Central Tablelands Fishing Report

Mar/April 2010

This spring has been a great for fishing the Tablelands. Conditions were perfect with long periods of clear weather and comfortable daytime temp’s. We had enough rain to keep the rivers and creeks flowing well, but unfortunately the lakes continued to drop. On the bright side with less water the impoundments fish are closer together and catch rates have been reasonable.

Now that we are at the start of May the weather is really cooling off, the first frost of the year have arrived. The fish are very active right now, feeding up to spawn.

Many people are not aware that tablelands trout generally go into spawning mode earlier than their counterparts in other parts of Australia. Some runs out of Lake Burragorang have taken place towards in late May and early June when the conditions have been right (snowy mountains trout tend to spawn July to September). The brown trout go particularly early. In an average year most tablelands browns do the deed in July, so they need to put on a lot of condition now and it is a great time to get on the rivers as a result.

The June long weekend marks the start of the closed season for designated trout streams, so get some fishing in on the streams while you can.

 Trout Fishing – Streams

As the weather cools the fish become more active during the day, and with the good water levels plenty of trout will be cruising pools looking for a feed on the last of the insects from summer hatches. Bring a good pair of polarised sun glasses and your waders, as this is a good time of year to walk the banks looking for feeding fish.

The rivers are in much better shape than a few months ago. Oxygen levels have risen due to increased flows and cooler temps. Much of the weed that was around in summer had been washed away, making spinning much easier.

Spinning can be great at this time of year particularly after a bit of rain when the pools are a little deeper and just slightly off colour. The great thing about spinning is you can cast in areas with willow infestations, where fly fishermen struggle. Often these areas hold big fish because there is a lot of cover and very few fishermen taking fish due to the willows. Areas along the Cox’s, Fish and Duckmaloi River have lots of willows if you want to go spinning at this time of year these are the streams to head toward.

Celter’s are my favourite lure for trout fishing, but I also use shallow diving minnows at this time of year as the fish get more territorial the closer we get to spawning season. Spawning and pre spawning trout will often get very aggressive towards other trout. Rapala have a good range of minnows for trout fishing which includes some large trout imitation minnows that are very effective on territorial fish. You often need to fish these lures very slowly to get a reaction. I find they work better after dark or on dusk. Small minnows are great for fishing during the day. Any colour will do but trout patterns tend to work best. Spotted dog patterns are great.

Fly Fishing in autumn can be a lot of fun as the fish are often rising all day and if the fish are not rising they will generally still take streamers or nymphs. There have been a lot of small white moths, grass hoppers and black crickets out over the last week so fishing with fly patterns that have a similar shape and size to these critters is the obvious choice.

I have had reports that hoppers and red tags are taking good numbers of fish in the higher altitudes streams. I also think white and royal wulf’s are a great option at the moment particularly from dusk til dawn.

At this time of year I tend to fish during the day or at dusk. If the fish are not rising I use streamers and nymphs retrieved down the rapids and across shallow pools. The Wooly Bugger is my favourite streamer, particularly in dark colours. I fish it with a slow to moderate retrieve. I will often halt the retrieve mid way and allow the fly to sink for a few seconds. This seems to keep the fish interested in the fly and I have found that shortly after I start to retrieve the fly again after a pause I get a bite.

When fishing with a nymph it is generally easier to fish from the bottom of the rapids casting upstream, however it is harder to set the hook because as you fish the fly back to you down the rapids their is usually a small amount of slack in the line and this reduces the possibility of feeling a bite. To help overcome this I use a strike indicator (i.e. a float), which is usually in the form of a bit of bright colour wool. The indicator can easily be attached attaches to the line above the fly with a rubber band or a knot. It works just like a float, if it pops under the water as it goes down the rapids then you have a bite (or a snag), otherwise it stays floating on the surface.

I place the strike indicator just over 1m above the fly, when fishing in shallow rapids and at up to 2m in deeper rapids or deep slower moving pools. As soon as the indicator pop’s under the water I strike to set the hook. Most of the time you find it is a snag that pulled the indicator under, but eventually it will be a fish. An early strike is crucial to hooking trout when using a nymph in this fashion, as trout tend to take in the nymph into the mouth and feel it. They will spit it out after they work out it is not food. You will usually hook the fish in the side of the mouth. This is a great method for fishing rapids that can only be accessed from the base or where being at the top or the side of the rapid will spook the fish.

The pick of the trout streams at the moment are the Fish River, Bindo Creek, Campbell's River (and the creeks that feed it), Duckmaloi River, Cox's River (above Lake Lyell) and Farmer Creek.

Trout Fishing - Lakes

Lake Lyell is very low but fishing reasonably well from the bank and trolling with Tassie Devils. If the water levels keep dropping it is possible the lake could be closed to boating, but as at 1st May it was still open. Try down rigging with you bomb at 15 feet for best results for rainbow trout or go bottom bashing for brown trout. Flat line trolling will be a better option early in the day.  

Lake Wallace has been stocked with plenty of rainbow trout that are reaching a good size. Most fish are being taken on PowerBait from the area near the baseball pitch.

Thompson’s Creek Dam should fish well over the next few months. Just try to pick a day with clear weather and rising air pressure so you maximise your chances of getting a fish. This dam fishes very well early in the day at this time of year. Take your polarised glasses and avoid the area when heavy wind is predicted.

Oberon Dam is very low and the fish are very close together, so it is worth a fish right now. PowerBait, worms and small yabbies are good baits. Casting lures such as Tassie Devils, minnows, blades and small soft plastics around steep drop offs is your best bet during the middle of the day. In low light the fish will move into the shallows.

LAKES

Thompsons Creek Dam - 40%

Lake Wallace - 95%

Lake Lyell - 27% (Warning Blue Green Algae Risk)

Environmental flow level out of Lake Lyell into Cox's River - 5 Million Letres  per/day Burrendong Dam - 12.5% (Warning Blue Green Algae Risk)
Windamere Dam - 18% (Warning Blue Green Algae Risk)

Oberon Dam - 10%
Carcoar Dam - 6%
Wyangala Dam - 7% and dropping fast (Warning Blue Green Algae Risk)
Ben Chifley Dam - 74% (Warning Blue Green Algae Risk)

 
For the latest water level updates visit www.de.com.au or www.waterinfo.nsw.gov.au

Ben Chifley Dam has been the pick of the storages due to good water levels and strong inflows in March. 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.

Bait fishing with yabbies and worms around submerged timber or near steep drop offs also works well for both Natives and Redfin although they are starting to slow down at the moment.

RIVERS

The pick of the rivers is the Cudgegong just above Burrendong up to Mudgee where the locals have been catching a mix on Carp, Redfin and Native Fish.