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Blowering turns red
  |  First Published: March 2006



Redfin, redfin and, yes, more redfin is the general story being told around Blowering Dam at the moment and it’s about time.

It doesn’t seem to matter too much what you throw at them, with cricket scores of reddies coming on bait, lures and even flies. Worms are the flavour of the month for bait anglers fishing in any deep water five to 10 metres down and they’re getting plenty of results.

Trolling has been unbelievable with most anglers opting for just one trolling rod instead of two because of the frantic fishing at times. I troll with just one rod with a second rigged with a small soft plastic so when I find a school I can start casting straight back into them with the other rod without even having to get the first fish off the line.

Best lures to troll are small crankbaits and it doesn’t seem to matter too much what brand. Colour plays a big part for some reason. Any redfin colour will get results but I’ve found the brighter colours seem to work best.

Casting soft plastics and Celtas from the banks, particularly a point with a drop-off on at least one side, is another technique that works well at this time of year.

Simply cast as far as you can and allow the lure to get to the bottom, although this isn’t always possible because the redfin often take the lure, particularly soft plastics, on the drop. So keep a close eye on your line as the lure sinks.

Once your lure is on the bottom, it’s simply a matter of winding your lure fast, then slow, fast then slow. This retrieve seems to bring out the reddies’ competitive nature and yields more results than a slow, constant wind.

The yellowbelly and cod are a bit harder to come by compared with the almost plague numbers of redfin but they are there for those prepared to work hard. Casting spinnerbaits or lipless crankbaits, particularly the Jackall Mask Vibe, has been getting the odd result with plenty of heart-in-the-mouth follow-ups to keep you casting.

But if you’re after natives, fishing the warmer bays with bait or lures at night will get more consistent results. It makes sense with the hot weather.

I’ve found fishing four days either side of the new or full moon has produced my best natives.

TUMUT RIVER

The Tumut River remains patchy with most anglers heading into the hills to avoid the heat and getting into one of the many trout-filled streams. That’s not to say that there are no good catches, mostly of bait for patient anglers.

All of the local creeks have had regular flushes with fairly consistent rain seeing the trout almost continuously feeding, making for some excellent fishing.

Gilmore Creek is fishing really well with some good trout taken on all types of techniques but fly and lure catching far more fish. Green and olive nymphs have been doing the job for me when fly fishing and you couldn’t possibly go past the gold bladed Rooster Tails when casting lures.

Something about these lures drives trout crazy and you will often catch every fish in a hole on these lures so it pays to know your bag limits and abide by them. It takes only one greedy angler to ruin a fishery for everyone.

MURRIMBIDGEE RIVER

The Bidgee has been good of late and should continue that way through this month with good catches of golden perch and cod all through the river. Most cod have averaged 40cm to 60cm with a lot of little grub-pinchers about as well so Bardi Socks are a good idea.

You will catch more fish with bait, particularly with carp all through the system, but more big fish are taken on lures. I recently caught an 84cm cod on a purple Twin Spin spinnerbait after more than five hours of casting, so this just goes to show that patience and persistence pay off.

March is an awesome time for all types of action with all techniques taking fish, so dust of the old rod, whether it be fly, spinning or bait, and get among them.

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