April Fool wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2019 7:27 am
Still an outstanding effort Adrian in what you call a slow season. What has attributed the most to the lower numbers...heat and lack of rain?
Cheers
Jim
Thanks for the positive comments guys...
Jim, I feel it's slowly been getting this way since we had a couple of very dry Winters (back in 2011/12/13) with no follow up rains through Spring & even Summer like we used to have. The large influx of cormorants had a big effect, then that was topped of with the record 2016 June floods. The floods wiped out that seasons spawn as well as the yearling (and probably larger fish too) trout from the previous season and it's now showing the effects of the 2016 floods.
I'm sure the rivers will come back in time, but it will take several more years before they're back to what they were.. The IFS know there's a problem but won't admit it, they dropped the daily catch (keepers) from 12 fish down to 5 fish per day, so that tells you they know something isn't right. Problem is they didn't up the legal size of the trout, they left it at 22 cms a size that is below spawning size any way, it should have gone up to at least 30 cms in my book. They're just a few of the things that I feel have contributed to some of the rivers I fish being down in fish stocks.. The Mersey River is the river that has fished the worst of all the larger rivers I fish and that was the river that was hardest hit by the June floods as well.. It is very heavily silted in the lower reaches, there's also several large dairy farms along it in the lower reaches too so there could be run off from them. Then there's all the hardwood plantations that line the river in the lower area around Kimberley through to Weegena some 10 kms upstream. The ground was poisoned when new trees were planted, then as they grew they were aerial sprayed, now they've been harvested and a new lot of trees have been replanted so the cycle goes on again. These are only my opinions though Jim.. but that's how I see it..
The Meander River is improving slowly, it's a river that is popular & now very heavily fished all throughout the trout season. It is also a river that is used for Australian, state (men's & women's) fly fishing & club comps too.. In December 2019 it & the Mersey River are the two rivers that will be used for the World fly fishing championships too.. I heard that the IFS will be making those two rivers catch & release when the 2019/20 trout season opens in August..
** actually just came across this on the IFS website regarding the World fly fishing championship..
These temporary regulation changes apply to the following locations:
The lake venues of Little Pine Lagoon, Penstock Lagoon and Woods Lake, will be closed to recreational fishing for the duration of the event from midnight on Sunday 1 December to midnight on Friday 6 December 2019 inclusive.
The competition sections of the river venues will be closed to recreational fishing, from midnight on Sunday 24 November to midnight on Friday 6 December 2019 inclusive.
** The Mersey River downstream of the Olivers Road (on the C 138) bridge to Hoggs Bridge (on the C 153).
** The Meander River downstream from the Huntsman Lake dam to Barretts Bridge, Long Ridge Road (on the C 166).
The competition sites along the Mersey and Meander Rivers (see above) will close seven days before the competition starts. This decision was made as the river venues are small and accessible and wild fish take some time to resume normal behaviour after disturbance from angling effort. Fishing along the non-competition sites will be unaffected.
cheers
Adrian