Wurdiboluc is a water supply storage, topped up by a channel (FlyLife’s writers say it brings water in from the Barwon catchment). The lake is shallow, so in our experience its level and temperature move more than a deep dam would. FlyLife’s writers say levels can swing sharply when summer demand rises, and that fishing quality often moves with falling levels and warming water.

For a fly angler that means the margins matter. Shallow water along a grassy shore is where trout cruise and where redfin patrol, and it is the part of the lake you can reach on foot.

Brown and rainbow trout are the fish the lake is stocked for, and the stocking is regular, so there are fresh fish to be found over the years. Records also list brown trout as observed in the lake, along with redfin, roach, tench, Australian smelt, common galaxias, southern shortfin eel and a chinook salmon record.

Redfin are the fish you will meet most, and most of them are small. Small fish and smelt-sized baitfish are the natural forage here, so a small baitfish pattern, a woolly bugger in a modest size and a few buoyant dry flies are a sensible box for the day. Treat roach and tench as fish you may foul-hook or meet by accident, not as targets.

There is no calendar of runs here, only the way a shallow storage behaves. In our experience spring is the better window, while the water is cooler and the level is steady. Through late summer, as the lake drops and warms, expect the trout to get harder and the redfin to carry the day.

Early and late light suits the shallows. Midday in warm weather is when to rest or fish deeper off the bank.

Walk the bank slowly and look before you cast. In shallow water you can often see fish or the disturbance they make, and a quiet approach along the grass is a good bet, and you should check what the manager allows before you wade.

A floating line and a long, fine leader suit the conditions. For trout, try a slow retrieve with a small baitfish pattern or a woolly bugger, and change colour and pace before you change spot. For redfin, a steady strip of a small fly is usually enough.

Keep casts short on a calm day and let the fly sit. Fish that are cruising the margin will often take it as it drops.

The fishable shoreline runs from just east of the channel inflow to the dam wall near the main carpark, before the treatment plant. FlyLife’s writers say the grassy south shore is reached from a small carpark off Cape Otway Road, near the Wenslydale Station Road intersection. What is allowed on the water and on the bank is the manager’s call, so check their current notice before you rig up.

As on any exposed storage bank, take sun protection and water, watch your footing on grass and clay near the edge.

No water-specific rule was found. Before you fish, check the current Victorian Fisheries Authority inland angling guide, including its closed-waters list and its rules on bag and size limits, and check the storage manager’s current conditions for access and boating.