Fishing Monthly Magazine | April 2023

Page 108

WA

Now is an exciting time to be on the water everyone wanted to avoid the situation like a mouse avoids a cattery. This is extremely sad because these species would add much needed growth and funds to our towns

FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

With the longer days and the cooler nights that normally occur this time of the year, early autumn can be one of the most exciting times to be on the water searching for trout, redfin or any other freshwater species in WA. Cold misty mornings can result in trout moving into quite shallow water close to the bank. If early rains occur, then our rivers and streams can also turn on some reasonable fishing as well. Judging by the reports coming through it seems a few of these species are being caught recently, although due to personal reasons I haven’t been able to get on the water to confirm these reports, so I’m relying on word of mouth. As reported earlier the Recfishwest FFRG met recently to discuss stocking strategies. I wasn’t able

A few silver perch and the odd Murray cod have been caught by those lucky enough to have access to the waters where these species are. There are a few locations that are available

Hamish King holding an impressive redfin he trolled up using a diving lure. Our dams can turn on some good size redfin on occasions. are chilled throughout the summer months to lessen heat mortality that we so often suffer from here in the West. Unfortunately, due to pond upgrades currently underway, this has resulted in the lack of ability to hold the normal brood stock and has also resulted in a large drop of yearlings being held this year. Things we be back on track next year with big expectations on the cards for trout fishers in this state. AUSSIE NATIVES The same enthusiasm shared by our authorities regarding trout stocking can’t be said for East Coast native freshwater species in this state. The subject was only raised once at the meeting and it’s like

Fisheries WA released a number of tagged marron into Harvey Dam. This one was caught by Kurt Blanskby over the recent season.

style plastics in the 3” size seem to be working well. Trolling in the shallower back area have turned up some nice size fish up to 40cm on hardbodied lures that don’t run deep. Things should improve with trout stocking due to commence shortly. Drakesbrook Weir Regular local angler Jonah Chiera is a master on this little water and reports that water levels have been ideal recently. Trout activity has increased of an evening however, tempting them to strike has been challenging. Hopefully, with the earlier FFRG meeting this year it will result in translocation approval being granted earlier this year by Fisheries WA Translocation Officer. It astounds me that permission to stock waters that have received the same species for many decades still have to be granted by the same department that has carried out the same stocking every year. I can understand when a new water comes up, as was the case for Wellington Dam and Preston River but, most of our dams and the stocking lists have not changed since they were constructed and stocking commenced half a

throughout the summer months when trout lay dormant due to heat stress, and redfin do not offer much sport as they are mainly caught in sub 30cm ranges. I am often told that if there were species other than trout and small redfin in our waters then people would be more inclined to purchase a freshwater licence, especially now with the current situation regarding the demersal ban prohibiting saltwater fishing for half of the year.

A nice little brown from a tight section of the Lefroy Brook. Will future dams being built in the headwaters jeopardise this little water? to attend in person but I did attend via video link. The meeting did run longer than normal due to an exceptional presentation delivered by Andrew Beer who is the Senior Research Scientist from Fisheries WA who is in charge of the Pemberton Hatchery in the South West of our state. There was mixed news on hand as he disclosed a massive upgrade to both the Hatchery itself and fish transportation in the way of a purpose-built truck and trailer that will bring stocking of trout in line with other Fisheries over on the East Coast. I must say the thought and dedication placed on 108 APRIL 2023

our trout fishery has not been seen in the last 45 years that I’ve been involved in the sport in WA. New grading facilities that can electronically sort fish into specific sizes will save so much time and allow better continuity of trout to be stocked at specific times. This will allow a minimum size to be stocked into redfin waters to reduce the number of trout falling victim to these veracious species, it will also lessen the likelihood of them falling victim to our little pied cormorants that are so active on our waterways. Other upgrades are in the way of inside water recirculating tanks that

A nice little brown trout that was caught by a fellow angler fishing the Warren River recently.

A stealthy approach is required in autumn when water levels are low. Photo courtesy John Vickery

to the public, so if you are keen to find out where they are located just PM me and I will be happy to assist. DAMS Waroona Dam Trout have been harder to locate than the redfin recently, although a few trout have been spotted close to the bank. Some nice redfin are being caught in the deeper sections on jigheads cast well out and allowing enough time to sink to the bottom before slowly rolling then back to your feet. Berkley Grubs in black or any of the minnow

century ago. Logue Brook Dam The huge amount of ski boats and jet-skis on the water have deterred most of the serious freshwater anglers from fishing this water. It can be frustrating to fish even without the boats being active as long hours can be had with zero results. Cool cloudy days will see activity once again return to this sky blue water. No redfin are present so if the trout aren’t playing the game then things can get boring.


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GEN III

0
pages 126-127

Stessco Albacore CC560 with Yamaha F130 4-stroke

5min
pages 124-125

AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST National Fishing Challenge

2min
pages 122-123

Langford pips Johnson for Glenmaggie title

3min
pages 116-120

Johnson claims maiden BASS Pro win at Blue Rock

3min
pages 114-115

DUO Vukic achieves Hollands Landing heroics

7min
pages 112-113

Tight bags and tarwhine on the Swan

7min
pages 110-111

Now is an exciting time to be on the water

8min
pages 108-109

All eyes on Karratha blue swimmer crab season

3min
page 106

The new Stacer package deals

2min
page 105

Exciting Easter action on tuna

2min
page 105

Impact of regulation changes

2min
page 104

Fishers eager to get back out

3min
page 103

Demersal options are back

2min
page 102

Salmon sightings tempt fishers

6min
page 101

Launching a land-based assult

4min
page 100

Savouring the calm autumn weather pattern

2min
page 100

Good fishing continues into the cooler months

4min
page 99

The good, the bad and the ugly: Tassie offshore

4min
page 98

The WIRF Leaders are making lots of waves

1min
page 97

Decisions, decisions: which bank shall we fish?

2min
page 96

Making the most of Gippy during the cold months

2min
page 96

Crackdown on fishing offenses

3min
page 95

Consistent results for fresh salmonid fishers

1min
page 95

Autumn fishing is firing up

4min
page 94

Trolling up some solid autumn Murray cod

3min
page 93

Prime time to go chasing cod

1min
page 92

A great month for trout in northeast Victoria

2min
page 92

Great angling opportunities in Bendigo region

2min
page 90

Tough going on the Murray

1min
page 90

Tracking down the bait schools

2min
page 89

Hot fishing in local estuaries

0
page 88

Bream and flathead from the Bemm channel

1min
page 88

Super snapper from the surf

4min
page 87

A constantly changing fishery

1min
page 86

Flat out dusky flathead fishing

3min
page 86

Your fishing licence fees at work

0
page 85

Local advice is the key to catching bluefin tuna

5min
page 84

Get ready for seasonal changes

4min
pages 82-83

Last chance for good PPB snapper sessions

4min
page 81

Impressive catches in estuaries

3min
page 80

Decent bream catches in the Hopkins River

1min
page 79

Anglers are still on the lookout for big tuna

2min
page 79

Get out there and catch a nice feed this autumn

2min
page 78

Autumn arrives with redfin catches everywhere

3min
page 77

The DPI needs your fish frames

2min
page 76

Perfect time to be walking banks

1min
page 76

Smooth flows ahead for April!

2min
page 75

The importance of water temps

1min
page 74

Anglers enjoying some excellent trout fishing

3min
page 74

School holiday fun for the kids

3min
pages 72-73

Anglers enjoying the long awaited seasonal change

1min
page 72

The autumn fishing is on fire

5min
page 70

A better class of fish on offer

5min
page 69

Anglers are enjoying more moderate weather

5min
page 68

Inshore anglers get into action

3min
page 67

Decent catches are increasing as autumn begins

2min
page 66

Getting the small things right

3min
page 65

Mackerel fever spreads

2min
page 64

The pelagic fishing is at its peak

3min
page 63

Coffs is right in the middle of the mackerel run

1min
page 62

Tagging Tales

1min
page 61

Keep moving to find the fish

4min
pages 60-61

Sydney flathead are still taking bait and lures

7min
pages 58-59

A transition period for all the Sydney waterways

6min
pages 56-57

Range of pelagics in harbour

4min
pages 54-55

Spectacular fishing on the surface schools

2min
page 54

Gary’s Marine Centre

5min
pages 50-51

We’re spoilt for choice

3min
page 50

National Recreational Fishing Survey 2019-21

10min
pages 46-47

Glorious rain is flowing throughout Cape York

2min
pages 44-45

Crabs are under the spotlight

1min
pages 42-43

Autumn adventures abound

2min
page 42

Promising prospects ahead for autumn bags

2min
pages 40-41

Clean tropical waters make for great catches

2min
page 40

Hungry autumn barra are not fooling around

2min
pages 38-39

Bright lures in dirty water

4min
pages 36-37

Transition through the month

3min
pages 34-35

Baits take centre stage

4min
pages 32-33

Why donating your fish frames to science provides valuable data

1min
page 31

What’s a holiday without a bit of fishing?

1min
page 30

Flathead just keep on coming!

4min
pages 28-29

Transitioning from the summer to winter species

2min
page 26

Unseasonable species settle

9min
pages 24-25

Cool conditions bring stability

2min
pages 22-23

Return of the Spaniards

4min
page 18

Big autumn wahoo offshore

3min
page 16

The Great De-Bait

2min
pages 14-15

Used Boat

3min
pages 9-10

Bolstering bait tactics

4min
pages 8-9
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