the smaller fish, with 4'' plastics
and also yellowbelly sized vibes getting the interest of the larger fish. Some of the larger fish have been belting the lures as they are burnt back
through the water as fast as possible, so it always pays to mix up your lure style and retrieve speed also.