Cooler, more comfortable weather for trout

FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

The latter part of March can see some cooler days here in the West, which can result in increased activity around our dams closer to Perth. The trout find it more comfortable and venture closer to shore, where food can be more available. This is not the case in all years, as sometimes this doesn’t occur until well into April. We will have to wait and see how it will unfold this year.

Judging by the reports coming through it seems the best activity has come from the Pemberton region compared to areas further north. Redfin have been caught throughout all the regions, with some good catches recorded by a number of anglers that put the time in, chasing these tasty species.

AUSSIE NATIVES

Not a lot of reports have filtered in, but that’s not to fishery. Fisheries officers are still patrolling the waters looking for those few trying to take marron out of season, with heavy fines issued to those that do the wrong thing.

DAMS

Waroona Dam

I paid a visit to this water recently and chose to flick a few plastics and hardbodied lures around the edge. The ski boats were very active, and after catching only a few small redfin, we decided to sit back and sample a few of the cold ales we had in the esky. It’s hoped that a few trout will show up when things cool off in late autumn.

Drakesbrook Weir

Jonah Chiera reports that a few good redfin are showing up, and even a trout or two are putting in an appearance on occasions. The best bet is to get out on the water via a kayak or small electric-powered boat and fish the deeper water closer to the wall. Dropping soft plastics to the bottom can be deadly, and slow trolling deep diving lures can also be a productive technique.

Logue Brook Dam that all the reports coming in have been by anglers who are extremely disappointed with this water. It seems that a lack of stocking of brood trout has been the main reason why. I will sit on the fence because I haven’t fished this water since 2021.

On the other hand, the redfin fishing has been exceptional, with the average size being mainly in the 25-32cm range.

Wellington Dam

A couple of my mates fished this water when they were down there chasing marron in early February, and reported that the redfin were very active. They managed to land around 30 in one afternoon using soft plastics on a drop-shot rig in 20m of water. Unfortunately, no trout were spotted that day, say there aren’t any fish being caught, just that most anglers are keeping tightlipped about the subject. I managed to venture out in my area and noticed a few silver perch free swimming in very shallow water.

Marron can grow large in our dark, cool waters in southern WA. Fisheries WA impose tight restrictions with heavy fines for people caught doing the wrong thing.

MARRON

This season has seen some good catches from both dams and rivers, with the better waters being around Collie and the Pemberton region. The short season ended in early February, and it seems Fisheries WA are happy with the lack of non-compliance cases reported throughout the

The ever-increasing number of ski boats and jet-skis on this water is alarming. I normally wait until late April or even May before I fish this water, as it can be dangerous throughout the warmer months.

Harvey Dam

This summer the fishing has been tough on this water as far as the trout fishing goes, with very little action experienced by those who chase them. I can confirm

Murray cod are rarely caught in WA due to the lack of government stocking. Freshwater anglers keep tight-lipped about but other anglers have seen a few chasing their lures whilst they were spinning for redfin.

Glen

Some good redfin have been caught recently. This little water doesn’t get a lot of fishing pressure so there seems to be a few redfin around that have rarely seen a lure.

Lake Kepwari

This old coal mine just out of Collie holds some reasonable redfin at times. Not a lot of anglers fish this water as it’s out away from closer dams that fish more reliably. I fish it on occasions, and find the fish only sit at certain depths so it’s important to have a decent sounder if you want any success.

This is by far the best water if you are chasing stillwater action. The fishing has been exceptionally good right up until the hot weather set in during mid-summer. Both browns and rainbow trout have been caught in numbers, no doubt due to the increased stocking by Fisheries WA. This little water should fire again later this month when the water temperatures start to drop.

RIVERS

Murray River

I fished here recently and was surprised by the lack of water flowing over the rapids, given that we had a wet winter. We didn’t see a trout, but we managed a few small redfin on small spinners and an array of soft plastics. I tried the fly in the better sections with no luck.

Northern Jarrah streams

The streams are very low apart from the spring-fed ones that always hold small trout.

Harvey River

It was brought to my attention that this river around

DAM LEVELS

Hotham Mill is going to be intensely mined by Alcoa. This is sad news as it’s in the water catchment area, and was taken from us when Stirling Dam was placed into the scheme to supply water for Perth. It’s annoying when anglers can’t access drinking water dams or rivers, and yet the authorities are perfectly willing to allow to fish this section of the river. Some good reports have come through by those who know how to fish there. The secret is to keep an eye out on water flow levels and avoid very high flows. The faster the flow, the heavier the lure or fly. Good rainbow and brown trout have been caught this season. and downstream of the town of Nannup.

Warren River

This river is arguably known as a better redfin water these days, but some good trout are still getting caught right through the system. I heard a rumour with the preference going to soft plastics, as they get the results and don’t hurt the bank budget when lost in the structure that litters this water.

Lefroy Brook

The water is very low, making the fish very wary heavy machinery in to destroy the land, and introduce harmful chemicals and contaminates to pristine areas.

Collie River below

Wellington Dam

Right now is by far the best time of the year

Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 61.3%, compared to 69.1% at the same time last year. This is not surprising, as Perth and the southwest received very little rain this summer, placing a huge strain on irrigation needs for our farmers that rely heavily on this water.

Waroona Dam 56%

Drakesbrook Weir 84%

Logue Brook Dam 71%

Harvey Dam 69%

Wellington Dam 66%

Glen Mervyn Dam 63%

Big Brook Dam 85%

Collie River above

Wellington Dam

The section from around the town down to the small weir has been fishing well for redfin recently. The best technique is casting larger soft plastics and mediumsize lures close to structure and letting them sink before applying a slow roll retrieve back to your feet or boat.

Blackwood River

This largish river receives a huge stocking, but the returns are low compared to the expenditure required to keep it as a freshwater fishing destination. Not many anglers fish this water these days, but for those that do, the rewards can be good at times. The best section is both upstream of a large 8lb trout that was caught here recently, which is encouraging. It’s not known if it was a hatchery ex-brood fish or one of the wild ones that used to be caught regularly. With the cooler weather coming on it should push the trout up into faster water at the head of the pools, making them easier to target.

Big redfin are getting caught in the deeper pools by anglers venturing up on their kayaks. Any of the popular lures are working, in the shallow areas. Look for shaded spots up in the forest, and avoid popular areas that get a flogging. It can be fun chasing small trout with the fly rod up around the hatchery. Alternatively, if you have the legs, a long walk up above the town weir is worth a try, as it holds some nice rainbows and browns on occasions.

Donnelly River

The upstream section is very low so I would concentrate on the lower section around Boat Landing. If you have a boat or even a kayak then I would try trolling close to the bank adjacent to the fallen trees. Some good trout sit in this section, and the area is home to some large black bream that are willing to attack a trout lure if it passes close by. As you can see, we have a variety of dams and rivers that can fish reasonably well at times. A Inland Freshwater Licence is required to fish here in WA with juniors not required to purchase a licence and concessions are available for those that hold the appropriate cards. Fire and snakes are still a risk so take care and enjoy our great outdoors. Until next time, stay connected.