Batlow

Finding the right structure

BATLOW Wayne Dubois

waynedubois@westnet.com.au As expected, Blowering Dam was a very popular spot over the summer months, with constant boat activity has been difficult at times, but those anglers who persisted have been rewarded with some very good catches. The main species being caught all over the lake at the moment is the good old redfin, but there have

also been plenty of natives caught which always helps keep interest levels high. REDFIN

Redfin seem to be in plague proportions in some areas of the lake at the moment. Anglers have been catching these aggressive fish all over the dam on bait and on lures, with a few bigger specimens up around 2kg being caught amongst the plagues of tiny fish.

Bait anglers, both land-based and boatbased, are doing well off points on small yabbies, maggots and/or worms, but bigger yabbies around

8-10cm are a good option as they keep the pesky little redfin from stealing your bait. The little reddies can be a real problem at this time of the year.

Casting small lures like blades, Rooster Tails, Bling Spins, small soft plastics and small lipless crankbaits from the bank around points can also be productive.

If you’re having no luck off the points, look for some sort of snag or tree and not just the big obvious clumps of snags that everyone notices. Try to find a single solitary tree because more often than not even a small spindly tree can hold 20 or more fish. Also, it’s less likely that these types of single snags have already been flogged from other anglers like the more obvious snags are.

Trolling with almost any small hardbodied lure should see you stumble across a patch of redfin, and once you have located a school try to position your boat within casting range and keep casting to them until they stop biting or move on. This is one of the best ways to get big numbers of redfin.

The best lures to troll whilst searching for redfin are lures that run comfortably at around the 3-5m mark such as the locally made Stuckeys, size #3 StumpJumpers, Trollcraft Double Downers,

AC Slim Invaders, Viking lures and the good old lipless crankbaits.

Jigging is another popular way of targeting redfin, and it can be very rewarding when the right tree or patch of rocky bottom is located. The best lures to jig for redfin include soft plastics, lipless crankbaits, spoons, redfin jigs, blades, rubber vibes and ice-jigs. There have been plenty of jigs made over the years, and all have worked and still do work to some degree on redfin. However, I am yet to see a jig land more fish on a consistent basis then the ever-popular ice-jig. These are the greatest jigs ever invented in my opinion, and they have caught me thousands of redfin over the last few years alone. If your tackle box doesn’t already contain a heap of ice-jigs, I strongly recommend adding at least one to your arsenal.

GOLDEN PERCH

Most golden perch at Blowering Dam at this time of the year are holding in fairly deep water, which can make targeting them fairly difficult at times. When there is a lot of boat activity to add to the stresses of high water temps and dropping water levels, a lot of the golden perch seek out cool, deep water that has structure of some description. Their favourite structure during the warmer months seems to be standing timber, as this provides shade throughout the entire day.

These tree-hugging fish can be targeted jigging with either bait or lures. Bait anglers using yabbies have been clued onto this for years and are normally the only ones consistently

There have been plenty of natives like this golden perch being caught amongst the plentiful redfin at Blowering Dam of late. Landbased anglers have been lapping it up whilst it lasts. The constant high water levels at Blowering Dam have been a godsend for anglers and for fish.

many families taking advantage of the easing of restrictions/lockdowns and the freeform camping that the lake has to offer. Amongst all the water sports happening on the lake there have been just as many anglers trying their luck.

Dealing with the very warm weather and the

Over 30lb and nearly a metre’s worth of carp. You just never know what you’re going to hook when soaking a bait or flicking a lure around the banks of Blowering Dam.