SPRING is here and that means endless possibilities for freshwater fishing, from bushwalk bass to cruising trout or golden perch.
As we move into spring there are exciting possibilities opening up with the warmer conditions.
With warmer days and warmer water, together with each fall of rain, the rivers and creeks rise and send our native species into an upstream race to reproduce and keep the cycle turning.
Bass are moving back up into the higher reaches of our rivers and creeks where they are not impeded by barriers in the rivers such as weirs and dams.
While September marked the start of the closed Murray cod season it also marks the start of the bass season.
Bush walk bass are high on the agenda for many anglers and it doesn’t get much better than packing into a remote stream high up in the mountains for a few days of remote fishing during the warming weather.
Golden perch anglers are taking advantage on spawning schools in rivers and dams and the outback rivers also offer phenomenal spring fishing.
During times of good flows, anglers would make the pilgrimage to the regulators at the Menindee lakes where the spawn run fish are checked in their upstream movements by concrete walls that have no fish ladders and the congregations of fish below these obstructions can be immense in numbers, allowing anglers to catch fish in cricket score numbers.
Further into the outback and the unregulated rivers and creeks that flow into the Eyre Basin become a seething mass of life. The fishing can be extraordinary in the boom and bust of life in a desert.
The freshwater also provides the opportunity to catch freshwater yabbies and red claw. These can be a real treat with succulent meat from the tails and the claws.
While you need many more yabbies than mud crabs to get a good feed the generous limit of 200 yabbies per licensed angler in NSW ensures that a good feed can be had.
Yabbies boiled up in salted water or cooked in butter and garlic, or even just cooked in the coals, are delicious and are worth a dedicated trip to chase these delectable morsels.
Fishing these muddy waterways is best done with bait caught from the same water. Smaller bait size yabbies and freshwater shrimp are the prime baits as that is what the fish are feeding on naturally.
Blades and other vibration lures will also work as these fish have adapted to hunting in muddy water and can pick up movement and vibration with ease.
Bobbing baits around structure is about the best method of all for catching fish.
The rig is quite simple with a running sinker down onto a hook to suit the bait size.
The clearer waters of the dams and rivers are fished more now by anglers using lures and soft plastics, etc.
Those anglers now using high tech electronics such as live scope can now present lures to fish with surgical accuracies.
Brown trout have usually spawned in the May / June period but the rainbows can still be found returning to the lakes around about now so this also is another opportunity that can be pursued.
Later in spring the big brown trout will cruise the edges of our big lakes and the opportunity to sight fish to these cruisers is for me one of the most exciting types of fishing!
With all the variables of flooding rains, spilling dams, rising temperatures and spawning fish now is the time to have your canoes and kayaks ready to load and go.
The boat and trailer should have been maintained and the engine serviced ready to go at a moment’s notice when a rising river or a lake begins to rise and starts covering new ground.
Same goes with the 4WD, motor bike, pushbike, hiking or camping gear; have it ready to go at a moment’s notice as the fickle weather events of late may mean a quick trip to your local water way or several days drive into the outback to fish the rivers that remain carp and redfin free.
Maybe it’s a dash to a bass dam like Lake St Clair or a coastal area. Whatever your chosen venue or species of fish to target being prepared for the many variables will make that trip more enjoyable and fruitful.
See you out there!
