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Cairn
Curran Reservoir - Malden / Newstead. Victoria
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Cairn
Curran Reservoir was formed by the damming of the Loddon River
and is located near the historical gold mining towns of Malden
and Newstead in central Victoria.
There are caravan parks at Welshman's Reef (Newstead) and near
the dam wall. The boat ramps are located at the dam wall, Welshman's
Reef and Picnic Point and are suitable for boats to 5m for Picnic
Point and the wall and 4m for Welshman's Reef (depending on water
level).
The lake can be turbid after periods of high rainfall and is susceptible
to blooms of blue-green algae during summer but is clear most
times of the year.
The lake holds good populations of trout (max. 3.5kg, av. 1kg),
redfin (max.2.5kg av. 500g), golden perch (max. 5kg av. 1.2kg),
eels and carp.
There are extensive shallows around the lake's margins that offer
some fantastic fly-fishing around spring and early summer. Trout
to 3kg can be seen in water as shallow as 20cm and can be very
hard to tempt. Best flies are stick caddis, Mrs. Simpson, Tom
Jones (and damsel nymph imitations), Fuzzy Wuzzy and smelt patterns.
There are also many steep banks and rocky outcrops that give good
land-base access to deep water.
Trout can be caught on a variety of baits in this lake including;
scrub worms, live minnow, small yabbies and mudeye suspended under
a bubble float.
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Gavan
Moloney holds a solid Cairn Curran brown trout
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Trolling is very popular at Cairn Curran and trout can be taken
in water from 2 to 20 meters with the use of a downrigger.
Best lures include; Tassie devils with a bit of sparkle in them,
pink or mauve Tassie devils, minnow styled lures such as Attacks,
Merlins, Rapalas and McGraths and wide action spoons.
Redfin are another very popular target in Cairn Curran and on
of the best method is to tie up to one of the dead trees in the
lake and lower a bait or jig to the bottom. Give it about 20 minutes
and move to the next tree. Continue this until a school of fish
are found.
Best baits include; gudgeon or minnow, small yabbies, mudeye and
worms. Best jigs include; ice jigs and Baltic bobbers.
Another very popular way of targeting the redfin population is
to find a patch of water that is clear of trees and about 5 -
8 meters deep, send down some heavy jigs and drift across.
Thinking anglers are also employing the use of downriggers in
the old Loddon River bed and near the wall to target the larger
redfin during winter with good success.
Golden perch are mainly a spring and summer target species and
can be taken on most baits, lures and some flies. The lakes 'GP'
population are best targeted using live yabbies and large scrub
worms around submerged timber or rocky points.
They will also take a large range of deep diving lures such as
Stumpjumpers, small codgers, wiggle warts and fat raps.
Fly-fishing for golden perch in Cairn Curran is still in its infancy,
but due to gain in popularity. Flies to use when targeting GP's
need to be bulky and lightly weighted to get down deep. Your fly
line should be either intermediate or sinking and be around 7
- 9 weight.
Neil
Slater
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Cairn
Curran Reservoir Facts & Figures
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| River
System |
Loddon
River |
| Capacity |
148
000 Megalitres |
| Catchment
Area |
1593
square kilometers |
| Submerged
Area |
1893
hectares |
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Embankment
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| Maximum
Height |
44
meters |
| Length
of Crest |
730
meters |
Related
Links:
Water
Level Link Goulburn - Murray Water
Cairn
Curran Reservoir Map Goulburn - Murray Water
Fishing
Reports HERE>>>
Cairn
Curran Reservoir Map
Click
on map for printable version
Cairn
Curran Reservoir Map
