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Central
Tablelands Fishing Report
Jan/Feb 2010
The weather has
warmed up and we have even had some good rain associated with storms
and the tailend of tropical cyclone Laurence. These rain events have
kept some rivers in the Central Tablelands above the usual summer lows
of recent years.
Some of the lakes
came up a little following the influence of TC Laurence, however most
lakes are now dropping and this is likely to continue as things dry up
into February. It has been our hotest month in recent years and most
long term forecast point to below average rainfall in Feb 2010.
Trout
Fishing - Streams
With warmer conditions fishing the rivers for trout during the day has
become more challenging. When we have three or four consecutive hot day
most of the big fish take refuge at the bottom of deep pools, under
overhanding banks, or in eddy holes at the base of waterfalls or in
shaded rapids where the temperatures are lower and there is more oxygen
in the water. Undersided fish will still cruse where they are visible
during a hot spell but they don't tend to bite.
On hot days the best time to fish for trout is after dark when the fish
come out from their daytime hideouts to feed on beetles, moths,
crickets and anything else that falls on the surface during the night.
At this time of year trout will also be feeding on mudeye, small fish
and stick caddis. A night with a bit of moon light can be an advantage
and my preference is to fish the week leading up to the full moon. Some
of my favourate flies for summer nights are the brown beetle, foam
beetle, white wulf and dark colour wooley buggers (one with a beed head
and one without).
The great thing about fishing at night is that the fish generally don't
see you standing on the edge. You can get much closer to the fish and
this makes casting much easlier. You can't beat the fact the you won't
get sun burnt and the temperstures are a bit more comfortable.
Dry flies are best where there is a lot of weed build up. The Cox's
River has a lot of weed in the slower moving pools as does the Fish
River.
The pick of the trout streams at the moment are the Campbell's River,
Duckmaloi River, Cox's River (above Lake Lyell and below the Six Foot
Track), Jenolan River, Farmer Creek and Turon River.
Trout Fishing - Lakes
Last February large numbers of rainbow trout were rising at Lake Lyell
on sunset, they were coming up from under the algie and smashing the
surface feeding in the surface film. With no exageration there where
hundreds of rises every minute. The lakes surface was covered with
rings and swirls. Unfortunetly it didn't matter what fly or lure i
threw at them they would not bite. I didn't have any stick caddis
paterns with me on the couple of days that I saw this activity and
perhaps it was the food of choice. I will be out their this Feburay
again trying my luck with a widder range of flies in the box.
If you are at Lake Lyell on the right day you will find rises at the
back of the lake (in both Farmers Creek and Cox's River arms). Just
look for the algie on the surface and you should have found the spot.
This type of hatch is slightly more likley if we get a slight rise in
the dam level.
Despite not catching any of the rising fish last Feburay, in the mid
afternoon on each of these days I was catching trout using yellow
winged tassie devils retreaved through the same algle blooms. Most of
the fish were biting close to the edge. This may have been because the
water level had risen into January so there was lots of food and cover
in close, or because the water was cooler under the algie in close to
the edge. Whatever the reason for it, the fishing was great during the
day at Lake Lyell this time last year and I hope it will be as good
this year.
Many of the other lakes where a little slow this time last year, but I
would say the best places to fish for trout right now would be Oberon
Dam and Lake Wallace. The best bait for hot days are mudeye and if the
fish are rising try grass hoppers (particularly if they are in large
numbers around the lake) as these baits tend to be more active in
the warmer months. If the fish are fising at night which is common in
summer try floating a live beetle or moth on the surface.
Scrub worms and powerbait are proven baits for trout at any time of
year.
Spinning with Tassie Devils is your best spinning option in summer as
you can let the lure sink deep, before starting a slow retrive to the
bank. Deep diving minnows are also worth a try. Try a look for areas
with cooler water (where there is a high oxygen content) and the fish
are more active. At this time of year on windy days it is actually best
to cast into the wind, try to find areas where the bank drops away
quickly.
Trout Fishing - Trolling
Trolling lakes at this time of year can be very challenging due to the
large number of water skiers out and about, and the fact that most of
the time larger trout go deep is little help if you are flat line
trolling. If you are flatlining it is worth getting an early start
(before sunrise) and in early February I will be fishing from before
sunset until an hour after the moon
rise at night.
If you are going to do a day troll for trout I suggest getting your
lure close to the bottom with a down rigger for a chance at a large
brown trout. Sometimes you can find fish (particularly rainbow's)
holding on a thermocline using your sounder. If you don't have a
sounder try trolling with the bomb of your down rigger at between 3m
& 10m of depth until you find the where the fish are holding.
LAKES
Thompsons Creek Dam - 40%
Lake Wallace - 69%
Lake Lyell - 30%
Environmental flow level out of Lake Lyell into Cox's River - 5 Million
Letres per/day Burrendong Dam - 12.1%
Windamere Dam - 19.1%
Oberon Dam - 10%
Carcoar Dam - 6%
Wyangala Dam - 15%
Ben Chifley Dam - 71%
Ben Chifley Dam
have been the pick of the storages due to good water levels. Chifley
has been producing massive numbers of redfin perch on lures such as
crankbaits, blades, jigs and spinnerbaits.
If you are chasing native fish in the larger storages try to get your
lure close to submerged timber or at the lower edge of large drop offs.
I like to down rig old creek lines with my lure sitting about 3m off
the bottom. This is where the biggest fish usually hide. It does mean
you need to pay a lot of attention to the sounder so to avoid losing
lures.
In the lakes where levels have risen there will be a few fish in close.
Bait fishing with yabbies and worms around submerged timber also works
well for both Natives and Redfin.
RIVERS
The lower Macquarie is the river for Native Fish right now. Try
spinnerbaits around snags or worms as bait.
Happy fishing.
If you are going fishing on The Central Tablelands and you
would like to tell us about your fishing trip please email me with the
info and photo's (if you have them) to tim_williams@aapt.net.au
I will try to include you in my next fishing report.
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