Lake MacDonald has been fishing quite well with lurefishers cleaning up around the numerous weedbeds. Trollers haven’t fared too well this winter although that may change if the bass school up in the main body of the dam.

Spinnerbaits, Beetlespins and small bibless rattlers have been doing the job with the fish averaging 35cm. Of course there are a few horses amongst them but on the whole the fish have been a bit small.

The local stocking group will be putting another 25,000 bass into the lake along with 5,000 golden perch which will hopefully continue to increase catch rates in the forthcoming years.

Saratoga, which we are not allowed to stock, have been unusually active through the first of the cooler months. Andrew Grabham has been targeting these fish on fly with remarkable success so far this winter. The best bet has been the famous Pink Thing followed closely by Dhalberg Divers. Dawn is the best time for a go, although Grabs has been catching these fish right in the middle of the day.

The Stocking Group, along with Fishcare, had a very popular stand at the recent Noosa Festival of Water, held on the Botanic Garden grounds along the Lake MacDonald foreshore. The day was hugely successful, with hundreds of visitors coming along to have a look at our live fish display. Paul and Sue Fleming contributed a pair of quality bass which drew plenty of attention, as did cod breeder Russ Manning’s Mary River Cod. This beautiful fish is the talk of the town at the moment with the proposed Mary River Dam at Traveston possibly pushing it further up the endangered list.