Trout and redfin are flourishing

FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

Things have been looking up in the freshwater scene here in WA in the way of trout and redfin. With the the bottom and stirring mud. A fairly good fight followed and this was Wendy’s personal best in five years of fishing freshwater.

I have only achieved two better redfin in five decades of fishing, with the up in. This would be good news for those that opposed any stocking of east-coast native freshwater species to this state however, it is bad news for thousands of Western Australians that pay the highest freshwater fishing licence fees in the country, and have to endure with the poorest freshwater fishing in the continent.

Having said that, the government is investing huge amounts of money to improve the trout hatchery with better guidance and technology. This will definitely give us better numbers and size categories of both rainbow and brown trout, however, it still won’t tackle the warming, drying climate that is predicted to take hold in the near future. The introduction of better suited species is the only answer, but then again who am I to know?

DAMS

Waroona Dam

Reports continue to be scarce so hopefully I will have a better report next issue after spending a few days fishing this water in May.

Drakesbrook Weir

Local angler Jonah Chiera reports that surface activity has increased recently and a couple of anglers he was chatting to had caught a few rainbows around the 40cm mark.

Even the redfin are preferably with plastics on a drop-shot rig.

Glen Mervyn Dam

Water very low but big redfin are there for the taking.

Wellington Dam

As reported earlier this decent late April rains and cooler temperatures, it seems freshwater anglers have been getting into some nice trout and redfin throughout the south-west of the state.

I wasn’t so lucky on my trip to Wellington Dam recently with possibly the leanest session I have had in many decades. Although, trout were absent and redfin were hard to locate, we did manage to boat the biggest redfin in 20 years with an impressive specimen of 48cm. This redfin hit Wendy’s lure that showed up on the sounder sitting next to a log in 8m of water. After making a few passes over the spot it decided to hit the Poltergeist that was tapping biggest going 50cm, caught at Harvey Dam back in the early 2000s when the dam first flooded. I also caught a similar size specimen on fly in the Pemberton town weir back in 1983. Others have done well around the Pemberton area with both trout and redfin turning up in most locations.

AUSSIE NATIVES

It’s been hard to come up with any good reports recently as most are keeping quiet about their ventures, and rightly so. The illegal stocking that took place a few years ago seemed to have failed, as I would imagine most would have fallen victim to the hordes of redfin that were present in the locations they ended improving with some showing up around the edges towards dark. Light jigheads fished on 6lb braid is the key to get distance if you are shore based, patterns aren’t as critical but I would change up until you find what they are taking.

Logue Brook Dam

A couple of fly fishers from WATFAA fished the shallower bays and landed some nice rainbows on killer pattern fished on long fine leaders. Lure fishers didn’t fare so well.

Harvey Dam

Trout have gone quiet but plenty of redfin are turning up off the Causeways. Some bigger models are sitting deep around Quarry Bay and off Nicholson Point. Look for schools and fish to the depth they are sitting at, water hides its treasures and only releases them to those that are patient and persistent. On my recent trip we trolled for three days and covered over 30km of water for only six redfin. In actual fact, I didn’t have a hit on my rod until the fourth day, whereas Wendy had all the action on her rod, including her personal best redfin of 48cm. I’m not sure if she has the special touch, or the fact that her reel is spooled with 10lb braid, resulting in her lures getting down to where they were sitting, opposed to my 20lb braid restricting my lures achieving that depth. Even though we were using the same lures, hers were getting constantly snagged so it seems they were running deeper than mine. It wasn’t until the last day when we headed up the Collie arm next to the highway around the farmland and found a patch of redfin that were hitting shallow running lures trolled dead slow.

There were a couple of young lads fishing next to our camp on kayaks with no luck, so we put them onto a spot on the opposite bank where we know the redfin were sitting. A quick visit to that spot resulted in a great little session for them, and they were all smiles with a dozen between them.

Goes to show that you don’t need an expensive boat and electronics to catch fish.

I was very disappointed with the trout fishing as not only they didn’t hit any of

Predicted Dam Levels for South West WA

Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 50.7% at the end of March compared to 58.9% as of the same time last year. Perth and the South West has experienced a record dry period, placing a huge strain on irrigation needs. Some very heavy rains fell in late March with mainly inland areas receiving the better falls. Our dams are very low and good rains are needed this winter. WAROONA DAM 45%

DRAKESBROOK WEIR 92%

LOGUE BROOK DAM 58%

HARVEY DAM 55%

WELLINGTON DAM 56%

GLEN MERVYN DAM 35%

BIG BROOK DAM 70% my normally successful patterns, I also didn’t have any action fly-fishing off the bank at first light, dusk and even at midnight, which is a favourite time for me. I heard the southern end of the dam is fishing better for trout so might be a go next time.

Lake Kepwari Redfin continue to be caught by those that put the effort in.

Big Brook Dam

A few trout are still getting caught around the top area of the dam with the guys using fly gear having all the action.

RIVERS Murray River

A good dumping of rain recently has stirred action with a bit of flow coming down. Redfin are more reliable than trout.

Northern Jarrah Streams

This is the time to be exploring these small streams that meander through the jarrah forest along the scarp. It normally takes a week or so after good rains for the trout to move up be the better areas. Redfin are also being caught right through the system with any of the lures or plastics being used on trout working well.

Blackwood River

A bit more water coming down should stir action in this river. A huge amount of trout gets stocked into this water but unfortunately is the case in all situations lots of leg work gets the better result. You will find redfin in most locations with those that get on the water with kayaks having most of the fun. Any of the popular lures or plastics work well here with possibly those having red working better.

Lefroy Brook

This little water has copped a hammering recently with all the popular spots receiving lots of attention. Try to find the secluded spots which could be difficult if you are new to the area. There are a couple of leaflets printed by the WA Trout Foundation on the area so I would try the local Tourist Bureau to see if they have copies.

Donnelly River

The upper section normally fires later in the season when trout move up from the more permanent water. I would give Boat Landing a go but only if you can get onto the water. these waters

As can be seen we have a variety of waters available if you want to try your luck in our southwest freshwater locations. The streams can be tough and we don’t compare to what is on offer on the east-coast however, I have travelled the whole country and can say we have some truly amazing scenery that is bordering on majestic down in the Karri country around Pemberton. You need an Inland Freshwater Licence and at $50 for a year with no option of a day, week or month licence it can deter any travelling tourist from out of the state. Until next time keep your lines tight.

Brunswick River

Worth a look as not many fish this little water.

Collie River below

Wellington Dam

Not much flow so I would give it a miss as the fishing can be very slow.

Collie River above

Wellington Dam

Some impressive redfin are being caught from both above and below the town of Collie. It is better to have a small tinnie or kayak to explore the better structure that lines this water, move around until you find where they are holding.

Preston River

This newly stocked water is producing some impressive trout recently. The going can be tough with long legwork required to get to the better spots. The section between Boyanup and Donnybrook seems to that offer the rewards don’t mirror the stocking effort.

Warren River Trout are showing up in increasing numbers with more flow and cooler water. All the popular runs are worth exploring however, as

Lake Macquarie Round

The weather forecast for round 2 of the East Coast Bream Series was not favourable, and it changed four times in the four days prior to the event. Fortunately, on the day the weather gods were smiling, and competitors were greeted with a glorious morning.

A total of 58 boats lined up for the start, and round 2 was off and running on beautiful Lake Macquarie.

1ST PLACE - $2500

Michell and Matthew Simons (Team Off The Scales) took out first place, and Matthew said it was a great day.

“Sometimes it just all comes together,” he said. “I fished with my son Mitchell who fished his first bream competition at St Georges Basin when he was 10. Now he’s 20, and he was lucky enough to land the two biggest fish at 1pm after not landing a fish all day.

“We fished the southern end of the lake using Vex 40mm blades, swapping and