OLD
Fish respond to cold TOOWOOMBA
Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com
With a longer break in the heavy widespread rain, the fishing has improved a lot across most of the dams and rivers. There are now so many options to consider when planning a trip.
The days will start to get cooler and shorter this month, and this will see a few changes. Golden perch numbers will drop off a bit, especially for the lure trollers. More fish will be found in shallower water. You’ll see cod and barra spending more time right up in the skinny water looking for food.
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST There are still very few reports of bass are coming from the lake. Golden perch are more plentiful, and redclaw crayfish are everywhere. Lure trollers stand a good chance of picking up fish out in front of the ramps and in the start of the Beams Creek arm. Medium to deep diving hard bodies should pick off a few suspended fish in the deeper parts of the lake. Trolling can also work on smaller bass around the edges. Here you are more likely to pick up a few golden perch as well. Goldens should remain quite active for the next couple of months. While they will take
a trolled or cast lure at the moment, the best way to get them is to hop ZX style blades vertically or close to the boat. The points are always worth a look as they will hold both goldens and bass. Bass fishers will continue to pull the occasional fish around the lake. The longer points, and the flats they form, are a good place to start looking. The flats between the shallow ramp and the pump tower in Bass Bay are also worth a look. Further up both arms there are also some pretty good flats once you venture out of the deep water of the main creeks. Try searching in 6-10 metres of water. The bass are very hard to find in numbers, and only the
Bass will bite better throughout the day but their habits may start to change, so be prepared to mix up lure selections until you find out what they prefer most. All in all, it’s going to be a cracker of a month on the freshwater. Until next time, buckled rods from the Colonel. committed anglers are likely to find and consistently bang lots of the bigger models. Spoons will be pretty effective if numbers are found. If you’re searching by fishing lots of water, a spinnerbait or chatterbait will be a better option over the next month. Heavier lures around 5/8oz can be fished faster to cover more water while looking for fish. The 5 to 9 metre mark around the edges will be a good place to start when casting. Concentrate wider on the long points and in closer on medium to steep edges. • Fish’n’Bits in Toowoomba has all the gear and tips on how to chase the Cressy fish. They are an excellent store specialising in all freshwater lures and tackle. The access gates to the ramp and day use area will be open from
There have been some quality bass around at Moogerah Dam. This one took a liking to the author’s Spectre Vibration Jig in olive craw colour.
Gary’s Marine Centre
3201 6232
217 Pine Mountain Road, BRASSALL 50 MARCH 2023
Dion Branson took advantage of a windy afternoon on Somerset Dam. 6am to 8pm. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Somerset has fished reasonably well over the past month. In typical Somerset fashion, the fish are in the mood some days and really tough to entice on others. Smaller bass have been quite common, and the bigger fish are harder to locate and fool. The southern side of Pelican Point has been one of the most reliable areas for better quality fish over 45cm long. The northern ledge at Pelican has also held big numbers of fish at times. There can also be a number of other fishy banks and points within sight of these two areas, as the fish move around quite a bit. When searching for fish, the clutter on the sounder (which is most likely algae or daphnia) has been really thick in places. At times, it almost blacks out the bottom on the main fish-holding areas, and this either forces the fish away from the area or into shallower or deeper water. Usually you will find them above the clutter line, with smaller fish suspending and quality ones sitting tight to the bottom. This sounder clutter will start to fade off and will eventually disappear as we move into the colder months. When you stumble across suspended bass, there is a good chance they will take spoons, blades and tail spinners. They are also pretty keen on Spectre Vibration Jigs, provided you fish them up high enough off the bottom. The better quality bass, which are likely to be in 6-7 metres of water and close to the bottom, are fussier about lure presentation. Spectre Vibration jigs in darker colours or deep diving crankbaits will be the best choices for lure casting. When the boat is stationary, the fish can be too smart and refuse to bite. I love the windy days where the boat drifts quickly over them and the drift can be used
to help drag the lures through fish while winding the reel and dropping back to bottom. On the still days, you can use your electric motor to move the boat along while winding and dropping back the lures. Another option, which works well with crankbaits and chatterbaits, is to long line. When you spot the start of a school, cast the lure over them and then just keep driving until you run out of line or the school stops. When you pull the lure back in over this distance, you can fool the fish into biting. Bear in mind that with so much line out, the vibration of lures transmitting back to the rod and reel is reduced, so it will feel a little different. MAROON CLOSEST TOWNS: BOONAH, RATHDOWNEY The shallow water and topwater bite has been a bit quiet over the last couple of months. With shorter days starting to creep back in, the bite should improve, especially if water surface temperatures drop a bit. Surface lures at first and last light should pull bass of mixed size. Try to fish areas which are protected from the wind. The more affected the water, the noisier/splashier the presentation can be. The edges of the lake will produce bass and the occasional golden perch when using jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, beetle spins and chatterbaits. The edge bite can slow down through the brighter parts of the day, and you will need to move out deeper and work lures through the schooling bass. These fish go crazy for small bladed chatterbaits or the clear bladed Spectre. Casting and trolling are both effective, and hard bodies can also work well when trolled. The bite should continue for the rest of the month before a transition time begins where the fish will prefer less noisy and flashy offerings.
MOOGERAH CLOSEST TOWNS: BOONAH, ARATULA Moogerah has given a taste of the great fishing on offer over the past month. Schools of bass and the occasional golden perch have been chewing well, provided you can find them. The bass have been holding in big schools at times in deeper water. These fish have been very mobile and can take some finding. They will usually sit wide on the major points in 7-10 metres of water. There have been at least a couple of these big schools, and when they bunch up there are hundreds of fish together. There have also been smaller schools, which are less mobile. These fish are also holding around points but in shallower water. Make sure you look in 4-6 metres of water for these fish as at times they can be better quality than the suspending fish out deeper. Despite there being several schools about, you can still dedicate hours to sounding and finding them. Time spent looking will be rewarded with plenty of numbers boated once they are found. I was amazed at how well the schooling fish could be monitored using live sonar to follow their movements and deliver lures to the best numbers. The bass have responded well to a mix of lures, but they do seem to have specific bite times. When they are ready to chew they will take spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, crankbaits and blades. Other lures are getting the bites as well, but they aren’t receiving the same amount of interest. • The lads at Charltons Fishing at Redbank are all over the fish activity at Maroon and Moogerah. Call in and grab your supplies and hit them up for tips on where the fish are biting. It is recommended that camping be booked at least a couple of weeks in advance. You can contact Lake Moogerah Caravan Park on (07) 5540 5600.
