WA
Cashing in on trout sucess FRESHWATER
Peter Fragomeni
After one of the wettest winters in over a decade, the cool wet conditions persisted well into
remember I mentioned a bold act that Fisheries Bio-security division undertook by raiding a wellknown aquarium retailer recently, and confiscating a number of bass, cod and other species. This put
that a major breeder of silver perch and trout grower has sold up and moved to Queensland. It is unclear whether the new owners will continue to supply quality trout and silver perch to the
may become unviable. WAROONA DAM A few good trout were caught over spring but things have now quietened down. I fished this dam over a couple of days recently and was only rewarded with a few very skinny yearlings and a handful of redfin the size of herring. The redfin numbers have been down for some reason, as well as the size. It was concerning that the Department of Transport has moved the ‘limit of ski area’ to encroach on our safe fishing area to the rear of the dam and bays. With ski season here it can be dangerous to be on the water, especially trolling. DRAKESBROOK WEIR Locals have complained about the lack of trout that have been on offer this season, despite a good stocking. A nice rainbow of close to 3kg was caught recently however this was one of the 3-year-old rainbows that was grown
Andrew Beer, Senior Research Scientist from Fisheries WA, holding one of the many tagged trout that went into Harvey Dam. If you catch one, take a photo of the tag and contact Fisheries. It’s suggested to release them so better data can be collected next year.
The Pemberton Hatchery is growing bigger fish to meet the growing demand of freshwater fishing. Geoff Wood was happy with this 6.5lb rainbow caught just after stocking. spring. This resulted in favourable conditions for our trout, which normally struggle, particularly in northern parts of our south-west in late spring. Although the conditions were better suited to trout it didn’t change the fact that catch rates have been well down, compared to previous years. The southern waters have bucked the trend with some exceptional quality trout and redfin coming out of the rivers, a clear result of the great work the Pemberton hatchery has done in producing thousands of trout for our waters. It was interesting to see a 3.995kg rainbow trout come from the hatchery. This fish was tagged and then released for a recent competition. If caught, it would knock off my own state record rainbow trout of 3.525kg. Although, mine grew up on a diet of natural food in the wild, which has created a debate on whether a pond-grown hatchery trout, fed on artificial pellets, would be worthy of the crown. AUSSIE NATIVES With the warmer weather setting in, the eastern native freshwater species are finding conditions better than our trout, which struggle at this time of the year. Some good fish are coming out of guarded locations, with silver perch dominating the catches. On a sad note, you might 122
DECEMBER 2021
pressure on the existing under-supplied aquaponics industry, which struggles to find suitable fish for their hundreds of customers that produce clean, chemicalfree produce in urban back yards. In a second blow to the industry, I was informed
Aquaponics industry and small farm dams down south. I fear if this is not the case then it will leave a void in the supply chain, and the price of fingerlings may increase to the extent that backyard aquaponics and stocking of private dams
Young Hunter Praed was delighted with this 50cm brown he caught trolling lures with his dad Lee.
Myf Rosenthal took out first place and the $1000 cash prize at the recent Harvey Water Bash. She also won herself a 12-month subscription to Fishing Monthly.
out at the hatchery. A few redfin are being caught from both the bank and by those on the water trolling hardbodied lures. Soft plastics have caught their fair share as well. LOGUE BROOK DAM Very quiet recently with no reports coming in, however, the water is at its highest since the mid 80s. On a recent trip I found it hard to connect onto trout, as dodging ski boats and jet skis occupied most of my time.
HARVEY DAM This location was again the venue for the annual Harvey Water Bash fishing competition, with around 65 anglers battling it out over two days in early October. I attended the weigh-in on the Sunday, and whilst a few good trout were caught, the numbers were down on previous years. A few disgruntled freshwater anglers complain about competitions putting a strain on fish stocks, but only 35 trout were caught, and a lot were released, as they were undersize. A few browns were caught but they were returned as they are not part of the point scoring. As mentioned, Fisheries tagged a few hundred trout with only 50 having prizes to those that registered for the comp. The top prize of $500 was the 3.995 kg rainbow but can only be claimed by those that registered. I sponsored a Fishing Monthly Magazines tag of $100 that is still swimming out there. If it’s not caught it will jackpot to $200 next year.
PREDICTED DAM LEVELS Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 79.8% as of end of October 2021, compared to 49.8% at the same time last year. Harvey Dam rose from just 22% in autumn to around 92% at the end of October. With rain still falling in October, most of the dams are still rising. WAROONA DAM 82% DRAKESBROOK WEIR 89% LOGUE BROOK DAM 86% HARVEY DAM 92% WELLINGTON DAM 93% GLEN MERVYN DAM 100% BIG BROOK DAM 100%
