NSW fishos are in for a great long weekend on the water, with the official opening of the State’s trout season set for this Saturday, 1st October.
Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Senior Fisheries Manager Inland Cameron Westaway said fishing restrictions during the spawning period had allowed the species to travel up rivers and streams to breed and replenish numbers.
“Following excellent seasonal rains, creeks and rivers are flowing well and many dams are now at full storage capacity. The spring weather and well-stocked waterways will no doubt see fishers flocking to their favourite fishing spots,” Westaway said.
Many fishos are expected to head to popular trout fishing destinations for the long weekend, such as the Thredbo and Eucumbene rivers in the Snowy Mountains, Fish River near Bathurst, Goobarragandra and Goodradigbee Rivers near Tumut and Yass, as well as many other streams in the Central and New England areas.
Mr Westaway said wild trout numbers would also be boosted by a series of planned releases during the 2016-17 fish stocking season, with approximately 2.9 million trout and salmon to be released across the state.
“By the end of the October long weekend, more than 1,000,000 juvenile rainbow trout and 42,000 juvenile brown trout will have been released into the rivers and streams across the Central and New England region,” he said.
“These releases are conducted by DPI in conjunction with the Central and New England Trout Acclimatisation Societies, and fish stocking will continue over the coming months in the Southern Highlands and Monaro regions and in the various trout dams.”
Stocking locations include the Apsley, Barnard, Barrington, Bielsdown, Cobrabald, Deepwater, Gloucester, Gwydir, MacDonald, Manning, McIntyre, Nowendoc, Nymboida, Tia and Wollomombi Rivers in northern NSW, and the Belubula, Campbells, Coxs, Crudine, Duckmaloi, Fish, Isabella, and Turon Rivers in central NSW.
The open season for recreational fishing in trout streams closes on Monday, 12th June 2017, following the June long weekend, but all trout dams remain open to fishing all year.
