The importance of water temps

Nick Price

April is one of those months where the fish are transitioning, and they can be hard to catch until a patten is worked out. There is no set way to catch these fish, so try different methods until you find what the fish are after. Often it can be an assortment of techniques that are working.

During these transition times I rely on water temperature as the key to unlocking the technique that will catch many bass. If I can find water around 23°C, that’s where I prefer to fish. This is reaction temperature and it’s good, fun, easy fishing throwing lipless crankbaits, square bills or spinnerbaits.

If the Tumut River is in low flow this month it will be hard to beat indicator nymphing with a fly or spin rod.

If the temperature is above 25°C, I recommend looking for those deeper fish and trying a plastic fished either vertically or horizontally. If the temperature drops to around 20°C, you can also use a plastic.

Using spinnerbaits in timber is a good way to fish if the bass are not biting. The bass love structure, and the bigger trees in 20-30ft of water usually hold bass at this time of year. Spinnerbaits bounce over the timber, puffing up sediment and eliciting a reaction response from the bass. Beetle spins with a little plastic and small crankbaits like Jackall Chubbies are also a way to catch fish in the timber during transition months.

There are many, many carp in Glenbawn at the moment, and some locals are looking at running a carp fishing competition in June. The average size is over 1kg, with carp up to 7kg showing up regularly. All the details for the competition will be on Facebook, or you can ring the shop and speak to Liz and she can give you the details.

There are lots of little trout in the Upper Hunter, which bodes well for a good season in 2024.

The trout season is still open, and there are reports of good fish being caught. Head further back into the tops for better catches with larger fish. The more marginal water down low has had a hard time over the summer from both anglers and environmental