Police say a soldier missing on Lake Hume in Victoria's north helped his mate to safety before he disappeared while kayaking in "foul weather and choppy conditions" on Sunday morning.

Corporal Gavin Fisher's overturned kayak and paddle were found near Dawson Island on Sunday afternoon, but a second day of intensive searching in better weather yesterday uncovered no further signs of him.

As 100 army personnel joined volunteers searching the banks around Bonegilla, it emerged the soldier from the South Bandiana barracks had high-level survival and fitness skills.

It was because of this that the search co-ordinator, Acting Sergeant Felicity Bell, of the Water Police, said she still had hope Corporal Fisher might be found alive.

But she conceded the discovery of his empty kayak meant he had probably capsized in the rough conditions.