Freshwater

FRESHWATER Peter Fragomeni

It was good to see a number of trout being caught throughout the southwest in early autumn. These fish were presumably from last year’s stockings or natural their aim being to free up pond space and bulk up some of the yearlings to catchable size in autumn. The good news on the freshwater trout scene is that the government has pledged around $300,000 for a study into improving the freshwater fishing in this state, which includes a major figures for our rivers in the May edition.

AUSSIE NATIVES

Not a lot to report in this issue with most anglers refusing to come forward with information on their fishing. There was a nice cod taken in the Albany region that was once home

Redfin perch are widespread in the South West dams, however they have a tendency to overpopulate and stunt. Our Fisheries department suggest you don’t return them even if they are small. Wendy was happy with this larger specimen.

recruits, as no trout from the hatchery made their way to our waters until May because the Translocation certificates were delayed, even though plenty of time was given this time to avoid the delays of previous years.

I can’t understand why this would be an issue as upgrade to our Pemberton Hatchery. I believe this is a positive for us WA freshwater fishers, however, questions are being raised on why so much money is being spent on a study and why a better suited species are not being considered to supplement the existing trout program, as climate of the biggest Murray cod population in WA back prior to the 1950s.

Silver perch are still being caught in private locations but bass seem to be harder to locate recently. DAMS Waroona Dam

Big numbers of redfin were caught over early

Winter nights can be cold on our inland dams so sitting around a good camp fire with a nice red is relaxing after a hard day on the water.

most of the dams and rivers have been on the same list for a number of decades, and only the numbers get altered with possibly an edition of brown trout being added to the list in recent years. This puts unwanted stress on the staff at the hatchery with change is a real concern in the near future. For those of you that missed all the dam stocking figures of both yearlings and x-broods for this year and would like a comprehensive list, then view the April edition, I also listed all the stocking autumn, however size was on the small side. Trout are still hard to locate but expect better fishing when the larger hatchery fish go in.

Drakesbrook Weir

It appears the size of the redfin have increased of late with good numbers coming

The author’s first ever Wellington Dam rainbow caught on fly. This well-conditioned fish was only stocked last year as a yearling and has done well in what was previously a redfin dam.

from the bank, as well as from the deeper water near the middle. A few trout in both yearling and fish over 40cm have shown up prior to any stocking. These fish were in good condition considering that we experienced a very hot summer. I believe it may be attributed to the cool water coming down from Waroona Dam further up the valley, which can be as cold as 14ºC when it’s let out of the bottom.

Logue Brook Dam

This dam continues to frustrate some with its tendency to shut down from one day to the next. Some good trout can be had by those that persist in times of low ski boat and jet-ski activity. Harvey Dam

Reports of good trout have come through with some of the x- brood rainbows making their way to both boat and shore. The best areas seem to be Quarry Bay, Browns Bay and the flats along the Cattle yards with trolling hard bodied lures being the most successful method. Redfin have been active with nice numbers of medium sized fish falling to those using soft plastics fished deep. I normally troll lures and when I find the schools hit

Big majestic karri trees line the streams and rivers around Pemberton, offering a tranquil setting for both visiting and local anglers that chase trout in their tea

coloured waters. Photo courtesy of Simon Holland.

Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 64.6 % as of end of April 2022 compared to 31.9 % at the same time last year. Lower than average rainfall fell over our catchment dams in March and April, however, this was not the case in other areas with Perth city recording its wettest April in 6 years. The Esperance region also recorded a massive amount of rain, unfortunately, none of our stocked waters are in that area. WAROONA DAM 47% DRAKESBROOK WEIR 82% LOGUE BROOK DAM 69% HARVEY DAM 58% WELLINGTON DAM 79% GLEN MERVYN DAM 46% BIG BROOK DAM 67% the spot-lock on my Minn Kota and drop plastics down to where they are sitting. Glen Mervyn Dam Some big redfin turned up in autumn however, things have slowed down of late. A small number of trout have been caught by those that put in the effort. Wellington Dam I spent the Easter weekend here and tried out my new Stacer Crossfire using the trolling motor only. It was sad to see a number of petrol powered boats and even a couple of jet-skis on

A good boat is handy at places like Wellington Dam. We covered around 20km one day trolling with the electric motor only catching trout and redfin. with some really nice size fish being caught. The best section seems to be down around the weir below the bridge but, the area below down to Wellington Dam has fished well also. Any of the good redfin lures are working well with red spinners, minnow paddle tail plastics and RGM lures being the better choice.

Blackwood River

No reports but trout are available from Bridgetown down to just past Nannup. Warren River

By far the huge amount

of redfin turning up throughout the whole river has been the highlight of all those visiting this water. It seems you would be pushed not to get yourself a good feed of redfin from any one of the dozens of pools that this river is famous for. The upper reaches are possibly the better option however, this can change as heavy rain will shut things down in winter. Trout are still showing up in the flowing sections closer to Pemberton by those either throwing small Celta style spinners or fly-fishing the gentle rapids. Lefroy Brook

This little brook that flows past the town of Pemberton is arguably one of the most fished freshwater location in our south west. The Hatchery is situated on its banks and pumps a lot of trout into its whole length. Both browns and rainbows are

available with easy access to many sections however the bigger and better fish are normally found in the heavy timbered areas well away from the more accessible locations. If you are a visitor from the east-coast then I would encourage you to check this beautiful part of our state with breathtaking giant karri trees lining the banks of most of the waters in the area. All the favourite trout lures and flies that work elsewhere in Australia will also be effective on our trout. There are also a couple of angling clubs that are willing to help the travelling anglers and contacting the Southern Forrest Freshwater Angling Club could help boost your chances of getting yourself a nice trout or tasty redfin. Donnelly River

Another good river that is situated about half hour drive out of Pemberton,

the Donnelly can turn on some great fishing at times. I would not recommend this river if you are visiting from the east or are new to the sport because access can be hard and rewards can be low however, with the recent decision to stock brown trout into this water it has added a new opportunity with good catches in recent times. If you happen to have a boat or kayak then the best chance would be to launch at Boat Landing and troll lures or cast into the brooks that flow in on the way downstream. The trip down to the mouth is spectacular but it is some 13km from the ramp.

As you can see WA can offer some marginal trout fishing for both the local anglers and those that are now once again visiting our state. Don’t expect big number however sitting around a camp fire in a scenic location is a reward in itself. You need an Inland Freshwater Licence to fish for trout and even redfin and unfortunately they don’t offer a day licence or even a month licence so you need to pay the full $50 which could deter any passing visitors to this state. Until next time tight lines.

the water at the back of the dam that is strictly electric powered vessels only. Better signage may be required to avoid possible issues in the future. We headed off early

on the first day and headed down towards the dam wall some 7 klms until we arrived at Farm Bay with little result, apart from a couple of small redfin. It was surprising to see the lack of fish on the sounder with constant tinkering with the settings still making little difference. The next day we headed up the Collie leg and hooked and lost a good 40 cm rainbow, this was great news as it showed that some of the yearlings stocked last year have not only survived but have grown well. A young lad landed another from the bank as we went past, so they must of been hanging in that vicinity that particular day. Only 3 redfin were caught on the trip however I managed a beautiful rainbow at night on fly by our camp-site. It put up a great fight tearing line from the 5 weight fly reel and cartwheeling across the surface, then settling down to a slow powerful fight. Hopefully with more stocking this water will flourish into a

reasonable trout destination Big Brook Dam

With the heavy stocking taking place over winter this water will be worth a look if you are down that way. A few redfin are still being caught around the wall. RIVERS Murray River

It’s been quite on the trout side however my mate Bretton caught some good redfin on both hard bodied lures and casting larger soft plastics around the timber. Some nice size specimens were in amongst his catch which is a positive for this river that is renowned for its smaller sizes.

Collie River below

Wellington Dam

Although this section fished reasonably well over autumn I would give it a miss this month as low flow through lack of irrigation can make fishing very difficult.

Collie River above

Wellington Dam

Some great fishing for redfin has occurred recently

A nice Wellington Dam rainbow caught on a Tassie Devil trolling the Collie arm. Can this dam offer up some good trout fishing in the future with continued stocking? A beautiful conditioned rainbow out of Bigbrook Dam. Adrian Spacey is a member of the well run Southern Forrest Freshwater Angling Club and loves the spectacular scenery and fishing the area offers.