Welcome to the Manor Lakes Fishing Guide. Manor Lakes is a reasonably new housing estate located 33 kilometres or 40 minutes southwest of Melbourne near the township of Werribee. This is a go-to fishing destination if you enjoy fishing for large carp. A residential lake built around a new housing estate it offers walking trails, playgrounds, duck feeding, picnic and BBQ facilities. This location is well known for its population of European Carp. With plenty of them and some in large sizes. To learn more about catching Carp click here to read our guide on carp fishing around Melbourne.
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Here is a video targeting carp at Manor Lakes
Things to do at Manor Lakes
Manor Lakes is mainly a new housing estate with estate schools, a library, community centre, adventure playground, open grounds and walking tracks. It’s an environmentally friendly design to encourage families to get outdoors. It has basic facilities for onsite BBQs, walking and cycling tracks or duck feeding. Ample parking is available. A short drive away you have local attractions including the Werribee open range zoo, Victorian state rose gardens and Werribee historic mansions.
Fishing at Manor Lakes
At Manor Lakes, you can catch carp, mirror carp & eels. Standard baits such as corn, bread, and maggots work great for carp here. it’s a very shallow water system only 1 meter deep in most areas so a simple running sinker rig with a pea-size sinker works great in this area. So, does suspend the same baits with a float. We have also fished well using unweighted baits.
Therefore, a 3-6 kilo rod coupled with a 4000 size reel is very appropriate. You could even fish a little heavier with rods designed for snapper that are generally 4-7 kilo 7 foot in length. We recommend 10 pound line and a strong leader. Again you can go heavier if you wish, for fun I have caught some monster size carp using a 2-4 kilo rod and a 6-pound braid. But I am prepared to lose some good fish in the process. Most freshwater species have a tendency to feed more aggressively at Dawn and Dusk. We like to target carp on sundown, particularly in the warmer months. This is often when you see Carp swimming along the edges or jumping out of the water around September-November which is their spawning season. European Carp must not be returned to the water. Always carry your Victorian fishing license.
Recommended baits Manor Lakes
- Corn
- Scrub worms
- maggots
Targeting Carp at Manor Lakes
There is a large volume of carp in local lakes however they are fun to catch and you can learn more about catching carp have a read our detailed guide to carp fishing around Victoria. When targeting carp standard baits such as corn, bread, and maggots work great for carp here. Using a simple running sinker rig with a pea-size sinker works great in this area. So, do suspend baits using a float. We have also fished well using unweighted baits. You can also target carp with hard body lures and soft plastics. This is a difficult technique that generally requires sight casting. This means spotting a nearby carp and casting right in there and working the lure of plastic slowly hoping they will strike. It’s tough but very rewarding when you catch a carp using this method. Most however will stick to targeting them with bait.
For rod selection, a 3-5 kilo rod coupled with a 4000 size reel is very suitable. You could even fish a little heavier with rods designed for snapper that are generally 4-7 kilo 7 foot in length. For fun, I have caught some monster size carp using 2-4 kilo rod and a 6-pound braid. But I am prepared to lose some good fish in the process. We like to target carp on sundown, particularly in the warmer months. This is often when you see carp swimming along the edges or jumping out of the water around September-November which is their spawning season. European carp must not be returned to the water. Always carry your Victorian fishing license.
A simple yet effective fishing rig here is to thread a small running sinker through the mainline shown in blue, which is usually around 8 pounds. Then tie a medium swivel to the end allowing the sinker to run up the mainline freely. Then tie on the other end of the swivel 50cm of 8-pound fluorocarbon leader (the leader is shown in grey ). Finished with a hook. I generally use a size 6 bait keeper hook or size 10 long shank which is perfect for corn kernels or scrub worms, however, you can also use small treble style hooks which is a better setup if you using bread.
If your getting snagged up then you can also use a float rig. Attach a quill or bubble float to your mainline. Thread the line through and adjust the length using a size 6 bait keeper hook or size 10 long shank to keep your bait suspended at a good depth. Ideally cast down breeze which will stop the float from coming back to you. If you’re not getting bites then adjust the line depth and If necessary add a splint shot to add weight.
Check out this video we recently recorded. A step by step guide on how to catch carp.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Manor Lakes Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.
Thank you for visiting the Manor Lakes Fishing Guide. If you feel this location guide is missing key information or needs any corrections made, then please let us know by emailing our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details in the email. Please also feel free to share any fishing pictures you have from this location with us. Thank you
