After a four-month closed season all trout streams in the ACT and NSW will open to fishing on Saturday and anglers are looking forward to some great fishing. Most streams are running high, clear and cold and the pleasantly high air temperatures should ensure there is plenty of insect activity to keep the fish stimulated.
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A quick pre-season check of the streams suggests there are moderate numbers of browns and rainbows in most waters.
Stockings with browns and rainbows earlier in the year to supplement the natural populations should ensure there are enough legal-sized fish to satisfy the expected heavy fishing pressure early in the season.
All of the browns and most of the rainbows should have spawned by now but anglers might encounter a few late-spawning rainbows in the Thredbo and Eucumbene rivers. Give them a wide berth and let them complete their spawning ritual.
At this time of the year most of the stream fish will be deeper down, unless they are rising to some specific group of insects, and it will be essential to go down after them.
Bait anglers should fare best using scrub worms, wood grubs and Power Bait, fished on the bottom in the larger pools. Lure anglers can expect the best results using Celta, blades, Wonder Minnows, Lucky Seven, Vibrax, soft plastics, Imp Spoons and small hard-bodied minnow patterns.
Fly fishers should do well with small Woolly Worms and Woolly Buggers, red and black matuka, nymbeet, brown nymph, stone fly nymph, Hamills Killer, Mrs Simpson, Hardys Favourite, Greenwells Glory and assorted other small wets, fished as deep as possible.
Intermediate sink line is recommended, otherwise use a long fluorocarbon leader or tippet to get the fly down to the fish.
Streams are running high at the moment but there is still a lot of snow on the Main Range to melt and keep the water supply flowing well into spring and summer, so all the portents are good at present.
With an El Nino lurking in the background, however, the later part of the season could descend into drought, so it is suggested anglers get their good fishing in as early as possible in the season.
Jindabyne excesses
Fishing in the big mountain lakes was excellent this week, especially in Jindabyne. Warm weather and plenty of insect activity triggered a great burst of activity among the fish and there were numerous reports of anglers bagging out on browns and rainbows, with a fair number of Atlantic salmon added in. One angler trolled a Burrinjuck Special in Creel Bay, landing 10 large browns between 6am and 10am. Another used a Rapala Spotted Dog for seven rainbows, two browns and three Atlantic salmon, trolling at East Jindabyne. Two anglers casting and trolling the new Frisky Ninja blade lures bagged out on three consecutive days, with their best fish a 2.7 kilogram brown and 6.4kg Atlantic salmon.
Local lakes worthwhile
There were numerous reports of golden perch in Canberra's urban lakes this week, including a 6.2kg thumper caught at Black Mountain Peninsula in Burley Griffin. Most were caught on scrub worms, yabbies and wood grubs, but some fell to deep divers and Wonder Spoons jigged near the bottom.
Redfin are still spawning but increasing numbers are being taken on bait and lures. Scrub worms are the best option at the moment.
Adam Samios at My 2 Hooks is organising two competitions for the local lakes to add some fun to the local fisheries. The annual Big Burley Bash for golden perch only will run for eight weeks starting on October 8 and the Pride of the Perch will be a one-day event scheduled for November 29. Details from local tackle stores or 0422 717 077 and fishing@my2hooks.net. Should be great fun.
Dr Bryan Pratt is a Canberra ecologist.
