Freshwater

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

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 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

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

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. You then send the details to the number on the tag to Fisheries and this will aid in there study. Some

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.

A superb 6lb rainbow caught fly fishing in a small South West dam. Trout can do well in WA if conditions are suitable.

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

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.

WATFAA member Steve Roberts fly-fishing a gauging weir on a stream near Pemberton.

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.

WAROONA DAM 45 % DRAKESBROOK WEIR 78 % LOGUE BROOK DAM 67 % HARVEY DAM 55 % WELLINGTON DAM 67 % GLEN MERVYN DAM 46 % BIG BROOK DAM 62 %

Wellington Dam

It seems a few of the trout that were stocked last year are showing up of late however, size and condition is a concern. On the good side, at least they have survived the extremely hot summer we had. Redfin numbers seem to have increased with the high water resulting in better breeding conditions. The ones being caught are on the small side but, things may change as we head into winter. Trolling from a boat and casting lures or soft

plastics from the shore are the favoured methods.

Glen Mervyn Dam

A couple of reports indicate that the redfin numbers are up, however, as with Wellington the size is on the small side. Norilup Dam

No reports but worth a look if you are down that way.

Big Brook Dam

A couple of WATFAA members fished the back area and, although a number of fish were hooked on fly, they weren’t able to land one. This pretty little dam is a prime fly water and cops a large stocking each year so it’s always worth a look if you are down there. A few of the farm dams are fishing well but you need to be a member of the clubs that stock them to be able to gain access. RIVERS Murray River

I fished this water in April and the fishing was hard apart from a few small redfin that hit my fly in the gentle current. Hopefully things will pick

up when the 2500 rainbow yearlings and 800 brown yearlings are stocked in early winter . Northern Jarrah Streams

After a record dry summer it’s feared that a lot of the trout have perished. Things will change when good rains push trout up from the dams in the area.

Brunswick River

It got very low this year however, 400 rainbow yearlings and for the first time in decades 200 brown yearlings will go in after the first rains.

Collie River below

Wellington Dam

This time of the year can be tough as flows cease with the lack of irrigation and fish become very wary. Around 2000 rainbow yearlings and 1500 brown yearlings will find their way into this water in winter. It was decided not to stock any X brood trout this year as its better to retain this water as a semi wild fishery. Preston River

Not a lot of anglers realise that this river received a trout

stocking in 2021. Although, only a few reports come in of some being caught, it was decided that another 800 rainbow yearlings and a trial of 300 brown yearlings will be stocked this year. I would encourage anglers to give it a go as if we don’t get feedback then it could get dropped off the stocking list .

Blackwood River

This water doesn’t get much attention as you can fish for hours without seeing a trout. The size makes up for the lack of quantity with some nice rainbows moving up to the runs after the first decent rains. Around 3000 rainbow yearlings and 1000 brown yearlings will be stocked between Bridgetown and Nannup this winter. Warren River

By far our most fished river in this state the Warren is still producing some reasonably trout fishing although it doesn’t compare to its glory days prior to

redfin spreading through its entire length. It’s probably more famous for its redfin these days however, with 3500 rainbow yearlings, 1200 brown yearlings and 200 odd x brood trout going in it will still offer some reasonably fishing in a truly magical part of our state . Lefroy Brook

Some nice trout are coming out of this picturesque little stream that meanders through a valley adjacent to the town of Pemberton and the state’s only trout hatchery. It cops a good stocking and this year 2000 rainbow yearlings, 1000 yearling browns and a few dozen big ex brood trout will keep freshwater anglers happy throughout the season. Donnelly River

It was very low however, a few nice browns were caught in the lower section where a few of the feeder streams flow

in. I would suggest you wait until we get decent rains or perhaps give Boat Landing a go but, only if you can get onto the water and fish both upstream and downstream. Around 2400 rainbow yearlings and 1000 brown yearlings will call this river home this winter. Albany area King River

This little water can turn on some reasonably trout fishing however, as it runs through private property the land owners can be hostile towards anglers at times. I would suggest you get a copy of the land titles, as there’s a lot of areas where public land runs along the river. Trout stocking was cancelled for a number of years due to unjustifiable claim that there was a rare native species that inhabited this river and trout may impact on their numbers. Thankfully this was not the case and now again

around 400 rainbow yearlings will go in this year.

As can be seen we have a marginal trout fishery in this state and due to increased fishing pressure, long hot dry summers then we need to limit our catch to conserve our fishery, especially with the brown trout as they seem to cope better in our environment. This does not apply to redfin as numbers seem to stay stable even with heavy rod pressure.

Tight lines.

Some nice redfin from Wellington Dam. Although it was a redfin-only water, efforts have been made to stock trout, with another large number going in this year.

Silver perch are now widespread in WA and are better suited to our hot conditions. This one took a small blade fished slowly along a weed bed inland from Perth. Having access to a boat or kayak can be handy to get to those fish that tend to hang well off the bank. Jonah Chiera holding a nice rainbow he landed after an epic fight on light tackle.

Early morning on Drakesbrook Weir. Hopefully this pretty little water will fire with the increased stocking this year.