Freshwater

FRESHWATER Peter Fragomeni

A few reports have been coming through over these warmer months with some freshwater get amongst them.

AUSSIE NATIVES

It’s interesting to see a number of Murray cod showing up in some of our dams and rivers. This is no doubt a result of private stockings as we don’t have

Damien Gansekoele is no stranger to big trout and Aussie natives. It only took him and his mate one hour to secure these large marron from a public water. He also catches huge sharks for a tagging program for Victorian Fisheries.

anglers getting onto a few trout and redfin, while others have found it hard. The recent marron season seemed to be a success with some nice specimens showing up in the catches. Redfin are still being caught in all the usual locations however, most have been very small and not worth putting a blade to.

Good fishing was seen down around the Pemberton area with mainly redfin dominating the catch, which included some nice size models. Trout were harder to locate, no doubt due to the extreme summer we experienced recently. I choose not to fish the freshwater through summer as I believe it puts stress on the trout and I find it hard to revive them in the higher water temperature.

I find it exciting chasing a range of saltwater species, like hard fighting dhufish and snapper on trolled lures in very shallow water as well as a range of other species. They are all willing to hit minnow style lures and plastics on very hot days.

The good news is towards the latter part of March we will see cooler days and the return to better activity on our inland waters so I will once again in this state and remove the red tape and out-of-date policies that have been in place for some time now. Until we stock a suitable species like bass, golden perch, Murray cod or at least our locally bred silver perch, which would have a minimal impact on the ecology compared to the redfin and the earlier mentioned species, then we will continue to have an inferior fishery compared to those on the East Coast. If something isn’t done soon then I believe we may lose a number of freshwater Summer evenings can result in some fantastic sunsets on our inland dams. Unfortunately, trout fishing can be difficult as trout move to deep water and are reluctant to feed on occasions.

a government stocking program in place as yet.

A number of dedicated freshwater anglers have put in some hard work chasing these Aussie iconic species with some impressive results being achieved. I cannot stress how important it is that the authorities act A nice redfin from Harvey Dam. Although they don’t put up much of a fight they would match any of the best saltwater species on the plate. Trolling using an electric motor (as this is the only form of propulsion allowed on this water) has been productive on occasions.

The other method is to drop plastics down deep, and a favourite that is growing in popularity is the dropshotting technique. This involves using two plastics with a weight on the bottom similar to an offshore rig and can be deadly if you can locate the schools of redfin that tend to congregate from late March.

Trout have been harder to find and we will not know if they pulled through the summer period until late April.

Unfortunately, Watercorp has blocked off a number of access points around the dam but this didn’t deter the marroners that fished this

anglers in this state. DAMS Waroona Dam

Very quiet of late on the trout scene, however, a few dedicated anglers have been getting into the redfin

The Collie River below Wellington Dam offers cool water let out for irrigation. This results in a near perfect condition for trout.

in among the hordes of ski boats and jet skis that seem to crowd the water on the weekends.

Drakes Brook Weir

Things have been very quiet judging by the reports of local angler Jonah Chiera. He noted that only a few trout have shown up on occasions. Redfin have been more active but the few anglers putting in the effort have returned empty-handed on occasions. Logue Brook Dam

Most anglers avoid this water in the warmer months as ski boats and jet skis make it difficult and, at time, dangerous to fish. Harvey Dam

A few redfin are still turning up in the deeper water around the main basin as well as the exposed timber area to the back of the dam. It’s handy if you can get on the water as shore bashing can be frustrating at times. water until the season ended in early February.

Glen Mervyn Dam

Not a lot of reports, but redfin are being caught in varying sizes. Wellington Dam

This dam is a complete opposite to what it was like this time last year with the water encroaching the time making access fairly difficult. This is our largest accessible impoundment in our South West, at around 200 gigalitres

when full. Being around 10 times smaller than those on the East Coast of the country, it still offers many kilometers of water to fish on.

Unfortunately, most successful anglers have boats and cover lots of water constantly monitoring their sounders to locate fish. Do not expect big numbers of redfin but size can be good if you happen to get lucky. Dropshotting in deep water with plastics has been popular here recently. Big Brook Dam

Unfortunately, Simon Holland reported a number of dead trout floating on the surface on a recent trip, this is the cost we pay on very hot summers like this one.

The environmental flow out of this dam has been on the spotlight because of the

lack of flow let out when it stops overflowing. The failure of Watercorp opening the valve resulted in a number of trout and native species perishing around Christmas. This is on the agenda at the next FFRG meeting so hopefully an agreement will be reached to stop this occurring next year. RIVERS Murray River

A few redfin have been caught around Dwellingup with the better sizes coming out of the deeper pools further upstream. Trout have been harder to locate with one of the flowing feeder streams holding a few small fish. Northern Jarrah Streams

A local angler sent in a photo of what looked like stressed trout swimming in shallow water, they took on a yellowish colouration caused by the high temperatures. Some sections have cool spring water so hopefully they will pull through until autumn.

Collie River, above

Wellington Dam

Some nice redfin have been caught around the town and below near the small weir by kayakers using a variety of lures and soft plastics.

Collie River below

Wellington Dam

Fed by cool irrigation water let out of Wellington Dam this section of river has been fishing constantly throughout summer.

A nice brown was caught recently along with a few small rainbows. Do not expect big numbers as the trout in this water can be hard to locate and success comes to those that study the river and constantly move to different areas.

Blackwood River

Very quiet on the trout front however a few redfin have been reported from the upper reaches above Bridgetown. Warren River

The Warren has turned on some impressive redfin lately. This has confirmed that this water is arguably the best redfin water in the state. Trout have been harder to locate over the warmer months, however a few are still showing up in all the likely areas. Lefroy Brook

The Lefroy has been hard going at times, but fish can still be found if you are prepared to bush bash and get to areas that don’t see a lot of angler pressure.

Donnelly River

It’s seems the Record Brook Dam proposal is back on the agenda. This scheme involves placing a dam on Record Brook and pumping water from the Donnelly River at times of high flow. The first proposal was rejected because of the fight by a local group of farmers and anglers arguing that the figures used of stream flow were not current and there would not be enough water to fill this storage. This was confirmed by the authorities but now a new proposal has been put forward so the fight may not be over for those opposing the project. Meanwhile the fishing has been reasonable with a few trout showing up in sections that has a bit of flow.

Be mindful that snakes are also active around water and fire is a real risk in these dry months with total fire bans in place until we get decent rains.

Brown trout don’t seem to dominate the catches in the West. There is a push for tighter regulations so every angler can experience the thrill of catching one like this. Rohan Smith is happy with this one he landed from his kayak.

Redfin almost always play the game in the hotter months. Wendy caught this one using a deep diving lure trolled slowly.

Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 68.3% as at the end of January 2022, compared to 37.5% at the same time last year. The extremely hot conditions have resulted in an increase in irrigation and subsequently more water usage.

WAROONA DAM 58% DRAKESBROOK WEIR 81% LOGUE BROOK DAM 76% HARVEY DAM 69% WELLINGTON DAM 76% GLEN MERVYN DAM 73% BIG BROOK DAM 85% The very hot summer has resulted in many stressed trout in our waters. This one has changed colour as a result.

It pays to have a reasonable sounder to locate fish holding areas. I tend to troll along until I find the fish, then circle back and drop plastics down to them.