Freshwater

FRESHWATER Peter Fragomeni

After one of the wettest winters in over a decade, the cool wet conditions persisted well into remember I mentioned a bold act that Fisheries Bio-security division undertook by raiding a wellknown aquarium retailer recently, and confiscating a number of bass, cod and other species. This put

pressure on the existing under-supplied aquaponics industry, which struggles to find suitable fish for their hundreds of customers that produce clean, chemicalfree produce in urban back yards.

In a second blow to the industry, I was informed that a major breeder of silver perch and trout grower has sold up and moved to Queensland. It is unclear whether the new owners will continue to supply quality trout and silver perch to the

Aquaponics industry and small farm dams down south.

I fear if this is not the case then it will leave a void in the supply chain, and the price of fingerlings may increase to the extent that backyard aquaponics and stocking of private dams may become unviable.

WAROONA DAM

A few good trout were caught over spring but things have now quietened down. I fished this dam over a couple of days recently and was only rewarded with a few very skinny yearlings and a handful of redfin the size of herring. The redfin numbers have been down for some reason, as well as the size. It was concerning that the Department of Transport has moved the ‘limit of ski area’ to encroach on our safe fishing area to the rear of the dam and bays. With ski season here it can be dangerous to be on the water, especially trolling. DRAKESBROOK WEIR

Locals have complained about the lack of trout that have been on offer this season, despite a good stocking. A nice rainbow of close to 3kg was caught recently however this was one of the 3-year-old rainbows that was grown

out at the hatchery. A few redfin are being caught from both the bank and by those on the water trolling hardbodied lures. Soft plastics have caught their fair share as well.

LOGUE BROOK DAM

Very quiet recently with no reports coming in, however, the water is at its highest since the mid 80s. On a recent trip I found it hard to connect onto trout, as dodging ski boats and jet skis occupied most of my time. HARVEY DAM

This location was again the venue for the annual Harvey Water Bash fishing competition, with around 65 anglers battling it out over two days in early October. I attended the weigh-in on the Sunday, and whilst a few good trout were caught, the numbers were down on previous years. A few disgruntled freshwater anglers complain about competitions putting a strain on fish stocks, but only 35 trout were caught, and a lot were released, as they were undersize. A few browns were caught but they were returned as they are not part of the point scoring.

As mentioned, Fisheries tagged a few hundred trout with only 50 having prizes to those that registered for the comp. The top prize of $500 was the 3.995 kg rainbow but can only be claimed by those that registered. I sponsored a Fishing Monthly Magazines tag of $100 that is still swimming out there. If it’s not caught it will jackpot to $200 next year.

The Pemberton Hatchery is growing bigger fish to meet the growing demand of freshwater fishing. Geoff Wood was happy with this 6.5lb rainbow caught just after stocking.

spring. This resulted in favourable conditions for our trout, which normally struggle, particularly in northern parts of our south-west in late spring. Although the conditions were better suited to trout it didn’t change the fact that catch rates have been well down, compared to previous years.

The southern waters have bucked the trend with some exceptional quality trout and redfin coming out of the rivers, a clear result of the great work the Pemberton hatchery has done in producing thousands of trout for our waters. It was interesting to see a 3.995kg rainbow trout come from the hatchery. This fish was tagged and then released for a recent competition. If caught, it would knock off my own state record rainbow trout of 3.525kg. Although, mine grew up on a diet of natural food in the wild, which has created a debate on whether a pond-grown hatchery trout, fed on artificial pellets, would be worthy of the crown.

AUSSIE NATIVES

With the warmer weather setting in, the eastern native freshwater species are finding conditions better than our trout, which struggle at this time of the year. Some good fish are coming out of guarded locations, with silver perch dominating the catches.

On a sad note, you might Andrew Beer, Senior Research Scientist from Fisheries WA, holding one of the many tagged trout that went into Harvey Dam. If you catch one, take a photo of the tag and contact Fisheries. It’s suggested to release them so better data can be collected next year.

Young Hunter Praed was delighted with this 50cm brown he caught trolling lures with his dad Lee.

Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 79.8% as of end of October 2021, compared to 49.8% at the same time last year. Harvey Dam rose from just 22% in autumn to around 92% at the end of October. With rain still falling in October, most of the dams are still rising.

WAROONA DAM 82% DRAKESBROOK WEIR 89% LOGUE BROOK DAM 86% HARVEY DAM 92% WELLINGTON DAM 93% GLEN MERVYN DAM 100% BIG BROOK DAM 100%

It was interesting to note that a tagged trout was caught within 18 hours of releasing and it had travelled around 3km from release location. If anyone happens to catch a tagged trout it’s advised to release it so better data can be collected next year in the way of growth rate and survival over summer.

Only around 100 redfin were caught, which is well down on last year’s total. The overall winner this year was a very keen young lady who has always been in the top five anglers in the past years. She took out the $1000 cash prize and won herself a year’s subscription to Fishing to conserve this excellent sportfish. RIVERS Murray River

A couple of WATFAA members fished this water in October and only managed a few small yearlings from recent stockings. Redfin are becoming more active but size is on the lower end of 25cm.

Collie River above

Wellington Dam

Not many reports coming through but this is the time to hit the water, with redfin the only target species. The usual redfin lures work well, with a splash of red being the preferred colour.

Bass keep showing up at secret locations. It’s a shame our authorities don’t realise the huge benefits they would bring to rural communities. If we had a controlled stocking program into selected redfin dams, it would boost licence numbers and please thousands of freshwater anglers.

Weigh-in on the second day of the comp. Note the board on the left with competitor tags hanging up. If any are missing, out go the safety crew until they are found.

Monthly. Hats off to the organisers with this event being run as well as any in the country. A redfin comp is again planned for early December and it’s open to all styles of fishing from bank, kayak and electric boats.

WELLINGTON DAM

The tremendous amount of water flowing into this dam this year has created a perfect environment for the 10,000 rainbow yearlings that were recently stocked. Not many reports have come in but I believe next autumn will be the best indication of just how well they do. Redfin are hard to locate, with water flooding lots of new ground and drowning timber regrowth.

GLEN MERVYN DAM

No reports but it’s full to capacity.

BIGBROOK DAM

It’s alarming to see the amount of fish getting necked out of this dam, including some beautiful big browns. What we must be aware of is the fact that this dam is tiny, covering only approximately 24 hectares, so it’s prone to overfishing. There is a call for new rules to limit the numbers of fish taken in our freshwater, with a possible catch and release rule on large brown trout Collie River below

Wellington Dam

With the wetter spring “resulting in less water being let out for irrigation”, the river has been very low, however, a few trout are still being landed by those keen few anglers. Blackwood River above Bridgetown

The water was still high until recently but a few redfin are still getting caught well upstream.

Blackwood River below Bridgetown

A few trout are getting caught, but those anglers who are getting amongst them are keeping quiet. I

know of one nice rainbow of 1.5kg being taken closer to Nannup by someone who tried over a dozen spots in the high water. Warren River

All the reports have mainly been of the quality redfin coming out of the upper reaches. You would have to be a very poor angler not to get into a few of these tasty freshwater fish. The better catches are going to those in kayaks or small tinnies, with all techniques from soft plastics, hardbodied lures and the reliable spinners doing the damage. I must say I like soft plastics with their ability to fish well next to logs and structure.

A few trout are getting caught right through the system, with the faster runs being the best areas. Lefroy Brook

This little water copped a flogging over spring, with most of the trout being very spooky as a result. A nice-size brown was sighted in the heavily-timbered section of the year that dry fly fishers have a ball tossing small dries up into any of the countless small runs throughout the system.

Donnelly River

It’s good to see the browns showing up in this river. The decision to stock this water was only made by FFRG (stocking committee) a couple of years ago, and all reports indicate it was a wise choice.

Rainbows are turning up in the fast runs, but the going can be tough with streamside vegetation making it hard to access some of the better spots. DECEMBER FISHING

Although December is not the ideal time to chase trout in WA, there are always plenty of redfin willing to play the game. Just a warning that snakes are very active, especially around water, and fire is a real risk with bans in place, so take care. It’s also a good idea to release all

Didier Blanquart holding the 3.995kg rainbow carrying a $500 tag. It can be claimed only by a registered Harvey Bash competitor until June 2022.

It’s good to see the young generation practising catch and release. As with Hunter’s brown, Jessie Higginbottom released this 46cm specimen.

This well-conditioned 51cm rainbow pulled some drag after being hooked. Blair Hutton got himself some much-needed points at the recent Harvey Water Bash.