WA
Productive July fishing FRESHWATER
Peter Fragomeni
Winter can bring cold and blustery days to big parts of the south west of WA, however in recent years we have been blessed with a number of sunny,
the feeder streams that tend to be a bit clearer. The controversial decision by Fisheries to scrap the closed season several years ago has put stress on our big spawning trout in some waters that were previously closed from May until September. I would
On the news front it seems the Pemberton Trout Hatchery is in full swing stripping their trout. Around 2500 rainbow trout and a few hundred brown trout make up the breeding stock held in circular concrete ponds. These ponds, measuring around 8m in diameter, are gravity fed by cold, clean water from the Pemberton Weir upstream of the hatchery. Stocking of yearlings commenced in May with our rivers receiving the first of the smaller rainbows, and our dams are due to get the bigger ones later in the season. A few of the ex brood trout should be making their way to our waters this month, and I know a number of anglers are keen to chase these fish every year. AUSSIE NATIVES Not too much to report on this very touchy subject. Although winter is a quiet time for these species, some nice cod still get caught in private locations. Hopefully one day we will
With good winter rains our rivers can become swollen and dirty. Levels much higher than in this photo can be challenging to fish. the result, with speeds of 1.5km/h not uncommon. My tried and trusted dropshot technique was not producing for some reason. The highlight of the trip was the unusual capture of a brown trout. I was slowly moving along the dam wall and casting a
Tassie Devil to the edge and letting it swing back as I moved forward when a nice brown appeared on its tail. It turned away as it saw the boat but then turned back and followed the propeller. I then placed a short cast behind him and let the boat do the
Daniel Simpson with a fat Warren brown he caught on fly. With the great work from the FFRG, in conjunction with Fisheries WA, it seems the Warren is fishing better this season. calm days which is perfect for freshwater fishing on our dams. The rivers are a different story, with many running high and discoloured, so some trout fishers target
encourage you to practice catch and release at this time, not just to preserve stocks but because spawning trout are not the best on the plate. Their lack of feeding results in pale, mushy flesh.
The inquisitive brown trout caught by the author at Waroona Dam after following the propeller.
The pleasure of a father seeing his son land a nice redfin is priceless. The location was the upper Collie River near the township. 114
JULY 2021
get an official stocking program underway but, in the meantime, it appears frustrated anglers are stocking their own waters. Others like myself travel to the east coast to have a chance to tackle these Australian iconic fish. DAMS Waroona Dam I spent a few days fishing this water recently with mixed results. On one particular day I managed to land four large redfin up to 42cm plus a few smaller ones around 28cm, however the following day I did not even get a hit using the same technique. I nailed all my redfin on deep diving lures from the Halco stable. I found that a dead slow speed was needed to get
work (I was using the bow mount Minn Kota so the rear prop wasn’t spinning). As I slowly rolled the lure toward him, he didn’t notice it until it got to his side. He turned and put his nose on it then decided to engulf it, and after a short, close fight he was in the net. It’s best to release the stocked browns because they seem to survive the lean summer period in a predominantly redfin water. Drakesbrook Weir This waterway has been very slow of late, but things should improve with stocking to commence soon. Logue Brook Dam Can be frustrating to fish from the bank, with a lot of anglers coming away empty handed. I fished this location recently and also had mixed success, with one day landing over a dozen rainbows and the next day not even raising a fin. I was concerned at the size this year, with most only going between 26-32cm. This was mainly due to the lower water level resulting in reduced availability of food compared to other years, when vast amounts of
Big brown trout can offer year-round sport if anglers practice catch and release. They seem to coexist with redfin in the northern dams in particular.
