How to Catch Tiger Trout

By Mark Gercovich 

Catching a new species is always exciting, whether it's something different in your local area or something new you encounter when you travel.  The past couple of years tiger trout have been introduced to two popular local waterways adding to the anticipation of fishing these locations. Tiger trout are a hybrid of the brown and the brook trout and they look stunning to go with their hard fighting demeanor.

Victoria's crater lakes of Purrumbete and Bullen Merri have long been popular fisheries that drag aspiring anglers some distance to fish them. The Victorian cool water staples of brown trout, rainbow trout and redfin in potentially XOS sizes, as well as being the only places to catch chinook salmon, is what draws people to these fisheries. In addition, in the past Victorian Fisheries have trial stocked Atlantic salmon (2011), brook trout (2016-7), cheetah trout (2019-20), and tiger trout (2020-24) in these deep crater lakes as well. Whilst the first three species proved elusive after initial stocking, the tiger trout is perhaps proving the opposite, maybe to its detriment. If you compare the stocking numbers of tigers compared to the other salmonids in the lake, I can’t get over the number of tigers a) we’ve personally encountered and b) how many other anglers seem to catch them as well, from what I hear of people and see on social media.

Maybe our preferred method of targeting fish in the shallower margins brings us right into the tiger's lair so to speak, as they do seem to enjoy this region of the lake. We have also taken them whilst deep bait fishing for chinook as well though. Unfortunately, tiger trout do take more $ to produce per fish than the more commonly stocked browns and rainbows. However, returns do seem to indicate this is worth the effort. Carefully releasing any small tiger, you catch hopefully might allow you or someone else the chance to catch a big one.

Tiger trout are renowned for their aggression. They often swipe multiple times at a lure and have even taken another lure figure-eighted in front of them after they continued to hang around the boat after following/missing the first lure. Using surface lures like the Infeet Slippery Dog 80F and Bent Minnows in 86, or shallow running hardbodies like the Double Clutch 75SP, is a great way to target these fish as they like to feed in and around the shallow areas of the lakes, unlike some of the other salmonid species which prefer the greater depths. It is an exciting way of fishing to watch a fish, or the bow wave it's making, following along behind your surface or shallow running lure. I like to fish these surface lures off a longish rod that has a decent backbone, but a forgiving tip. The same rod I love for my surface breaming, the Daiwa Zero 722ULXS also proves to be perfect for this freshwater application as well.  

This aggressive nature is also evident in the performance they put on once hooked. A compromise between a light inconspicuous leader in the clear water, but something strong enough to withstand the tiger’s hard runs and wild surface activity is needed. The Daiwa J-Thread FC X-Link provides a perfect compromise with 7- 10lb leaders still fine and supple enough for the stealth factor, but still strong enough to handle larger fish. Leaders like this may seem heavy for salmonid fishing, but with the chance of tigers to 2kg and even bigger browns in these lakes, you’ll thank yourself for the extra insurance when you hook a good one as they can do some hard runs and wild aerials.

So, get out and try some tiger hunting this winter/spring. One thing I always enjoy about my salmonid fishing is how unique individual fish can look, and tigers are no different. Traditionally Purrumbete fish remain darker with noticeable “tiger “stripes whilst the Bullen Merri fish can be almost completely silver, but these traits do cross over.