Purrumbete is a crater lake, and FlyLife’s writers describe clear, fertile water with lush weed beds that grow trout fast.

The same writers describe the eastern shoreline as having dark gravel and sand channels between the shore and the weed beds. Fish can be reached from the bank there, and wading is easy.

The lake holds brown trout and rainbow trout, along with chinook salmon and English perch. The stocking chart shows the browns and rainbows going in across many seasons, and chinook salmon have been released as well, so the fishery is built on regular stocking rather than on chance.

The survey chart shows the smaller fish recorded in the lake. Treat any of them as forage a trout may be feeding on.

FlyLife’s writers say Purrumbete and the other Western Victorian lakes begin to fish well as air and water temperatures drop. The season set out in the Victorian Fisheries Authority guide decides which days you can fish.

Fish the shoreline channels rather than blind water, and move along the bank until you find where the fish are.

The lake is reached via Purrumbete Estate Road. Access for recreational anglers was improved with a recreational fishing licence grant, which the Victorian Fisheries Authority notes in its guide. Treat any way in as a description, not a statement of permission, and respect the fences and signs you meet.

As on any lake shore, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back, and watch your footing when you wade.

Before you fish, read the current Victorian Fisheries Authority recreational fishing guide, including its closed-waters list, and take any season, bag and size limits and licence requirements from it.