Yellingbo Lake in Yarra Ranges: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Yellingbo Lake sits in Yarra Ranges, out in Victoria. The surroundings are oak and grass. It covers about 10 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Yarra Ranges list. For a base, Seville sits 3.1 km out. Woori Yallock is 6 km and Silvan 7.2 km. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Yellingbo Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Biodiversity records within roughly six miles include shortfin eel, brown trout, roach, perch and common carp. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Yellingbo Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect February to average close to 20°C, with July the cold end at about 8°C. Summer heat is the limit here, not winter cold. Levels swing with the wet season, which moves the fishing about. Winter is cool and quiet, and often the most comfortable time to be out. Time your trip to Yellingbo Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Parking sits 1 km out, which makes for a walk with tackle. There is a jetty 290 m off, worth knowing on a busy day. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Silvan Reservoir, 7.3 km out. For Yellingbo Lake in particular, ask before you travel.