THE EXCELLENT rains in early February may have saved our local freshwater fishery – in the short term anyway! Borumba Dam has been hovering at just under 10% of capacity, and boat launching has been hazardous with a few experienced boaties coming to grief.

If the much-needed rain hadn’t arrived there would have been massive fish kills in both Borumba and MacDonald. Lake Macdonald had dropped to below 50%, and the council had been using it as the water source for Noosa and environs. This drain would have continued, and still may, until the lake is at 800 megalitres (a paltry 10% of capacity). Should the lake drop to this alarmingly low level, the populations of Australian bass, golden perch, silver perch, saratoga and the endangered Mary River cod will all be under grave threat.

Thankfully, the rains of early February had an immediate and spectacular effect on the lake, particularly the shallower reaches which were all but dry. In a matter of two days these areas were flooded once again and looking very fishy indeed! Mark Pertot found some willing bass in the main basin the other day to 47cm, which is a good sign.

1) A tagged and released 47 cm fork length Australian bass was the result of this flyrod battle with Cooroy angler Andrew Grabham.