NSW
Yellas get more active BATLOW
Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au
Other than the infamous Windamere Dam near Mudgee, you’d be hard pressed finding a better place to chase trophy
they will often sit right in amongst the thickest of weed, waiting in ambush mode for something to swim past. Without the aid of a pair of polaroids they’d be almost impossible to spot. If you don’t own a pair of polaroids, or conditions don’t suit the
Redfin will start to disperse from their deepwater spawn run this month, and will start to move up into the shallows, making them targetable from the bank. golden perch then Blowering Dam this month. As the margins of the dam slowly start to rise in temperature, the resident golden perch become very active and spend a large portion of their time up in this warm water. Here they can be found sunning themselves and feeding heavily on any prey that washes in or swims by, from frogs and yabbies through to worms and nymphs. Polarised sunglasses really are a must whilst trying to spot yellas, as
use of them, your best bet is blind casting with lures towards the bank. Boat anglers need to cast as close to the bank as possible, as the yellas will often sit in water as shallow as they are deep. Casting from the bank works really well at this time of the year, but you must walk very slowly and cast well ahead of where you’re walking; these fish are right on the bank, so they can be easily spooked in the crystal-clear water. The best lures for this type of fishing are good
old micro spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, as the yellas love them and they rarely foul up in the weed or on snags. We also do really well on small lipless crankbaits; the only drama with these lures is that they tend to pick up a lot of weed if not fished/rigged with assist hooks. If the lipless crankbaits or spinnerbaits aren’t working, then long, slender paddle-tail soft plastics rigged on 1/8oz to 1/16oz jigheads are your next best bet. These plastics swim and look very natural, and can sometimes turn on even the most shut-down yellas. Bait fishing around the edges with small to medium-sized yabbies or a big juicy earthworm is another good way of targeting the yellas this month. Both of these baits are best used on a paternoster rig to keep the bait up out of the weed and in the fish’s face. Trolling is probably the most popular technique employed by locals at Blowering Dam. During the spring months there was a time when a Nils Master was tied onto the end of at least one rod on almost every boat on the dam. Although these lures were
and still are very popular, and seem to work to some extent, each year I like to give the fish something a little different to look at to increase my chances of hooking the monsters this dam is really famous for. Some of the lures we troll with great success are not your typical trolling lures. For example, we sometimes troll lipless crankbaits, especially the size 2 Prism Murrins. They are perfect for shallow water casting, but we’ve found these lures are also perfect for shallow water trolling.
September is one of the best months for catching XOS golden perch. Grab some polaroids and go get amongst them.
Reaction lures like this Slap Walker rigged with assist hooks are perfect for seeking out active fish in the weed.
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have a bass of a lifetime. There have also been a few yellowbelly being caught, with Lake St Clair producing more of this species than Glenbawn. Next month I will start to look at spring fishing. September is traditionally a transition month from plastics to spinnerbaits, and I am predicting great fishing this spring. Remember, if you’re heading to Glenbawn or St Clair, please drop into the shop at the turnoff to Glenbawn in Aberdeen and ask about the different techniques and what they are biting on. We stock all the quality tackle that you need.
Those wanting a Murray cod fix can still get it at Blowering Dam this month, thanks to its year round open fishing. Creeks and rivers are still closed to Murray cod fishing until 1 December.
Some nice Lake St Clair bass.
Spinnerbaits, soft plastics, chatterbaits, swimbaits and even glidebaits are all lures we’ve caught yellas on whilst trolling at Blowering Dam. As you can see by the diverse range of lures we’ve had success with, it pays to try something different and think outside the box for consistent results. If a lure can be cast and retrieved, it can also be trolled. Food for thought. REDFIN There have been some very good reports of redfin catches over the last couple of months, with literally hundreds of fish up to the magic 2kg mark, and even a couple that were over 2kg. These fish have been
getting caught all over the dam, mainly by lure fishos either jigging or trolling. These fish can be hard to find at times, but once a
We should start to see the redfin move a little closer to the banks this month and back in range of bank bound fishos. Fishing
Even fly fishers will be able to have a crack at the redfin from the bank this month. school is located, they are quite easy to catch. Simply cast to them with sinking lures, jig for them with ice jigs or drop down a bait. All of these techniques will work.
with small lures or bait around drop offs and points should get you in on the land-based redfin action, fishing this way will also give you the chance of being belted by a big yella. SEPTEMBER 2022
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