OLD
Through tough times TOOWOOMBA
Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com
I am finally getting more pumped about my freshwater fishing. In the last month, I have had some cracker sessions on the bass and barramundi. Weather depending, these fish will continue to chew and we can expect the golden perch and impoundment cod to join them. It’s been the hardest year for freshwater fishing that I can remember. The continuous rain has made it tough to pick good locations in months where we are usually spoiled for choice. There was a brief reprieve, but the forecasters are saying there is more to come.
Planning ahead has been difficult with unknown future weather systems set to rain on you fishing parade. At the end of the day, rain can be good, and it can already be seen just how well the bait has thrived in the different systems. The influx of nutrients feeds the food chain from the bottom up and we will see good fish growth rates for years to come. My biggest fear is barra hightailing it out of our lakes. The closer we get to summer the more likely they will be to follow their instincts and head downstream for the salt. It has happened before and it has taken hard work from devoted stocking groups to build fish numbers back up over
the last ten or so years. The barra fishing is reaching an excellent status on the southern lakes. Monduran, Awoonga and Callide have again joined the northern impoundments as being unbelievable barra fisheries. I sit here writing this in the car park at Monduran Dam boat ramp because I live for these fish. If you have never tried catching them you need to. These fisheries would have to be some of the best in the world. From someone who has tried a fair bit of what Australia has to offer, impoundment barramundi get me excited. Fingerscrossed, they are still here for us next year. Until next month, buckled rods from the Colonel.
Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits will become even more effective this month as water temperatures rise.
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Cressbrook has been pretty slow over the last couple of months. The bass should scatter more and move to deeper water. Trolling will be a great way to get them to bite. Diving hard bodies that punch down to 10m are normally necessary. This year the slightly coloured water might be sitting a bit shallower. Try a mix of lures that can dive 5-10m and watch the sounder closely to pinpoint the depth they prefer. Working the water out in front of the boat ramps and also up the middle of the Beams Creek arm should get a few suspended bass to bite. You can also try trolling around the edges
of the lake. Golden perch numbers were on the rise a while ago. They were quiet over the winter months but expect to see a few more of these pretty coloured Cressbrook fish this month. • 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 dam is on longer hours for the rest of the year so the gates will be open from 6am to 8pm. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Somerset Dam has fished quite well over the last month or two. The fish seem to be getting accustomed to the stained water and now it has cleared a little they are pushing
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NOVEMBER 2022
Somerset Dam has been fishing well on the edges and around shallower schooling fish. This one ate a blade watched live on the Simrad Active Target.
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deeper. Fishing edges has worked well but as things heat up more, the shallows will only produce early in the mornings. I’d be tossing a crankbait, blade bait, Spectre Vibration Jig or TN60 Jackall. That has been the beauty of the coloured water. Somerset fish can be very fussy but they seem more willing to eat an assortment of offerings. The bass will start to school more in open water. Don’t expect them to be as deep as usual. While the water still has some colour in it, they will stay in 4-8m where the light can still punch through the water column. What to throw will be the question. We are coming into the time of year when the Spectre Vibration Jig has dominated for the past couple of years. This year should be a bit
different. With the bass schools sitting in shallower water with dirty colour in it, we will see spoons, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, soft vibes and chatterbaits all perform well. Mix it up though to see what they like the most. Bass will be schooling on the flats either side of Kirkleigh, wide of Queen Street and at Pelican Point. Try to find flats around 5-8m which are close to the drop offs and the fish shouldn’t be too far away. Golden perch numbers will be on the rise this month. They love a bit of warmer weather and will chase down all sorts of lures. Bass fishermen will encounter a few on the flats as bycatch. Trolling diving lures in 5-7m should also produce. There are some good ledges beside the riverbed in the Kirkleigh
area for this. There are sections where trees and stumps are still on the bottom. If you locate these on your sounder, you can try hopping small blade baits for them. If you find a good one you can expect good numbers of goldens at this time of year. Some of the better quality fish have been close to 5kg. We may see a return of the giant goldens Somerset was known for some 20 years ago. MAROON CLOSEST TOWNS: BOONAH, RATHDOWNEY It’s a great month to mix it up at Maroon and work on using a number of fishing styles. Early in the morning, the bass will be keen on surface lures. As it brightens up a switch to suspending jerkbaits can keep the action flowing. The edges for about a km to the right of the main boat ramp and directly opposite (below Pointro) are holding good numbers of fish. With the warmer days this month, the fish will push out deeper onto flats outside the weedy edges. This is the ideal location for Spectre Vibration Jigs. Maroon bass love them and they are hard to beat during the warmer months. If you don’t have any in your kit, you can try other chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and lipless cranks. • 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.
