WA
Plenty of trout about FRESHWATER
Peter Fragomeni
May is one of my favourite months to be out trout fishing and it can be an exciting time to be on our Inland waters chasing
stocking figures of our rivers in the southwest of the state. AUSSIE NATIVES Not a lot of reports have been coming in, however, some nice silver perch have been caught at private paid fisheries. A few reports are still coming in of some
report Fisheries would have completed the first proposed stocking of this water. Refer to last issue for full stocking list. Unfortunately, the trout fishing was quiet in early autumn but this can be the case in all our northern
The Murray River near Dwellingup can offer some exciting fishing in the right water levels. It’s hoped the recent stocking of brown trout will improve opportunities in the future.
A superb 6lb rainbow caught fly fishing in a small South West dam. Trout can do well in WA if conditions are suitable. dams. Redfin have been easier to locate if you happen to have a boat or kayak. Trolling hardbodied lures have produce a few redfin but size is well down compared to previous years. Drakesbrook Weir Local angler Jonah Chiera has indicated similar fishing as Waroona
Dam with trout being hard to locate and redfin more available. He suggested that the redfin are localised and if you are lucky enough to locate the school then you can be in for some exciting fishing although, it can be short and sweet. Logue Brook Dam With the cooler weather it seems the ski boats and jetski traffic has tapered off. I’m a bit surprised than not a lot of trout are showing up and this can lead to an unpleasant outing as redfin are absent as a by-catch. Harvey Dam This is by far our premier freshwater location, however, in the last few years its not lived up to its reputation. A few trout are still showing up, and remember if you participated in last year’s Harvey Bash, then there’s still a lot of trout that were
tagged by Fisheries and carry a cash prize, if you are lucky enough to catch one. Even if you weren’t
You then send the details to the number on the tag to Fisheries and this will aid in there study. Some
WATFAA member Steve Roberts fly-fishing a gauging weir on a stream near Pemberton. in the competition and you happen to catch one of these tagged trout, then it’s important to measure and take a photo of it on something like a brag mat.
A small Murray cod from an undisclosed location in WA. It seems they are becoming more common despite no government stocking taking place. those elusive brown trout, or large redfin that seem to come out of hiding after our long hot summer. Reports coming in have indicated that some nice trout are showing up and the redfin haven’t disappointed as well. In the last issue I listed the stocking locations of all the dams and it seems some of these large trout are being caught by those willing to put the effort in. In this issue I will list all the 110
MAY 2022
big cod being caught in public waters however, I can’t confirm these reports as anglers are being tight lipped for a good reason. I’ve noticed that the silvers out my way are reluctant to take my offerings in the cooler water this time of the year and I’d suggest this may be the case in other waters. DAMS Waroona Dam Hopefully, by the time you get to read this
nice redfin are showing up with the better areas being Quarry Bay, opposite side of Chester’s Point and the narrow leg of the Harvey in amongst the heavy timber.
PREDICTED DAM LEVELS FOR SW WA Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 58.9% as of end of March 2022 compared to 32.6% at the same time last year. We experienced one of the driest summers on record and even March was dry with Perth only recording 5mm for the whole month compared to Sydney recording over 500mm. Irrigation demand was very high and this has resulted in lower levels than predicted.
The Warren River turning up some nice redfin. Vince Gervasi from Prestige Tackle holding Nick Vitalone’s fine specimen.
WAROONA DAM DRAKESBROOK WEIR LOGUE BROOK DAM HARVEY DAM WELLINGTON DAM GLEN MERVYN DAM BIG BROOK DAM
45 % 78 % 67 % 55 % 67 % 46 % 62 %
