Batlow

The best month of the year

BATLOW Wayne Dubois

waynedubois@westnet.com.au I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if, for some ungodly reason, you could fish Blowering Dam only one month a year, it would have to be October. It is one of the few times when time up around or near the surface of the lake, and can be caught flat lining with Tassies, Stuckeys, Sso Minos, Merlins, Trollcraft Frys and an array of lipless crankbaits.

The above-mentioned lures work really well at this time of the year as the resident golden perch love to hit them when slowly fly and nymph dropper. I also saw another angler achieve this while he was on a guided trip with me. For this to happen you have to have a bit of luck on your side, but most importantly you have to have good fish numbers present in the first place.

On top of the great numbers of fish, we also had high flows, but it is always good to try something different to increase your chances of catching those big, educated trout. Lipless crankbaits in trout colours work really well in the high flows, as do soft plastics rigged on fairly heavy jigheads around the 1/4oz to 1/2oz mark, depending on the flow.

Bait drifters can have good results in the high flows also. Rigging your bait so that it’s slowly drifting along the bottom of the river is the most consistent technique, but bait drifted along under a float can also be deadly on Tumut river trout.

Fly fishos get good results from weighted nymphs fished under a big dry fly, and glow bugs also have their moments at this time of the year.

All the above mentioned techniques will also work in the low flows, however if

Blowering has been at or near capacity for several months, and these conditions have washed plenty of good tucker into the system regularly. That, combined with the fact that October is when all species start to fire, is enough to get any angler pumped.

all fish species in the dam are firing or starting to fire. Mixed bags of fish are not only common but trolled past as well. I also like to use most of the Viking range of small lures when specifically targeting

golden perch, as well as the AC Slim Invaders (when they are holding deep), Trollcraft Double Downers (in amongst any mudlines formed) and lipless crankbaits when I’m trolling in water less than 10ft in depth.

TUMUT RIVER

After quite a long wait for some people, the trout season will finally get back underway come the beginning of the October long weekend. Last year’s running water trout season can only be described as brilliant, with great numbers of fish present in most of the streams and rivers in the area. Even catching two trout at once was possible at times. I caught two trout at the same time twice last year, both times whilst fly fishing with an indicator huge rainfall events through winter and the beginning of spring, which were perfect trout spawning conditions, so this running water trout season is set up to be even better than the last. It sure gets the trout angler’s anticipation levels soaring.

At what level the Tumut river will be flowing at is anyone’s guess, but whether the flow is low or high there will be plenty of anglers out getting their first trout fix for the year (unless that option is taken away from anglers). You will need your heavy trout gear to give yourself a fighting chance if the river is in high flow, but if the flow is low (under 1000 megs) then I recommend you go as light as you dare.

Lure fishing with the local favourite Tassie Devil lure can be productive in the the river is in low flow it’s hard to beat casting with small feather-tail spinners such as the Rooster Tails, Gillies Cocktails and Insanity Tackle Bling spins to name but a few, or small minnow-style hardbodies like Insanity Tackle Sso Minos and Rapala CD3 or CD5 lures. To achieve the best results with these lures it’s best to jump in the river and walk upstream, casting ahead of yourself the whole way.

It’s also worth noting that regardless of the flow, the Tumut River fishes really well at the beginning of the season. Most fish have just finished spawning and will be out gorging themselves on anything that fits in their mouths, to put some weight back on. On top of that, they aren’t too flighty as they haven’t received any angling pressure for months, making them much easier targets than at any other time of the season.

So, dust off the trout gear and go get amongst some awesome fishing.

A double hook-up of two trout on the same double fly rig, a feat seen three times last season by the author. All signs are pointing towards this season being even better than the last.

expected and, depending on what you are using, you can never anticipate what species of fish is going to hit your offering next.

Although golden perch are the main target species at this time of the year, anglers can expect to find trout, redfin, hybrid carp and even Murray cod hitting their offerings. This makes for some very exciting fishing in anyone’s books. Throw in the fact that the dam has been at or near capacity for the last few months and most fish are in absolute prime condition, and this October is shaping up to be one to remember. TROLLING

Trolling can be a very rewarding way of fishing during the spring months at Blowering Dam. Trout still spend most of their Other than Blowering Dam, Murray cod are off limits in all our creeks, rivers and dams this month. Any by-catch cod need to be released in the best possible shape.

Brendan Williams with a good example of the type and quality of redfin that have been almost on tap recently.