Starlo’s: fishing La Nina

NSW STH COAST Steve Starling

www.fishotopia.com

It’s official. We’re in for our third La Niña summer in a row. So, what does that mean for your fishing prospects across the coming months? combine to largely dictate our underlying weather patterns until at least early 2023.

Without going into all the technicalities of exactly how and why (you can easily search those on-line), all of this means that we’re very likely to see a continuation of wetterexperience a strong Wet Season, and perhaps a few more cyclones than usual.

So, what does all of that mean for fishing? Well, in the longer run, it’s likely to be very good news for most of our eastern and northern fisheries. More rain means better flow rates, increased nutrients,

Fingers crossed for a big Wet Season up north! The early signs are promising, and will be great for next season’s barra fishing.

In late September this year the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology issued an update officially acknowledging a continuation of the than-average conditions, especially across the north and east of the continent. These wet conditions mostly result from warmer ocean temperatures in the Western Pacific Ocean, and

Steve Peach with a lovely rainbow trout on fly from Carcoar Dam, near Blayney, in central western NSW.

prevailing La Niña weather driver. This means we’re most likely heading into our third La Niña-dominated summer in a row, which is quite a rare event, and one that has some obvious implications for our fishing fortunes across most of the country.

This continuing La Niña (albeit possibly a weaker one than the previous two years), together with an ongoing negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), will an increase in the strength and duration of prevailing onshore winds.

Overall, we can expect a fair amount of rain in many regions, although a few, such as the west coast of Tasmania and parts of southern WA, will probably be drier than usual. Storms and flood events are also more likely than in a typical year, especially in northern NSW and South Eastern Queensland, and there’s a good chance the tropics will Tasmania, Victoria and NSW — possibly even better than last year’s, which many rated as the finest in decades. Good flow rates and less very hot, dry days greatly favour our trout populations, and the rising levels in many lakes and dams inundates new ground, providing lots and lots of trout tucker.

Coastal estuary fishers may do it a little tougher, with a succession of minor to major flooding events once again keeping the rivers dirty for big chunks of the summer. However, when the water does clear up between “freshes”, the fishing should be excellent!

Offshore, warmerthan-average currents will have plenty of tropical and sub-tropical pelagic species sweeping south. I’d expect Native fish like yellowbelly or golden perch are absolutely loving our ongoing wet spell!

higher rivers, fuller dams and more successful breeding seasons for many native species. The wash-on effects from three La Niña summers in a row should see a lot more fish swimming in our inland and coastal river systems for at least the coming decade, even if we return to an El Niño dry pattern (which is very likely across that time frame).

In the shorter term, we’re also in for another bumper trout season in Trout fishing is booming everywhere that these fish are found, including Lake Eucumbene, which is at its highest level in years… But pack your warm clothes, even in summer!

to see good numbers of big yellowfin tuna, marlin, wahoo, mahimahi and the like being caught all the way down the east coast by Christmas, and even some oddball catches and unusual visitors turning up in Victorian and Tasmanian seas come the New Year. The downside is that more windy days will limit the ability of trailer boat fishers to cash in on this seasonal bonanza. You’ll need to pick your windows even more carefully than usual.

The bottom line is that weather patterns like the current one provide both swings and roundabouts, or perhaps snakes and ladders, for keen fishos. But my best advice is to be adaptable, watch the weather forecasts even more closely than usual, and always pack a rain jacket, even if it looks fine when you’re heading out!