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Harry Watson.
JANUARY is a good month to fish the peak periods of piscatorial activity because of the UV and heat factor. Rest in the middle of the day. Cover up as much as possible with clothing and 15+ and more important is probably eye wear (sunglasses).
Working in a tackle shop and guiding I see people spend thousands of dollars on rods, reels and lures but they seem to ignore the things that are more important to catch them fish; their eyes.
Buy yourself good quality sunnies like Stalkers, Makos or Spotters. I wear a pair of Stalkers all day on the water and am more than pleased with their performance. $100 to $200 for a good pair of sunnies is a lot cheaper than a cataract operation.
When I say the peak period I mean early morning, late evening and the bursts of activity through the day that fish have, but this is a little harder to work out unless you spend a lot of time on freshwater impoundments. Moon up and moon down times are indicators of activity as well as moon directly overhead and below, whether it be day or night. A couple of hours around these periods through the day should give you your best chance at good fish.
At the moment the good fish in the dams are coming on shallow lures like Merlins, McGrath, Yo Zuris and the small Rainbow minnows. Bright colours (fluoro yellow, pink etc) are the go in Moogerah where the water is murky. Silvers, greens and natural patterns are the go in Maroon, Hinze and Clarrie Hall. Maybe go a little deeper as the day progresses and experiment with depths, colours and actions. Half the fun of freshwater fishing is finding the key that opens the door and then stinging some fish puts the icing on the cake.
BASS CASH COMP
On the 28th of November the first $500 bass comp was held on Moogerah with about 120 competitors chasing the quickest $500 they'd ever earn and two guys shared the dollars with two identical bass of 47 cm fork length.
Both fish were taken on the troll on shallow runners. Dave Lancaster, a Beaudesert local, took his on a small Rainbow Minnow (yellow red-head) and Dave was actually on top of the leader board a couple times until he nabbed the 47 which everyone else had to chase.
Then in comes a Brisbane boy John Eldrod, with little freshwater experience, with the twin sister of Dave’s fish, tag and all. John’s fish took a small Poltergeist. At lines up time the two 47s were still on top so the boys shared the $500 happily.
From the outset, this comp was designed to be of a shootout nature over 6 hrs, you could fish with whatever you liked (bait or lures) but all bass had to be released. Two boats measured bass on the water but only if they were longer than the leader and anglers were kept informed at all times of what the leading length was so they didn't have to stress smaller fish. Boats were checked before the comp started for fish and if you left the water during the comp you checked in to the judge boat before and after.
I actually formatted the rules for this comp and judged on the day. I would like to thank Captain Bligh’s for their lucky draw prizes and support, 101FM for the advertising, Springwood Marine for their Trophy Hornet as a judge boat, Rainbow lures for their prize and anyone else who helped out; but most of all the Kalbar people from K.R.O.P. who hold the country day. The two live bass went back to Kalbar to the presentation and the winners were presented their prize in front of thousands of onlookers who viewed two beautiful bass alive and well which were later released.
MOOGERAH
Moogerah in January will, as it has done all season, produce big bass and goldens on lures and bait. On good days I’ve been nailing up to 30 bass on lures with sometimes a dozen or more over 40 cm in a session.
Goldens are moody buggers and you can go weeks without seeing one then take several a session, but the best thing I can tell you about goldens in this dam is they like red or orange lures.
MAROON
Surface action in the early mornings and late evening into the dark is the go at the moment. Fizzers like the locally made Ambush and Tiny Torpedo as well as walkers and bloopers are taking big bass off the surface, but don't fish light around the weedbeds, as a 45 cm bass takes a little handling around structure. 151b tippet on fly rod or 4kg to 6kg on baitcaster or threadline tackle is a safe starting point.
On the troll, shallow minnows along the weedbeds will score well, but if they’re not there, go deep off points and gullies.
HINZE
The middle of the dam is producing good bass on the troll as well as on jigs, but watch out for the lane ropes. Bass Bay and most areas up that Western arm are firing. Surface lures and fly are taking bass and saratoga around the sticks off points.
At Clarrie Hall, it’s a great month to hit the surface and spinnerbait the edges of the lilies.
If you don't own a boat or like casting surface lures at Murray cod, then give me a ring at Greenfish charters for a trip on Moogerah/Maroon dams or in the New England Ranges. On a recent cod charter, two clients caught and released 25 Murrays in a day - mostly on surface lures.