Freshwater

Take your spring pick

TOOWOOMBA Jason Ehrlich

fishability1@bigpond.com

There are so many great places and fish to catch this month.

Bass are still chewing and golden perch have fired up.

The impoundment Murray cod are winding up their breeding season and the barra are a lot easier to target for the average angler.

In this crazy world we live in, fishing and being on the water is a great way to forget about life’s worries. Enjoy it when you can.

Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel.

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND

CRESSBROOK

CLOSEST TOWN:

CROWS NEST

Some quality bass have been caught at Cressbrook over the last month. As a distinct thermocline develops, the deeper holding fish will move shallower and concentrate at a comfortable depth. You would think all the fish holding at one depth would make them easier to find but it can still be tricky. Unless they are actively roaming around, the bass love to sit tight to the bottom on drop offs. You can pass through an area known to hold fish and miss them if you don’t look in the correct depth. These bottom hugging fish are harder to catch and ideally they should be at least a metre off the bottom for best success. Spoons and metal jigs are likely to be the best offerings when lure casting. Trolling will be steady until next month when it will pick up. Bait fishers using live shrimps will fare well if the position themselves right on top of the fish. • Fish’n’Bits in Toowoomba has all the gear and tips on how to chase the Cressy fish. They are an excellent store specialising in all freshwater lures and tackle. If you want an early or late session, don’t forget the longer open hours are to 6am to 8pm. SOMERSET

CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY

Somerset should continue to fish well but the fish will start to move around and undergo a few changes. The big schools at Kirkleigh will continue to hold in the area but could move about to new ledges. Some will start making their way to the south and find new homes in the lake’s middle reaches.

The big fat bass will slow down a bit this month. They start to lose condition but they’ll still be angry and pull hard.

AWOONGA GATEWAY LODGE

“Right on Awoonga’s doorstep. All set up for fishos, with tranquil surroundings.“

• Minimum 3 night stay • BBQ areas • Saltwater pool

Catch a pink tagged Barra to win $2000!

Using side image to locate schooling bass has cut the search time a lot. When the fish are holding this wide away from the boat they generally chew pretty good.

Schooling fish were holding around Red Rock and Bay of Plenty last month. These fish are very mobile and move around a lot during the course of the day. If you were able to track these movement, cricket score catches could be enjoyed. Unfortunately as the thermocline gets stronger, these deeper holding fish will lift up in the water column and start to hold around flats and ledges of the old riverbed drop off. They will be a bit less nomadic and their feeding will slow down after last month’s feeding frenzies.

I expect the fish to hold wide on Pelican Point on some of the higher humps and along the riverbed drop off. Another good portion of fish is likely to hold around the southern side of The Spit. A mix of lures will tempt them this month. Spoons and metal jigs will continue to score reasonable numbers along with 5/8oz rigged soft plastics. Small blades and the Spectre Vibration Jig will also start to attract the bites more as the fish spend more time holding closer to the bottom. • Somerset Fishing has their store based at the area above the day use boat ramp. The store is open over holidays and otherwise from Thursday to Sunday. Orders can also be made online via the website www. somersetfishing.com.au . They have an excellent range of gear suited to fishing for bass and golden perch. WIVENHOE

CLOSEST TOWNS:

ESK, LOWOOD

Wivenhoe has been a bit hit and miss. When the bass schools are found, they seem quite willing to chew. Morning and afternoon will be the prime times and the fish will be quite mobile. Fishing through the middle of the day can be a lot slower, especially when lure casting.

The fish schools tend to break up making them more catchable when trolling lures. You will need to sound around on the flats near Billies Bay to find them. Trolling deep diving hard bodies is an effective search method. Both bass and goldens can be caught in this area. If chasing golden perch you can try some of the steeper banks that border the dam or even better still are steep structure laden drop offs, which are submerged.

Boats can be launched at the ramps at Billies Bay and Logans Inlet. There is a 6 knot speed limit and if you are petrol powered, you need to have a 4 stroke or low emissions outboard and travel at 6 knots in all areas when on this lake.

DARLING DOWNS AND GRANITE BELT

COOBY

CLOSEST TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS,

TOOWOOMBA

Golden perch numbers will start to increase this month. Hopefully we can enjoy the fishing as things continue to warm up as the warmer water also triggers the growth of the algae which closes the lake to fishing. Trolling TN60 Jackalls around the weedy edges is a great way to lure a few golden perch and smaller cod. If good numbers of fish are spotted in an area on the sounder, casting is a better option. Lipless baits can be cast and worked down the weed face and then allowed to follow the contour of the bottom with frequent pauses to allow them to sink. Hopping small blades like the ZX40 is also a great way to entice the fish when casing. There is no need to use big casts when using blades. They work well on top of concentrated fish and can even be jigged vertically. Bait fishermen will do well on live shrimp and saltwater yabbies. It will be necessary to move around and find the best numbers of fish. The lake is quite low with heaps of weed beds. Look for a healthy weed edge on the sounder and drop to open water right on the edge of weed. Murray cod are always a possibility. The smaller fish tend to show up when chasing golden perch but the big ones are rare. The activity of catching a few fish can attract them as they come and investigate the commotion. I have had big ones trying to eat hooked golden perch at the boat. Now that I run Active Target and can pinpoint their The timbered flats in Coolmunda will be the place to lure up a Murray cod. Closed season doesn’t apply to the stocked Queensland lakes.

movements I think it will be worth having a rod rigged with a big lure ready to go at all times. COOLMUNDA

CLOSEST TOWNS: INGLEWOOD, TEXAS

At close to full capacity, Coolmunda is set to produce good results for lure casters looking to target Murray cod. The timbered areas of the dam are again productive fish holding flats. The stained waters and warming conditions will be ideal for casting big spinnerbaits. Morning and afternoon sessions will be the best times to try your luck. Slow down a little more and fire in a few more casts at each likely spot. The dirtier water will reduce the vision of fish so they will be relying on other senses to help them find their next feed. Hopefully, I am wrong and water clarity has improved more than expected. When it does Coolmunda will really fire up.

Golden perch numbers will be on the rise. Lure fishers will struggle while the dam has less than 60cm of visibility. Bait will be the way to go with live shrimp and frozen saltwater yabbies the preferred baits. You can source some local live shrimp in traps set along the rock wall that extends from the ramp to the wall.

CAPRICORN REGION

AWOONGA

CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE

We are set for a busy but productive end to the year. Old spots will be back in play as the water is now a lot lower and acres of weed beds are set to take over the shallow flats. Most barramundi should have left the shallows and will be patrolling the edges of the weed. The bigger fish are learning new habits. Some will soon start to live in the weed while others will head out wide into deeper water and suspend. Both locations have an ample supply of food and the bigger fish do not feel threatened sitting in shallow water or out in the vast openness of the big lake. Barra up in thick weed can be tempted on weedless rigged soft plastics. The deeper suspended fish will take soft plastics and swimbaits presented at the right depth. A few will also fall to trolled lures. When they are found, you can tempt them on an assortment of other less used offerings such as soft and hard vibes, big blades and spoons.

Around the prime afternoon and night feeding times, barra will venture in to the shallower water and hunt for bony bream. Points on the windy shoreline will be a favourite spot and you may need to get there early if the lake is busy. With the lower levels, there will be plenty of new spots to check out including the weed island behind Dingo Island and a few very wide weed edges. You can try rolling soft plastics on the outer edge of the weed as the fish more through. If the weed grows off the bottom to around midwater, try rolling lures faster over the top of it. • Justin Nye from Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing runs fishing charters on the lake. He caters to the needs of the angler and can do fly or conventional tackle trips to target the lake’s barramundi. He successfully guides clients onto fish right through the year and has a good understanding of fish movements. It is hard to beat time on the water and this is a great way to learn more about this lake and its fish. You can contact him on 0429 223 550 or visit the website gladstoneflyandsportfishing. com.au. • Mark from Awoonga Gateway Lodge always has a few productive secret spots to share. The Gateway lodge is on the way in to the dam after turning off at Benaraby. The accommodation is great with plenty of boat parking space right beside the comfortable air conditioned, self-contained cabins each with its own veranda. To book in a stay give Mark or Lyn a call on (07) 49750033. CALLIDE CLOSEST

TOWN: BILOELA

October should see good numbers of big barra actively chewing. It was early October last year that we had our fishiest sessions. The bigger fish are likely to work their way around the deep water of the lake down the wall end where they will suspend at the most comfortable depth. Schools of bony bream supply them with an endless food source that has them thriving and super fat.

I love to hit the dam from before first light to mid-morning. This period has the fish up higher in the water column. If you can find good numbers on the sounder you can cast soft plastics and swimbaits to them. Trolling was a great way to locate the better concentrations and catch heaps of fish last year. The 5.5” Zerek Live Mullet tossed out a full cast and trolled at 2.5-3km/h was deadly when the fish were active and sitting higher in the water column.

In the afternoons, the fish can be a bit tougher to find. They move around more and break up into smaller packs. You can bang a few in the deep water if you find them there but expect to get them closer to Barra will be roaming the deeper sections of Callide Dam. Locating them before casting or trolling soft plastics and swimbaits to search for them will produce more bites.

the shoreline as well. The fish will move around the points and bays and at times find a prime spot full of bait to feed in. If you can manage to find one of these feeding zones, you’ll catch plenty of fish. The Zerek Live Mullet is still a favourite and the Molix Swim Shad 140 and Barambah Bony Shad also perform well. It pays to change it up and fish to the most productive depth. Barra will feed through the water column when they are active but you’ll get a lot more bites if you deliver the exact presentation they are chasing. • You can stay close to the dam at Lake Callide Retreat. The park has basic camping, powered sites for camping and vans and also self-contained cabins. There is a well-equipped camp kitchen and toilets and showers up in the main part of the park near the office. Make sure you bring all of your fishing tackle. The kiosk has a limited amount of fishing gear but it is well suited to the lake.

Gary’s Marine Centre