Fishing Australia

FISH SMARTER NOT HARDER THIS SUMMER

The intense opportunistic feeding habits that fish display in spring have waned just a tad as summer sets in, however there is still some awesome fishing to be had if you fish smarter not harder.

REDFIN, PERCH AND COD

Redfin are going great guns in Lakes Tuggeranong, Googong, Blowering and Burinjuck just to name a few.

The wind is hugely important when looking for schools of pan sized reddies; it creates current and pushes food and fish into certain areas.

Points poking out into wind lanes are a classic example of where you will find redfin in cricket score numbers, and smaller schools of golden perch are often lurking not far behind.

Single large resident golden perch are a good example of fish that are probably still looking for warmth in some spots. Take a steep cool area for example where such perch will often come out to play when the sun has had a chance to warm up the slightly deeper layers. Keep this sort of thing in mind when fishing around prime deep water structures.

If you are extra keen and can protect yourself from the heat on a calm sunny day then polaroiding is a good option in some scenarios; but look deeper rather than wasting your time scanning the extra shallow bays when they are festy warm.

There has been some excellent cod fishing for dedicated anglers in some of the local lakes including two separate 100 plus pounders caught in Googong Dam. Thankfully these treasures were photographed and released.

TROUT

Lake Eucumbene has only dropped about a meter which means it is still up over fresh flooded vegetation and as a result the trout are in close feeding up.

Understandably trolling has slowed a little but fly anglers are having a ball when fish move into casting range at dawn, in the evening and at night.

A midge ball eg a Zulu, with a buzzer dropper is working well, but small wooly worms that represent the mudeyes are also notching up some good catches.

Mudeyes under a float are by far the best bait, while scrub worms and artificial baits are in distant second place.

The warming weather has seen an increase in snake activity, so keep an eye out, especially on the Murrumbidgee River.

ESTUARIES

Garfish, whiting, mullet, XL Bream, solid flathead, blackfish, estuary perch and bass are all relatively easy at the moment, especially in those estuaries that are closed to netting. School sized prawns and blue swimmer crabs are also starting to fire.

Interestingly the school sized jewfish bite has become even more intense, so much so that three or four fish on plastics in a session is common. If you use berley and fresh baits with a little nous you will catch these prized fish even more regularly. Most fish are between 2 and 5 kilos, but some thumpers have been caught on live squid.

OFFSHORE

Kingfish schools have settled in to all the regular haunts and are now running hot and cold as usually happens in summer. School sized snapper are going well especially if using quality pilchards in a berley trail on 3 kg tackle. Bagging out on sand and tiger flathead is now easier than ever, weather permitting of course.

Game fishos are starting to dust off their gear and get out in more numbers, so the trickle of albacore, yellowfin and marlin reports should grow over the coming weeks and give us more of an indication of where is best.

DVD FINALLY ON SHELVES FOR CHRISTMAS.

One of the most popular requests I get is ‘when are you bringing out an instructional dvd Rob?’ well getting the time to do so isn’t easy when you have TV, newspaper, radio and internet commitments each week, and I certainly didn’t want to rush it.

However after 4 or so years of working on it in my spare time “FISHING with Rob Paxevanos Vol 1” is finally on the shelves and I am very proud of it.

It has two dvd’s full of content from around Australia however there is a special emphasis on fishing in this region.

I wanted to help families catch their first or better fish and also illustrate to experienced anglers just what amazing fishing can be had when you do all your homework and dig deep. I am confident I have achieved this.

I hope all my fans out there like it; you will find it at BCF and any good tackle store in the region. Email dvdsales@work.netspeed.com.au if your local has sold out and I will point you in the right direction to see that you or you friends don’t miss out on one for Christmas.

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos