OLD
Time to turn it on TOOWOOMBA
Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com
What a mixed up and unpredictable year we have had on the freshwater fishing scene. I will be straightforward and let you know there are not too many positive things to report from the past month. The good news is things should only improve and we are in a prime month for freshwater fishing. Let’s have a bit of a look at what’s been going on. Rain, rain and more rain. The continuous rain over winter on sodden soil has allowed a lot of South East Queensland lakes to run over yet again. As I think back over all my years of writing, I don’t ever recall such widespread dam flooding over the winter months. The downside to a winter flood is it coincides with the lead up to bass spawning time. As we all know, bass need brackish water to spawn so natural instincts see the biggest and sexually mature fish want to head over the dam wall in search of salty water. It remains to be seen just how many fish have gone from lakes like Wivenhoe and Somerset but it can be confirmed a huge amount of Lake MacDonald bass headed over the
spillway. I am sure other lakes may have suffered a similar fate. A lot of releases and spilling took place but I am not sure how severe or controlled these were across the other lakes. The good news is escaped bass often survive and can be targeted in the rivers below. Just remember there are closed seasons in place on tidal waters when it comes to catching bass. These finish on the 31 August so you’ll be able to have some fun this month chasing bass in new environments. Monduran Dam had a good run over event a bit over a month ago. The dam poured over the spillway but it was very positive to see no barramundi exiting the lake. Unlike bass, barra breeding season is in the summer months so they didn’t feel the urge to head downstream. The other disappointing thing to take place this winter has been widespread fish kills. Dying fish occurred across most of the lakes in South East Queensland, the Darling Downs and Granite Belt areas. A lot of the dead fish are often bony bream but some of our favourite target species were mixed in with them. This can be from a couple of factors. Rollover event where the bottom layer of water rolls to the top occurs as the core water temperature equalises. This can give a
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST The dam has closed a few times over the past months. Every time the water goes over the spillway the council seems to close it for weeks stating it will not reopen until water is low enough. At the time of writing, it is open and I am busting to get back out there. Despite the rain and flooding, the water in the main basin and Beams Creek arm is clear. Even though it has had a few run in events, the water
level is already 100% so it doesn’t flood grass and new ground. This means the fish won’t be put off by any dying vegetation. The downside to the lake being so full is it will take a bit longer to find fish with so much water to explore. The bass will be schooling well in 8m of water or more. Spending time searching using the sounder will ensure you stand the best chance of catching them because when they bunch up it leaves a lot of barren water. These deepwater bass love cast lures and you will do well
sudden change delivering less oxygenated water to our fishy friends. Cold snaps are also a big killer of fish over the winter months. The shallowest holding fish seem to suffer most. Low overnight temperatures can suddenly drop the water temperature in the shallows and this catches the fish out and leads to their death. It isn’t uncommon but seems to have been worse this year as some of the temperature drops have been so sudden and severe. Now, to be a little more positive, what can we expect for this month? Some of the lakes will definitely fire up. The dirty water is still a problem in some dams but if you are prepared to work hard or willing to fish with live shrimp, you’ll catch them. Others will be clearing nicely and future rain will be the only thing that influences the good visibility now. Bass are ready to feed up after their breeding season and will be in a very healthy condition. Remember just because dams are dirty and fish are hard to catch doesn’t mean they stop eating. They still need to feed to survive and I’m sure there will be some extra healthy specimens out there after all the flushed food, nutrients and baitfish that will have kicked off after all the rain. Cod are in their breeding
Luke Sticklen has been finding a few bass in the river. season but still catchable in the dams. Just remember to leave them alone in the rivers until after the 31 October. As spring starts to warm things up, golden perch will be more willing to take lures. We’ll see this on some of the South East Queensland and Burnett lakes first and then later in the more southern dams, which warm more slowly. By next month they will be really starting to fire up. The
same goes for barramundi fishing. These fish can be a bit tougher to catch for the average angler over winter. They will start to move about more as the water warms up and will respond to faster presentations as their metabolism kicks it up a gear or two. By next month they will be really fired up and we will see the return of those awesome nighttime sessions. So while there has been
using soft plastics and spoons at this time of year. The big fish seem to love Raptor Jigs or G1 Gang Bangers on a long cast away from the boat. Smaller fish can be fooled around the boat and vertically with smaller profile spoons and 3’ soft plastics rigged on 1/2 or 5/8oz jigheads. The bass schools could be out from the boat ramp area and across to the buoy line. The other major points all around the dam or any flats areas around 8m deep are worth a look. Don’t be afraid to look out deeper in up to 20m of water. Provided it isn’t too dirty they can go really deep as the oxygen
Gary’s Marine Centre Todd Rassmussen has been plucking off a few of the scattered bass on Spectres and soft plastics.
3201 6232
217 Pine Mountain Road, BRASSALL 46
SEPTEMBER 2022
level is suitable much deeper at this time of year. I worry suspended sediment could prevent the light travelling down to this depth even though oxygen should be
fine. Make the judgement yourself based on visibility into the water. At the end of the day, the fish will tell the story. Cressbrook has always
some bad news, it’s not all doom and gloom. There are fish to be caught out there but you may need to explore and be willing to travel more to experience the best fishing on offer. It’s going to be a tough report for me this month but I’ll look into the crystal ball and see what I can come up with. I promise I’ll have more to say about the lakes I cover next time. Until next month, buckled rods from the Colonel. been a tough lake to consistently produce fish. Even when you find them, they bite well straight up and then become really tough the longer you persist. September is the best month though to find prolonged bite times so get out and have a crack at them. • 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 back off the winter hours so the gates will be open from 6am to 8pm. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Somerset is usually my go to lake for this month of year. The bass are big and hungry. Water clarity has made it difficult to catch them but it should improve a bit over the next month and some fish will be caught from the schools around the top end of the dam. The Kirkleigh flats, wide of Queen Street, Bay 13 and Pelican Point should all have schooling bass. They will be suckers for live shrimp if you want to have some fun. Lure fishers will need to mix it up to see what they want in the water To page 47
