Lake Wendouree is located in the centre of one of Australia's most famous mining towns - Ballarat.
Access around the lake is excellent via walking tracks and the main road. There are plenty of toilet blocks, picnic areas and bbq possies dotted around the lake as well.
The lake is stocked with trout each year and they can reach 3kg (av.900g).
The lake is somewhat famous for its exciting black cricket fishing. Some years, when the cricket numbers are up, the trout gorge themselves on them. This makes for some very exciting nighttime fishing with a cricket fished in the surface film (or allowed to sink) using a bubble float rig.
The lake is also very popular with walkers so care should be taken on the back cast - especially when fly-fishing!
There is an Olympic rowing course that bisects the lake down the middle and care should be exercised when this is in use.
The lake has extensive weed growth with large reeds in the centre of the lake. The trout congregate in and around these weed outcrops and grow very fat on the prolific insect life that inhabits them.
The lake also has a good population of redfin that can attain 2kg in weight (av. 800g). These fish respond very well to lure casting using revolving blade spinners and minnow imitations.
Decent redfin are often caught by trout anglers using mudeye under a float and are often a welcome by-catch due to their top performance on the plate.
Fly-fishing is very popular in Lake Wendouree. There are good hatches of March browns on a warm, windless and overcast day.
Many anglers have employed the 'loch' style of fly-fishing for trout by drifting and casting flies ahead of the boat. This gives the fly the correct drift speed if there is a breeze and allows the angler access to productive water.
The flies to have are: black muddler minnow (for the cricket invasions), brown nymph and the emerger (both wets), Macquarie red (dry), highland dun (dry) and red spinner (dry) for the mayfly hatches. Craig's night time, Mrs. Simpson and BMS are good all-rounders to have for prospecting if there is no notable surface activity.
Bait fishing is possibly the most popular with the locals. The standard mudeye under a bubble float is the go for the local trout and live minnow or gudgeon fished unweighted, under a float or on a running sinker rig should see a reddie sooner or later.

Neil Slater

Lake Wendouree Map