Rain, flooding, Bass etc

[lastworm]

What’s everyone’s thoughts on these floods and Warragamba spilling over?

Thoughts go out to the properties and lives at risk, and fingers crossed the affects are minimal, although it’s not looking good at this stage.

As a typical fisho my thoughts also went to the bass, I assume their migration into the salt has been significantly pushed forward and this will mark the end to the season. But I’ve also heard of some big fish including trout and cod living up in the dam. I wonder if we’ll start to see these appear in the lower Nepean in the coming months and years?

 

[Smobaby]

Not looking good. Every time the dam is opened the trout flow also.

[cfish]

Might see some redfin come down this time ?  

[kingie chaser]

12 hours ago, lastworm said:

What’s everyone’s thoughts on these floods and Warragamba spilling over?

They should build the dam wall higher!

[PaddyT]

caught a stack of trout at the Penrith weir back in 1989 when i was at the Uni of Western Syd- once the water starts dropping and you can get into the weir they will start schooling up above the weir-i was getting a fish a day after lectures which by the time i got there and before dark meant i got in about 20 minutes of casting (was May 1989)

[jordy]

  Hi ive seen trout up at Camden in the Nepean after big rains and Warragamba spills. They were in poor condition i might add.

[kingie chaser]

41 minutes ago, motiondave said:

thats a long running argument, on one side, you have exactly the right idea of storing more water, but it still does not guarantee a water release after a long heavy rain time, like currently.

then you have more flooding upstream.

biggest issue is development has been allowed below the "1 in 100 years event" levels of land, and now something like over 5000 houses are at risk of being flooded with more flood warnings expected and possibly more homes under more risk.

Apparently, even insurance companies have refused to cover homes and businesses down stream if the damn wall gets made higher.

while low lying areas, in other countries, have had the populations relocated at government expense mostly, its probably not going to happen in Australia , while people might be happy to have another home built for them, theres the logistical issues f it happening, and of course, "whos going to pay for it?"

I used to live in northern rivers area as a kid, and our homes were on hills so we got cut off for a day or two but never flooded out, and yes, homes back over 35 years ago went under, just more of them now.

 

 

We(our government/s) have little foresight, only just over 2 years ago we were at level 2 water restrictions & complaining we couldnt wash out boats, today we are releasing a sydney harbour of water a day back into the ocean!

In 2016 the spillway was opened again so in 2 years or less we could very well be on water restrictions the way we are over populating the sydney basin!

 

Imo we need to be able to pump water from one dam to another when the water levels are to high in one & low in another.

That way the need to open the spillway would be omited.

Look at the Snowy mountain scheme, this is one of the greatest engineering feats in Australia, if not the world started in 1949.

Water is such a big commodity here, & some people in regions are restriced from even using water thats flows past them for agriculture.

 

Many countries in the world have major pipelines for oil & gas, I think the longest pipeline is something like 8,707km long

 

Anyway we are off topic because I think this thread is actually about Bass & trout 😬

[SquibblyDibbly]

2 hours ago, kingie chaser said:

Imo we need to be able to pump water from one dam to another when the water levels are to high in one & low in another.

We actually already have some capacity in that regard. Kangaroo River, Tallowa Dam, Fitzroy Falls & Wingecarribee Reservoir are all connected (pipelines and channels) and water can be pumped between these reservoirs, ran through the hydro at Bendeela, and/or released into Warragamba dam or the Nepean, Shoalhaven or Wingecarribee rivers. It's quite a feat of engineering.

Big problem being that usually when one is full they all are full.

[lastworm]

This topic doesn’t need to just be about the Bass and the Trout, but the fishing is one thing that will definitely be affected and will affect us in the coming years.

I know my regular spot in the upper Nepean won’t be the same for a while. After the last floods (last year) the whole area had changed, not to mention the bamboo which is now taking over in plague proportions.

I can’t help but think of the strange looks you would have received if you suggested we need a bigger dam 18months ago when people were saying it will never rain again!

 

 

[PaddyT]

`First things first-my grapevine says there are trout being caught around Penrith already, secondly the idea of stopping floods in the Hawkes/Nepean floodplain is a foolish pipedream-there are multiple catchments that cause flooding and 2 of them are bigger that the Warragamba . The nepean itself, the Grose are massive catchments ,the big issue is that the Colo inflow below the sackville gorge and the gorge itself prevent water from upstream escaping and cause a huge "backing " effect-dont believe me -then watch Windsor Bait and Tackle's Youtube video yesterday of water flowing back upstream-complete mind f!@#-putting in a higher wall at Warragamba would not solve the problem at all-as well as most likely destroying and making inaccessible (More Public land gone-why cant we fish in Warragamba-off topic i know) one incredible wilderness area. The problem is that developers have conned State and local govt into allowing residential construction in areas that i personally have seen under water on multiple occasions-and finally -THIS IS NOT EVEN A 1-100 year flood-i just feel really sorry for the poor buggers who have bought in places like Marsden Park, etc . Its a crap situation.

[Plethora]

Just something to add from today - because Warragamba Dam is spilling over and the quality of water in the dam the Sydney Desalination was instructed to increase flow from 100 ML/day to 220 ML/day (100 ML/day is 1/5th capacity of the plant)

[kingie chaser]

7 hours ago, Plethora said:

Just something to add from today - because Warragamba Dam is spilling over and the quality of water in the dam the Sydney Desalination was instructed to increase flow from 100 ML/day to 220 ML/day (100 ML/day is 1/5th capacity of the plant)

Not sure what that means, the water treatment from warragamba is not able to cope???

[Plethora]

The water from Warragamba dam is muddy and the filtration plant there is not coping - 

[cfish]

On 3/23/2021 at 8:46 PM, kingie chaser said:

Not sure what that means, the water treatment from warragamba is not able to cope???

There is relatively little water treatment at the dam, as the dams relatively narrow and deep they mostly relie on the containments settling out by themselves, this is the cheap way of doing it but means we can't fish there.

[kingie chaser]

27 minutes ago, cfish said:

There is relatively little water treatment at the dam, as the dams relatively narrow and deep they mostly relie on the containments settling out by themselves, this is the cheap way of doing it but means we can't fish there.

https://www.waternsw.com.au/water-quality/education/learn/water-supply-system

[lastworm]

So when is everyone hitting the Nepean for a fish?

[chilledFisho]

Coxs river major clearing of growth with the floods of recent. Little trout. Lake lyell fishing well for redfin. 2 seshs spinning n float baiting. feed the family for 2 nights. as good as whitting. Picked up the Bass, healthy fish whilst chasing the reddies.