|
THE SOUTHERN dams have been fishing fairly well on the days when the westerly winds have abated. Winter fishing in freshwater lakes is a great way to spend a day, but you really need to check weather reports and stay home if westerlies are forecast.
On Maroon and Moogerah this month the water will warm slightly. This will make the fish more active so they may start taking spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and so forth. At the moment the most consistent lures are soft plastics and fly. The new Atomic paddle-tail grubs have been my best catchers in various colours, depending on the day. I like rigging these on 1/8oz jig heads in shallow water, or on heavier heads in deeper areas. Winding, hopping, burning and shaking all tend to work most of the time with the plastics, but sometimes one technique will out-fish the others.
For a charter on the dams for bass and yellowbelly, or in the ranges after Murray cod (which will be on the chew coming into Spring) give me a call on (07) 54634096, 0407 596 814. You will find more information on my website at www.greenfish.com.au.
TRIP TO BERMAGUI
The more I travel and fish in and out of Australia, I find out more about what’s happening on the fishing scene. If you travel to the USA or Japan, you get an idea of what Australia will advance to over the next few years. And if you travel around Australia you get a perspective of the different fishing scenes, networks and industry idiosyncrasies.
I recently travelled from Brisbane to Bermagui, near the Victorian-NSW border. On the way I stopped at as many tackle shops as I could, and the progressive change in shops, tackle, techniques, and general attitude changed as we got further south. With regard to the freshwater scene (bass), there was a fair devotion of space in shops and knowledge until we got south of Sydney. The Hunter Valley is doing well with all the magazine articles written about Glenbawn and Lake St Claire, and most tackle shops in the area are up with most of the new freshwater gear.
South of Sydney, the selection of spinnerbaits, plastics, etc. fades until you get to Brogo Dam area near Bega where bass fishing is becoming popular.
But although freshwater gear may be light on the walls further south, saltwater equipment (rock, estuary and oceanic) fills the spaces. That’s where these shops make their dollars in their area. Rock fishing for drummer, groper and the like, tuna and marlin outside, and estuary species are the bread and butter of these tackle stores. Boat popularity changes from 4-5m Hornets to closed-in 6m Wave Cutters.
It was a nice change to do some different fishing around the rock ledges of Bermagui, getting my arms stretched by drummer and groper on 30lb line. Straightened hooks and bust-offs were common until I took local advice on hook styles, knots and line size. Rock fishing down that way is a bit like reef fishing up here, with parrot fish, drummer, wrasse, blue groper and pelagics all common. It’s a nice place to visit when you can be the only person on the rocks and have cattle roaming around you while you fish.
|
