A medium-sized, forested dam on the King River in north-east Victoria, with wild brown and rainbow trout, wet flies all season and an evening rise worth waiting for.
Lake William Hovell is a medium-sized dam in the King Valley of north-east Victoria, not far from Wangaratta, and it is a trout lake worth a day if you like fish that are small to medium, wild, and willing to come up in the evening.
The dam sits on the King River. That matters because the lake’s trout are wild browns and rainbows of much the same stamp as the river’s fish immediately above and below the wall: you are fishing for honest, smallish wild trout. Redfin and some blackfish are also recorded, so an odd bite from something that is not a trout is possible.
The lake is forested and well sheltered, which in our experience helps on windy days. The simplest trip is a day along the shoreline from the dam wall. FlyLife’s writers describe Upper King River Road running to the wall, with a boat launch there and a way on around the western shore toward the upper King. Start at the wall and fish the edges close in.
Fish it with wet flies. They produce all season here, and that gives you a reliable plan in any month: a Woolly Bugger or a small wet, fished slowly along the edges, with the odd long pause. From spring through to August, insect activity picks up and trout rise to dries and nymphs, so have a second rod or a spare leader ready for that.
Stay for the evening. The lake can produce a good rise at dusk in every season, and that is the best reason to book a late finish rather than leave at lunch. Read the edge in front of you rather than the one you remember; fish sit differently as the water moves.
Before you go, check the current Victorian Fisheries Authority guide for the licence and any rules that apply, then pack wets first and a dry for last light.