Fishing Australia

TROUT STREAMS CLOSED

Declared trout streams in NSW and the ACT have now closed for the season, they will re-open on the long weekend in October.   Please check your local fishing rule book or visit the Department of Primary Industries website at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/info/closures for more information on trout fishing rules and closures.

In the meantime, most lakes in the region remain open with keen trout anglers happily fishing away at the better known spots such as Lake Jindabyne and Eucumbene. In these two fisheries, winter is a great time to bait fish off the bank or troll from a boat, but it’s also the time of year when sight fishing, commonly known as 'polaroiding', is at its best.

You see the water in these lakes is cool enough in winter for the trout to come in close to the edge even during a calm sunny day, which creates the ideal conditions for sight fishing. You’ll need to wait for a high pressure system over the region and fish between the hours of 10am and 2 pm when the sun is at its highest.

It can seem strange at first to walk along a bank just looking without casting, but it’s like the old Hare and the Tortoise Story. Why rush down to the water and cast in, if you are not sure there are fish in the immediate area? When conditions are right for sight fishing, you can search much more water with your eyes than you ever can with your rod.

A few tips like walking along elevated banks with the sun at your back, moving cautiously (so as not to spook the trout), and paying closer attention to any splashes or ripples against the flow all help draw your eye to a cruising trout.

You will need polarized glasses to cut the water surface glare and help you spot the fish, hence the name ‘polaroiding’. Many brands of sunglasses offer polarized lenses.

While 'polaroiding' is a faster way to locate fish during a winter glass-off, you still need a lot of patience.  Spotting trout is one thing but catching them is another...

Trout crusing in close enough for us to see them are often spooky, so rather than casting straight at them and scaring them with the splash, cast at fair way in front of a fish and beyond it’s path of travel.  This way you can time your retrieve so that your presentation passes within a nice tempting distance of the trout.

Some trout will hit any lure or fly you use, while others require a lot of finesse, and some are just plain impossible. Regardless, it is always exciting to know there is a fish within casting range rather than just chucking in and taking your chances - something which fly fishos refer to as ‘blind flogging’.

So if it’s calm and sunny day and you haven’t tried it before, go for a nice long walk and use your eyes to your advantage. It takes a little practice but you might be surprised at what you have been missing.

SOUTH COAST

Heavy rain a few weeks ago has left some of the estuaries along the coast a tad discolored but fear not, some still have great fishing on offer.

I recently did a documentary style film shoot on the Clyde River and was fascinated to discover some misconceptions about where estuary fish travel after rain. For instance, it is the deforested or heavily farmed valleys that suffer most after heavy rains.  Rivers with more pure headwaters like the Clyde benefit immensely from a deluge, and you’d be surprised where and when you might find great fishing.

I look forward to getting that story to air next weekend and talking about the issues raised in this column. I believe it is some of the FISHING AUSTRALIA team's most interesting work yet!

YELLOWFIN

The 24th Annual Batemans Bay Game Fishing Club Yellowfin Tournament was held last weekend. Despite the rough conditions, five solid yellowfin were still caught with a further six, tagged and released.

Aboard the trailer boat "Shotgun" skippered by Matt Britton, angler Dan Robert caught the biggest yellowfin of the comp, a solid 41.5 kilo specimen. On the same boat David Britton landed a 28 kilo yellowfin, but it was David’s grandson Willis Purvis who stole the show with a 22 kilo specimen, which is a great effort for a 9 year old! All the tuna were caught trolling lures.

Lots of big striped tuna, a 41.5 kilo bluefin tuna, and a 87 kg mako shark were also recorded.

Fishing further north, Mile Cuturic and Albert Price had a triple hook up on XL bluefin off Wollongong and landed two around the 90 kilo mark.

FISHING AUSTRALIA BACK AT THE USUAL TIME

Sorry to those who missed the show because it played at 4:30pm as a result of the World Cup special.  This week,  the show is back at it's usual spot of 5pm Saturday afternoon, in most regions around the country. If you are keen to catch the show, you can check the exact on-air time on our new TV Schedule page at www.fishingaustralia.tv/schedule.

See you on the water.
Rob Paxevanos