Trevor Hawkins explores the activity of chasing winter trout in trophy lakes and explains why it can often be the best time to target larger than average browns and rainbows.

It can be hard to get yourself motivated when the rain is being pushed sideways into your ear, getting down your neck and running down your back. To add insult to injury, winter winds often push into your favourite and most easily accessed shoreline, creating waves that would keep most Port Philip Bay anglers indoors. Yet, it’s often these ‘worst’ weather conditions that offer the ‘best’ of the fishing during this time of year.
Many anglers hang up their rods, buy their season tickets to the footy or stay home, not realising that they may be passing up the best chance to connect to a fish of a lifetime. But for diehard trouties, especially the tough breed that mainly frequent Victorian lakes, these winter and early season conditions are regarded as the peak time of year. It is the time when big browns and rainbows are often at their most susceptible, especially for bank anglers.
Big browns in particular, that would rarely come close to shore, except perhaps under the cover of darkness, will often throw caution to the wind and cruise very close to the bank and take on feeding habits that make rainbow trout seem almost elusive by comparison.

Big winter yabby feeding brown that still has some way to go before recovering fully from his spawning exploits.

Big browns and spotted dogs – a perfect winter combination.

WHEN TO GO OUT
Ok, let’s get this straight, I’m talking here about daytime angling during overcast and windy winter conditions where winds are likely to be pushing along at up to 20 knots. The sort of winter weather where many anglers would take one look out the window on the weekend and stay in bed. The key for daylong winter angling success is often based on having plenty of low cloud cover that keeps the conditions continuously dull. Some breaking sun is acceptable, but generally the brighter the conditions, the slower the fishing, and shorter the good fishing sessions will be.
Of course, the rainbows will still be about along the weed banks if the conditions brighten up a little but the big browns are most likely to head off into the depths where they feel more secure as soon as conditions brighten up.
Often the hours between 9.30/10.00 am and 3.00 pm can be the peak fishing times. During this period the shallow waters can be at their warmest (it’s all relative) and it is here where the trout are most active. Add to that the cover of rough water and they feel relatively safe and protected from predators.
Don’t beat yourself up about starting late and knocking off early. Pick the key times and fish thoroughly. You’ll even have time to watch the footy at your local on the way home.
DIAGONAL WINDS
While trout will come into a shore that the wind is blowing directly onto, successful fishing with bait, lure or fly can become a 50/50 proposition at best. Offshore winds may make fishing more pleasant and ease the winter ‘pain’ but again, while there will be trout about, the numbers are most likely less and the bigger fish will be further offshore.
For bait anglers this wind direction isn’t such a great concern as they can fish into the wind with set rigs, plus they can fish diagonal winds from left or right and further offshore in tail winds. But lure and fly anglers need to be a bit savvy and use the wind to their advantage when chasing winter inshore trophies.
Search out banks that the wind has been consistently blowing diagonally into for a period of a few days at least, if possible. If you’re a right-handed caster then search out banks where the wind is blowing into or along the shore from your left and vice versa for left handed casters. These directional winds will facilitate longer and easier casts with fewer tangles and they’ll also make your sessions on the water far more pleasant. Always try and fish so that you’re working or wading along the bank in the same direction as the wind is blowing. Of course, the trout will be pushing into the wind for the most part, so you will need to take care and not walk or wade ‘into’ fish that are pushing and feeding into the wind close to the bank.
CLEAR OR DIRTY
I’ve caught plenty of trout in discoloured water over the years, and many fish will move into discoloured water and feed solidly. But to be perfectly honest, I always struggle to remain positive when fishing lures or flies for trout, especially in highly discoloured water. Don’t be told otherwise; being and remaining positive when you fish is a key ingredient to catching fish. Start to think you won’t catch fish and you’ll probably end up being right!
Diagonal and slightly inshore winds create a wash or band of discoloured water that is often full of food that has been pushed into shore or dislodged from amongst the rocks or shallow weed beds nearby. Therefore, fishing slightly into and out of, and just outside of this discoloured water should be done so enthusiastically.
STRUCTURE AND WATERS
If the wind is pushing through rock banks or weed beds located just offshore where a channel exists between that structure and the lakeshore proper, then you’ve struck pay dirt. Many of the western Victorian lakes such as Purrumbete and Tooliorook are perfect examples of this. While most, if not all, trout lakes will usually fish best in winter and spring, the lakes I’m alluding to here are the ‘trophy’ trout lakes – where big brownies are known to inhabit but rarely come close enough inshore to offer anything but the occasional catch for bank anglers.
Lakes such as Purrumbete, Andersons (Hepburn Lagoon), Bullen Merri, and Tooliorook in Victoria are a few that offer big fish close to shore during the worst of winter weather. Of course, these lakes also offer big bows, but it’s the brownies that generally grow to the ‘thumper’ size that anglers dream about.
The list above offers a few of the prime waters where trophy winter browns are frequently encountered, but there are other lakes that provide fantastic winter fishing as well. They may not offer the number and size of big browns that the above list does, but they are no less worthy of your winter weather efforts. In fact, waters such as Wendouree, Cairn Curran, Tullaroop, Fyans, Eucumbene and Jindabyne all offer great winter shoreline angling, where you’re more likely to catch more fish in a session averaging around the 3 to 4 lb mark.
In saying that though, the ‘big boy browns’ are found in the more fertile lakes where the fishing normally closes down or slows up during the summer months.
SEARCHING
Trout move about quite a bit in lakes and so should anglers when trying to locate concentrations of winter fish. Anglers that remain in the one spot will catch the occasional fish, or may through luck or local knowledge find a concentration of fish, but it is the mobile angler who is prepared to hike, wade and keep searching to find fish who will generally put themselves in the best position to get the most from a trip. Continuously walking and casting also helps to keep the body warm which can’t be a bad thing at this time of year. Consider taking a small backpack with lunch and a warm thermos and you’re on your way.
Move along the shore, fishing all of the water, but pay particular attention to the prime structure areas or where you see a fish move. If one has been sighted, it’s likely there will be others moving through the same location. On bigger lakes, study maps and check out the best access points and where you’re most likely to get good structure such as offshore weed beds, rocky shorelines or standing timber where trout will normally frequent in search of food. A great location is rocky dam walls if the wind is pushing in and along them. Look for ambush points where big brownies will search for schools of baitfish that are holding in quieter pockets out of the wind. Areas such as bigger boulders, tree stumps or jutting peninsulas are all good ambush points.
Use the wind to your casting advantage and position yourself so that you can cast lightweight soft plastics, bibbed lures or flies, using the wind, rather than fighting it. The last thing you need to do with frozen fingers is try to extract a fly out of your ear or undo a massive braid tangle because you became a little too adventurous with your casting.
Remember, the fish will be moving about, often very close to shore, and often coming to you, move slowly and methodically as you search out the water. If you start to see fish or catch one, spend more time in that area and note what it was about that area that made it different from other locations where you weren’t getting hits.
Apart from lakes where the fish numbers aren’t great, you should be expecting to see or encounter at least one fish per hour during good winter fishing conditions. Normally if I haven’t seen or caught a fish in a solid hour of fishing I seriously consider moving to another lake or section of that lake unless I have a strong sense that things will soon come good in my favour. Be prepared to walk or move to another location if fish aren’t being located.
TERMINAL
If you’re using the wind to your advantage for casting, there is little need to go too heavy with rods and lines with modern outfits. Fly anglers that are using 7 weight outfits are seriously over gunning and using outfits that are too heavy and tiresome when performing hundreds of casts in a session. Modern 5 and 6 weight outfits are more than adequate to cast 50 to 60 ft with even weighted flies, if necessary in these situations. They also have enough backbone to turn all but the strongest and biggest of fish.
Searching close in structure rarely requires casts greater than 40 ft or the use of weighted flies. Intermediate lines can be of use but if the wind is quartering then I actually like to use any belly in the floating fly line to my advantage by ‘swinging’ the fly.
For the most part, getting the fly down 500 to 1000 mm below the surface is adequate along the shoreline. If need be, go heavier with a bead head or weighted fly. Remember you’re searching the shallower shorelines that are rarely deeper than waist deep.
Don’t over lengthen your leader either. Ten to 12 ft with an 8 lb fluorocarbon tippet is usually perfectly adequate.
Lure anglers using one of the new light spin sticks coupled with a 2000 to 2500 reel spooled with 6 to 8 lb braid and fluorocarbon leader or full mono or fluorocarbon is perfect. Go for a finer fluorocarbon leader if the fish are a bit spooky but this is rarely an issue in rough winter conditions.
Be prepared to lose the occasional fish in the weed and structure. Go a bit heavier with terminal tackle if you’re not confident of turning or horsing out a trophy fish, but be aware that you have to hook one first. There’s no point in fishing so heavy that the only fish you’re likely to hook is one of the starving slabs swimming around for their last winter.
Fish light enough so you still get the hits, but heavy enough so that you’ve got more than a 50/50 chance of getting them in. Any heavier and it’s no fun, unless they’re 20 pounders!
LURES AND FLIES
I’ve always found that it’s best not to over think lure or fly selection in rough water, winter fishing situations. Trophy fish rarely become fixated on one food item over another during these weather conditions. Any fly, soft plastic or hardbody that resembles a small baitfish or similar food item, will usually be eaten in these conditions.
I’m not going to go into any more detail about lures or flies except to say that flies or lures with a hint of red or fluoro orange should be tied on first. Also keep in mind is that the rougher the water, the bigger the lure or fly may need to be for the trout to spot it easily in the rough or discoloured water.
WIN-WIN
It may only be for the diehards that need a fishing fix – no matter what the conditions – but the best fishing often occurs when the weather is at its worst. Why not give it a go this winter? You never know, you might just catch that trophy trout that has always eluded you. At worst you’ll end up home earlier than anticipated but that leaves you with plenty of time to watch your beloved footy team win… or lose!
Trevor is a Pro Staff member, Field Editor and illustrator for AFN publishing. He has over forty years fishing experience with flyfishing and light line lure fishing being his favourite angling methods. He also enjoys kayaking, hiking and AFL Football. He lives on the shores of the Gippsland Lakes in Eastern Victoria.