Trout On Fly Options

[slinkymalinky]

Hi all,

I'm hanging out for Mr Speckles. It's been a few years since I've chased him (I used to fish around Goulburn before the drought)... I'm an ex Tasmanian (and yes... I have the scar!!) so don't really know any other areas to try (and I'm guessing there's still no good fishing around Goulburn)

Anywhere near Sydney you can suggest?

If anyone wants to act as amateur guide I've got a 4WD and would happily do the driving and save you a petrol bill for a day on the water.

Cheers, Slinky

[Matt]

There are some excellent Trout waters close to Sydney (well, depends on your view of close I guess). The Blue Mountains has some famous Rivers like the Cox which hold some great Trout, big Rainbows that come up from the Warragamba. There are also some small Dams and Lakes nestled in the Towns like Wentworth Falls that hold Trout.

A bit further afield is the Lithgow Lakes of Lyell, Thompsons Creek and Wallace. The first 2 are very good Trout water (Thommos is classed as a Trophy Trout Water by fisheries) and Lyell also has Bass in it. There is also Oberon which all though a bit low still holds good Trout. The rivers around also fish well, the Cox, Fish and Duckmaloi are all famous, the Duckmaloi in particular was made famous by Douglas Stewart and his fishing writing.

The drought has of course effected most of the places but with the recent rain the Rivers are all flowing well and the lakes are slowly rising again.

At Goulburn I believe that Pejar has plenty of water but I am not sure of the state of the Trout, the dam was all but dry at the start of the year? Crookwell might be ok?

And of course, there's always the Snowies...

Cheers

Windy

[Bream Mad]

Yes i too am obsessed with my trout and living in Sydney has made me explore the options closer to home.

All info from Matt is spot on the lakes around lithgow oberon all fish well, my fav is TCD which is bursting with mega rainbows and browns and fishes best in bad weather.

here is one 51cm TCD rainbow, looks in pretty good condition right

Rivers i have explored and can say that the Fish, duck and Campbells are excellent trout rivers, however keep in mind that this is 'marginal' trout habitat so all stretches are not equal and lower reaches get high temps in summer. My experience is the closer (higher) to oberon you get the better the fishing (river wise).

Access is realy the biggest problem to finding trout, start with national parks, state forests ect and go from there. But to get you excited in november just gone 'yes dear' and i fished a river close to oberon in flood conditions and hooked no less than ten trout in about five hours fishing (four fish would of been better than 40cm) Here is the first capture a lovely brown of 42cm

Obviously the fishing is not going to match Tassie but it realy is pretty decent if you give it a go

Cheers

BM

[Matt]

That's a well proportioned Rainbow BM, the TCD Rainbows always look good. TCD should be fishing well with the rising water, all though if the weather heats up again it will be tough.

I forgot to add that down towards Bowral there is Fiztroy Falls Lake which holds a good population of Rainbows. But there is only limited access which is a shame as the back end of this lake looks spectacular.

Seems to be a few keen Trouters around now, we should organise a weekend at Lyell and hit the surrounding regions.

Cheers

Windy

[slinkymalinky]

That's a well proportioned Rainbow BM, the TCD Rainbows always look good. TCD should be fishing well with the rising water, all though if the weather heats up again it will be tough.

I forgot to add that down towards Bowral there is Fiztroy Falls Lake which holds a good population of Rainbows. But there is only limited access which is a shame as the back end of this lake looks spectacular.

Seems to be a few keen Trouters around now, we should organise a weekend at Lyell and hit the surrounding regions.

Cheers

Windy

G'day Windy,

If you want to have a day like that, count me in. Can't think of any better way to work out some of the trout options than hooking up with some other fisho's on the water. What I find most daunting in NSW is:

a) Access (in Tassie you can get to basically any part of almost any lake, while here a lot is inaccessible or on private property)

Knowing the good water (again, I'm used to fishing shallow lakes with really obvious fish holding areas and really obvious tactics to fish them, and a lot more sight fishing.... this still feels very foreign to me)

Cheers, Slinky

That's a well proportioned Rainbow BM, the TCD Rainbows always look good. TCD should be fishing well with the rising water, all though if the weather heats up again it will be tough.

I forgot to add that down towards Bowral there is Fiztroy Falls Lake which holds a good population of Rainbows. But there is only limited access which is a shame as the back end of this lake looks spectacular.

Seems to be a few keen Trouters around now, we should organise a weekend at Lyell and hit the surrounding regions.

Cheers

Windy

G'day Windy,

If you want to have a day like that, count me in. Can't think of any better way to work out some of the trout options than hooking up with some other fisho's on the water. What I find most daunting in NSW is:

a) Access (in Tassie you can get to basically any part of almost any lake, while here a lot is inaccessible or on private property)

Knowing the good water (again, I'm used to fishing shallow lakes with really obvious fish holding areas and really obvious tactics to fish them, and a lot more sight fishing.... this still feels very foreign to me)

Cheers, Slinky

What are the best tactics/locations for TCD... I've only ever seen photos and it looks fairly featureless. I'd like to give it a go but not sure where to start?

Cheers, Slinky

[kenmare]

Hi Slinky,

Mat and BM have given you a pretty good run down. And as pointed out, the area's copped a real hiding during this long drought, which finally appears to be ending. Conditions are now much better than they have been for many years.

The Fish River at Tarana is a good place to start if you're interested in river fishing. Nice water and access through public reserves and travelling stock routes, although because access is good it is heavily fished. But most importantly, if it rains or gets too hot, you can quickly retreat to the Tarana pub.

For lake fishing, consider basing yourself at Wallerawang, west of Lithgow. As well as being very close to Wallace and TCD, it's only a short drive to Lyall. There are two pubs, and also a Chinese reataurant and an excellent pie and pastry shop.

Fishing's great, but even better when you avoid hunger and dehydration.

Regards,

Bob

Edited January 23, 2008 by kenmare

[Roffo]

Gotta watch out for tigers at TCD at this time of year!!!!!

Great fishing spot though.

A few weeks back I was working a wooley bugger on a drop off when a 1 metre plus salmon jumped on and ran me to my backing,,I had him within 6 feet when it busted me off and haven't stop smiling sinse.

Roffo

[Bream Mad]

Gotta watch out for tigers at TCD at this time of year!!!!!

Great fishing spot though.

A few weeks back I was working a wooley bugger on a drop off when a 1 metre plus salmon jumped on and ran me to my backing,,I had him within 6 feet when it busted me off and haven't stop smiling sinse.

Roffo

I assume you are talking about another lake that is stocked with alantic salmon?

No salmon in TCD

Sound like a fun ride though

BM

[troutboy]

Hi all, I would also like to get involved if a trip is being organised. Havent been west for a while due to lack of transport. If anyone has a spare seat I would be more than happy to cover some petrol costs etc. Thommos should be slowly rising and fishing well and the local rivers should have plenty of flow, could make for a great trip. cheers troutboy

[Matt]

This massive rain front will see more water in those lakes and the fishing will be pretty damned good with Trout hunting newly covered ground.

Thommos in paticular will get up to some levels not seen in a couple of years.

I reckon we could get a few of the keen trouters here together for a day. Wouldn't mind pitting some of the Fly Boys against some of the specialist Spin Men

Cheers

Windy

[troutboy]

Sounds good Matt, let us know if you get any more interest.Not sure which way to go now flyor spin, might just have to use both although would prefer fly. cheers troutboy

[Roffo]

Just say when!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roffo