Late season stream trout bounty

BATLOW

Wayne Dubois

waynedubois@westnet.com.au

It’s hard not to love fishing at this time of the year, especially the tree-lined creeks and rivers with they will more than likely be gorging on eggs deposited by the big browns. The fish being this active makes for some spectacular fishing, and at this time of the year there is always the added bonus of the next trout you hook being trophy sized. hardbodies will also work really well, as most fish are very aggressive at the moment, meaning they will strike any lure that resembles some sort of competition for them.

Fly anglers will definitely do best with weighted and even unweighted Glo Bugs anglers will switch from targeting the natives to targeting redfin, and with good reason – redfin are mostly easy to catch at this time of the year, they taste sensational and the natives have become very hard to catch. Around this time of the year the redfin form much larger schools then can be found during the warmer months, which means once you find one redfin you are normally in the vicinity of at least another hundred.

Trolling is a popular way their stunningly coloured autumn leaves on poplars and willows. It makes for some amazing backdrops whilst fishing.

These amazing backdrops are also handy when it comes to photographing your catch, making most fish look even more stunning then they already do at this time of the year. If you’re targeting trout then they will be lit up in full spawn colours – add that to the stunning surroundings, and even the worst photographer will get some great shots.

The official trout season closes in early June, so there is not long left in the season. Once the season is closed anglers are forced to fish the lakes for the trout fix, so it makes sense to concentrate your efforts on the running stuff whilst you still can. This late in the season is usually when you can experience the best fishing in the running water, as many a big brown trout attempts to spawn –and if the rainbows aren’t thinking about it themselves,

Whilst targeting trout at this time of the year, it’s hard to beat anything that is egg coloured. If you’re bait fishing it will be hard to beat the good old brightly-coloured dough baits like PowerBait and the like. Lure anglers will do well on any flashy lure, especially ones with any red or orange. Alternatively, brown or rainbow trout coloured at this time of year. Even though the purists frown upon this, there is no mistaking its effectiveness. To cover both bases I like to use two flies under an indicator – one a Glo Bug and the other a weighted black or red Copper John nymph. That way, if the fish aren’t yet eating eggs, they will still take the nymph.

Trout lake fishing can also of targeting them. After you have located the fish, any small hardbodied lures less than 60mm long that dives to around 40ft should see you stumble across some redfin action. Add a small 1” soft plastic around a metre above your chosen lure, and you increase your chances of a double hook-up (although it can occur even when using just one lure at times).

Jigging with ice jigs, blades, vibes or plastics is another great way of catching lots of redfin from deep water.