WA
A bit tricky for trout FRESHWATER
Peter Fragomeni
This time of the year can be a bit tricky fishing our northern dams for trout, as November has been warm in some years, particularly in the latter part of the month. It’s just a matter of
to the Crater Lakes of South Victoria. Although it was tough going with extreme weather and cold winds we did manage to tick a few things off the bucket list, like a beautiful bass and a feisty chinook salmon, both on fly. All the reports coming in indicate there have been
some nice trout and redfin being caught in some of our waters recently. AUSSIE NATIVES The water warming up has stirred these species into action. I’ve noticed more activity in a couple of smaller dams I visited recently, however, they have proven hard to entice.
The South West of WA has a number of farm dams on private property that are stocked by individuals and fishing clubs, like WATFAA and SFFAC. This one is very large and can offer excellent fishing at times.
Private farm dams can produce well-conditioned fast growing trout if conditions are ideal. This 58cm rainbow went 6lb and put up a great fight on a #5 fly rod. adjusting your technique to suit the conditions. Getting on the water at sunrise or fishing deep off steep banks that drop off into deep water is your best chance for chasing trout. If you choose to troll from a boat then try using lures that dive down to between 3-7m. I’m only referring to those periods where we can get days that are in the mid 30s and on occasions even higher. If you choose to fish the streams or rivers then it is a different situation as they are generally shaded and remain cool. The same applies to the lower southern waters around Pemberton, as this area can fish best this time of the year. I haven’t been out fishing this last couple of months because I travelled to the East Coast and fished freshwater locations from mid NSW all the way down
A handy fishing stile placed over the fence line to gain better access to Lefroy Brook just out of Pemberton. Others like this one are planned by the WA branch of ATF, with the help from SFFAC.
A good sounder will show where fish are holding. The right side is downscan showing a school of redfin hanging around a tree.
PREDICTED DAM LEVELS FOR SW WA Predicted Dam Levels for South West WA Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 75% as of the end of September, which is down from 78.5% as of the same time last year. Although they are down slightly from last year there is enough water to cater for anglers and irrigation needs throughout our hot summer conditions WAROONA DAM DRAKESBROOK WEIR LOGUE BROOK DAM HARVEY DAM WELLINGTON DAM GLEN MERVYN DAM BIG BROOK DAM 116
NOVEMBER 2022
the Troutfest in mid-October will get things going again. My mate Jonah has been getting into the redfin recently and reported that they were hitting the lures from the bank so it proves you don’t need a boat for success. A few browns have shown up and I can’t stress how important it is that they are returned as they prey on small redfin. I was chatting to Mick from Victorian Inland Charters
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A few big Murray cod have come from lakes around the metro area but reports are getting harder to come by of late. Waroona Dam The fishing has been slow. This could be because there hasn’t been a stocking for some time, although a few redfin are still being caught on lures. Drakesbrook Weir As of time of writing, it has been fishing slow for trout, however, a large stocking that is going in for
at Lake Purrumbete on my recent trip to the area and he said that the browns get big because they feed on the redfin and it keeps their numbers down. He regularly finds up to a dozen redfin in the bigger browns so suggests we stock more browns in our redfin waters. Hopefully, this will be the case in coming years. Logue Brook Dam A few reports of brown trout being caught by fly anglers is encouraging so it’s important that these
trout are released to grow to trophy size in the future. Ski boat and jet-ski activity is normally high from now- on so be alert if you happen to fish from a boat or kayak. Harvey Dam Reports indicate that the trout fishing has been very slow this spring compared to previous years. Normally the social media sites are dominated by trout captures from this water but, since the ban on camping it seems that anglers are staying away and fishing other locations. The cancellation of the Harvey Bash fishing competition is a big loss to the local community and to trout fishing in general in this state. The recent visit to a number of dams on the east-coast has provided a clear picture on just how underused our waters are in both freshwater species
and facilities to cater for travelling anglers like myself. With better policing they have we didn’t encounter any antisocial incidents in our travels with over 30 nights camping on the banks of their dams. Strict rules accompanied your receipt with actual fines and future bans for non-compliance. I just hope the local shire can provide a similar facility in the near future. Glen Mervyn Dam Not a lot of trout have been caught here recently however, the rewards can be good if you put the effort in. Some nice redfin lurk in this lightly fished water so it’s worth having a fish if you are in the area. Good free camping is aloud so this is a bonus. Wellington Dam Reports of a few good trout coming from the
