Fishing Australia

Snowies

Col Sinclair reports that Lake Eucumbene has been running hot and cold like the weather.  When the barometer has been up the fishing has been resonable, when it drops it has been tough.

With lake levels dropping the schools of rainbow trout have been pushing out into deeper water and as a result trolling has been the most reliable method.  Bank anglers have found it a little harder to reach good numbers of fish, except at dawn and dusk when a few fish can be found.

Dropping water levels are typical at this time of year and by the end of July water levels usually stabilize if the water authorities stick to their usual routine.

In the meantime trollers are doing best on flatlines fished around the edges at dawn or dusk and out around the 10 to 20 meter mark during the day. 

The rainbow trout are mainly feeding on Daphnia so look for quite sheltered bays where Daphnia congregate for best results.

Even with trolling you still have to stick at it until you catch a fish after which you should be able to catch a couple more in the same general area.

Interstingly some of the larger rainbows around the 800 grams have been lacking roe of milt at a time of year they are getting ready to spawn.  Meahnwhile there are plenty of rainbows up the river spawning.  Mother nature doesn’t put all her trout in the one area it seems…

Col also reports that excellent numbers of brown trout are up the rivers enjoying the closed season and are happily spawning away which means the next few years should be good ones for this species.  The rivers re open on the long weekend in October.

Murray-Darling Basin suffers through ninth dry autumn
 
The Murray-Darling Basin has experienced its ninth consecutive autumn with below average rainfall.  The latest Murray-Darling Basin Authority Drought Update reports that Murray system inflows for May were only 90 GL, slightly above the record low of 75 GL (in 1902), but well below the long term average of 390 GL.
Chief Executive Mr Rob Freeman said that for the June 2008 to May 2009 water year, Murray system inflows were the third driest in 118 years of records.

“This follows the seventh driest year in 2007-08 and the driest on record in 2006-07.  Murray system inflows have been below average for nine out of the last ten years,” he said.

“Autumn is a critical time for wetting of the catchment before winter rainfall, but unfortunately, this did not eventuate.  The prospects for irrigation allocations in 2009-10 will be highly dependent on future rainfall and system inflows,” Mr Freeman said. “Overall, the outlook for the 2009-10 water year remains grim, and is similar to the previous two years.”

He said the Bureau of Meteorology’s recent June to August rainfall outlook for south-eastern Australia indicated average rainfall, but also an increased risk of an El Niño developing during winter and spring.   MDBA active (useable water) storage for the Murray system at the end of May 2009 was 11 per cent of capacity (980 GL), which was well below the May long term average of 4,670 GL. The total volume of water in all Basin storages managed by the MDBA or by State governments, was about 3,940 GL, or 17 per cent of capacity.

Mr Freeman said the northern Basin had received some rain in May which resulted in only a small streamflow response and very little of that water was expected to reach Menindee Lakes.  He said the prolonged and severe dry period continued to severely impact on wetlands and floodplain ecosystems across the southern half of the Basin.

“Small amounts of environmental water were made available during autumn to avoid critical loss of threatened species, reduce the risks of irretrievable damage and provide drought refuges at certain sites.

A copy of the MDBA Drought Update is available at www.mdba.gov.au.

Great White Sharks

This week on Fishing Australia I fulfill a life long dream and go cage diving with the great white sharks. 

Anchored at the Neptune Islands where some of the worlds best great white documentary and film footage has come from, my guests and I braved the brisk water and watched some of these magnificent creatures glide past and attack the tuna chunks tied to a rope. (Picture courtesy of Shark Cage Diving)

I was joined by former Miss Australia Erin McNaught and her fishing buddy Clara Bowen; both agreed it was the trip of a lifetime.

You can catch the details at 5 pm Saturdays on WIN and Channel 9, around 2 pm on NBN and 1:30 pm Imparja check your local TV guide for details. 

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos

Robs Column Brought to you by the Hellenic club of Canberra.