Matt

Thats a pretty inflammatory statement there cameldownunder? Anyway, here are a few studies that are worth having a quick scan of: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/545702/FFRS-101_Gray-and-Barnes-2008.pdf https://www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/publications/ilws-reports/2015/Hicks-et-al-Fecundity-and-egg-quality-of-dusky-flathead.pdf According to those studies, females mature later and larger than males and if I read it correctly larger females are vastly more fecund than smaller ones, even allowing for larger size. Now about weakening the gene pool by NOT taking larger females, quick question: Prior to heavy rec fishing and commercial fishing of our estuaries (ie, before Aus was colonised for example), how were big females removed from the gene pool? They are an apex predator apart from Mulloway and Sharks in an estuary? Cheers Windy

Interstingly I am off to Tuross next week to target Flathead (as well as do some prawning/crabbing). I wouldn't mind assisting with the research aspect however there doesn't seem to be too much info on how, maybe a little early yet? The concept of a 'Code of Practise' seems a little off though, this isn't a montiored, televised sport nor a tournament so in my head it seems more like something that boosts the ego's of a small number of fisho's. Something to brag about (I may be way off but it was the first thing I thought of). Nearly everyone I encounter on the water generally treats big Flathead well now days and I doubt the implementation of a Code of Practise will change the views of those who treat fish badly anyway. Although I 100% agree with Matty about its potential to boost awereness. Not sure I agree with the notion about big Flathead being obsolete, I thought studies have shown that the amount of eggs the release into the system is proportionally massive? Cheers Windy

I would say it is closed once more. Last time it opened was late last year and I am pretty sure it hasn't opened since. I haven't prawned down there in years but it was where I learnt to prawn with my parents, very clear memories of my mum putting my brother and myself into sleeping bags when we were young whilst they prawned (bet you couldn't get away with leaving two young kids on the shore after dark alone now days!). Was fantastic prawning, Cheers Windy

Going to try and do a bit more Trout work over the next few months, both the Snowies and closer to home around the Blue Mountains. I have heard some interesting rumours about Pejar too that I am keen to investigate. As soon as I have a solid plan I will let you know, keen to catch up and chase some Trout. Matt

The Cotter actually has a pretty good population of Trout, but you have to be prepared to get away from the campground and easy access stuff. They are mostly smallish to mid-size Rainbows. Shame that Cotter Dam and Bendora Dam are no fishing lakes, they hold some lovely Trout. Windy

Some top looking Trout there Royce, that 'bow (the larger one) still has its spawning colours on. Very late for that! I am not surprised you found the Thredbo tough, I hit the stretch from Paddys Corner down to the road bridge about 3 weeks ago and did not see a fish, which I found a bit odd? Got back from NZ a week ago (Central Otago), quite a few of the 'bows I got were still in spawn mode there too? Cheers Windy

There would be heart attacks from the pre-spawn fisho's next year if the bridge pool at Denisons was 5 metres under water! If Eucumbenes level gets up over 60% I am ditching work and head straight up there. Windy

Top looking Brown! It is going to be a cracker, there is still plenty of snow to come down. I see Tantangara is at 71%, I cant remember it ever being this high since it filled. All of that water will most likely end up in Eucumbene too seeing as the downstram dams are pretty full already. It will be a midge explosion, last time I saw this it was some of the most exciting dry fly fishing I have experienced. Windy

Top looking Brookie, love those fish! Did you put that report up on Alpine Anglers site Joco? The current fishing report has a Brookie of 42cm that looks a lot like your cracker. Cheers Windy

Heya Ribs, I don't really know what they used to troll with to be honest. I get the feeling it would be on outboards before electric became common place in Aus? I do know that for the vast majority of trolling I do, whether its Flathead through to Trout is with the electric. Much easier to control speed with and get down to lower speeds for big, deep diving lures. Windy

Trolling for Flathead is a very effective way of targeting them, for many years the prestigious Gold Coast Flathead Classic was won by trolling deep diving minnows. You need to ensure your lure is contacting the bottom, hence the need for deep diving lures. The best one I have used is the old classic Manns Stretch series (5+ and 10+ are classics), Downunder Boomerangs have also been very successful for me over the years too. I normally like to troll parallel to a drop-off and it can pay to 'tune' the lure closest to the drop-off to swim into the sand of the drop-off itself. Trolling over sand flats can be very effective too as can trolling past the mouths of creeks and drains where Flatties will setup for ambush. Haven't done a lot of trolling for Flathead in the Sydney region, preferring to cast but I have had limited success trolling for them in the Lane Cove River up from the Fig Tree Bridge. There are some nice drop-offs and sand edges to run here. Having said all of that, flicking plastics, vibes and hard body minnows is a much more effective approach. Cheers Windy

Uuuggghhh, Three Mile. That place is my bogey lake, lots of long hard days for no result! Prefer the nearby Dry Dam, lovely little Dam that is a joy to fish, just watch out for snakes! Jindabyne would be my pick right now, the lake levels look relatively stable whilst Euc has dropped around 10%, not only will the Trout go off a bit the foreshore will be a mud bath. Windy

They don't grow very big the Northern Sand Flathead. My wife got one up at Hamilton Island once and at 35cm I thought it was a midget only to find out later on that that was actually a good one! My wife wasn't overly impressed though, went all the way to Hamilton and the first fish she scores was a Flathead! Cheers Windy

I wouldn't have thought so? Caught tonnes of them at times whilst spinning for Flathead. They can be difficult to target specifically which might make them seem rare. Flounder really love prawns, so the best place to target them would be areas that hold numbers of prawns. Do some research into popular prawning locations, they are nearly always gun Flounder spots. If you aren't sure, look for shallow, weedy bays. There are plenty of them around Sydney, areas like Iron Cove Bay (Half Moon Bay is good), Rose Bay and Narrabeen are spots I have had success with Flounder. I had a session at Iron Cove where I got more Flounder than Flatties! As they love prawns nearly all the ones I catch are on 2" Berkley Gulp Shrimps or the 65mm Squidgie Pro Prawns. So for bait, I would see if you could source some fresh prawns (get some from the fish markets) and work them slowly. Although this might get frustrating as the all the pickers on the flats might drive you nuts! Hope that gets you started. Cheers Windy

Just got back from Tuross yesterday after a weeks fishing and prawning. Coila was still prawning 'OK', I managed a couple of Kgs over the course of the one night I went out. I have heard about the complaints of Coila being hammered by pros and recs and a lot of people taking more than the 10 litre limit. Didn't witness it myself but its not a good look considering there is a concerted push to stop the Pro fishing in Coila. If you are prepared for a drive, there is a much better prawning lake further south between Tathra and Merimbula. Wallagoot lake is another ICOL lake and I believe one of the best prawning lakes in the country. Windy

2" and 3" Berkley Gulp Shrimps, taken nearly every possible fish available in southern NSW estuaries and in shore on them. Cheers Windy

Hard to suggest what plastics or HB's as everyone has their favourites. I prefer 2" Berkley Gulp Grubs and Shrimps for instance and even go old school with 3" Berkley Bass Minnows at times. The trick is to fish as light as possible and ensure your casting is accurate, getting in as tight as possible. Target the shaded side of the boat hulls first and the boats moored at the extremities seem to fish better. The clarity of the water will also dictate what you use too, the typical Parra water is quite murky so you can get away with mildly heavier leader (6lb) but as you head into the Harbour proper you will need to go down in size. It was fishing very well for Bream a few weeks ago, no big fish but lots of 'school' size up to 30cm hanging around under pontoons and boats as well as on the sand flats. Just for the sake of completeness, here is my short list of 'go to' Harbour bream lures: 2" Berkley Gulp Grubs in Pumpkinseed 2" Berkley Gulp Shrimps in Molting Squidgie Pro Critters in Bloodworm Jackson Komachis in Yoshinobori Pontoon 21 Crackajack 38 in Ghost Gill See, totally different to everyone else! Cheers Windy

Moruya River has some fantastic flats down towards the mouth of the system, near where the rock walls are and the airport. Big weed beds abound down and targeting the edges of them with plastics or vibes is the way to go. Good schools of Whiting here too, great flats for throwing poppers around. Haven't been that successful with Bream though in Moruya, might be something to do with it being an active commercially fished river? Best bet is to take a drive along the road on the north bank towards the airport, you will see some great looking flats along the way and one of the boat ramps is down this way too. Tuross is a much bigger system with a lot more options. Its a top spot for Flathead and Whiting in particular with extensive sand flats. I always find the best spots are the flats down at the front of the system, these are huge and you can spend all day fishing drop-offs and deeper water. The other spot I would start at is the Four Ways a bit further up. Good spot for Flathead and Whiting and the Oyster Racks hold plenty of Bream (although they are super spooky here). There has been a bit of a problem with Tuross the last few years and thats the weed, or lack of it more accurately. The weed beds seemed to have died off for some reason? Find weed beds, find fish so its always worth hunting around for some. I will be at Tuross in a weeks time for 8 days. Will fish Moruya too and maybe spend a day south at Wagonga. Cheers Windy

Used to be very good trout fishing the stretch of the 'bidgee towards Cooma, not any more though. There are some super areas though for Cod around the Dromore farms, have heard they are mostly Trout Cod too. The Macquarie Perch are really making a comeback, caught them all the way up to the Weir at the Cooma Pumping station whilst looking for Trout. Cheers Windy

Surface Whiting, lots of surface Whiting. How I get them wrapped up and under the tree I don't know, but I will figure it out Windy

Lucky Craft Sammy 55 and the older NW Pencil 52. I was mucking around with some older 'walk the dog' styles over the weekend, and the Smiths Towadi out-fished everything else. It was a lot calmer and I doubt its small profile will work in choppier conditions but I was pleasantly surprised. Hadn't broken out this little fella since my Bream Comp days. Windy

I agree about the FG knot, slimmest and strongest knot around. Sort of knot although technically easy to tie can be a pain when on the water, just got to practice and find the best method of tying it. Windy

Not sure I agree with the first point. Salmon schools move up and down the coast entering the estuaries and back out again constantly. The Salmon I catch in Sydney Harbour may have come from the same school that was present on a pristine south coast beach only days earlier. The flesh won't get tainted that quickly, if the Salmon lived in those waters then I would agree but they are Pelagic in nature. Otherwise, spot on post. Love Salmon and they are better eating than are given credit for, Cheers Windy

I always get Fishlife and Freshwater Fishing mags still, occasionally get one of the others when in the mood. As much as I rely on the internet, forums etc for info I am old school and nothing beats relaxing on the couch at home or in a deck chair camping with a coldie or red wine and a bit of fish porn to read through. Yes, the articles tend to be repetitive and the advertising overbearing but for some reason I just like flicking the pages and reading. Cheers Windy

Coila Lake is the better one for Prawning being shallow and weedy. Not sure if its the best time of year just yet, might be OK in 3 weeks? Cheers Windy