SOME desperately-needed rain arrived in early September, and with a rise in water levels and temperature we should see some long-awaited activity in Lake MacDonald.

This mysterious waterway has been all but shut down for the past few months, apart from small schools of smallish bass that have been targeted by trollers in particular. Unfortunately, the bigger bass around the 50cm mark have been very hard to find, even for the experienced lurecasters who frequent this waterway.

At this time of year there is traditionally a burst of activity from the resident Mary River cod, and a few good specimens have been caught in the last few weeks. Lake MacDonald resident and canoe angler John Cutmore landed a cod of 5kg in late August on a trolled Borer Deep lure. Naturally, the fish was tagged and released in good condition. We have found over the years that tagged cod return to their snag regardless of where they are released after capture.

Once the lake warms by a few degrees, casting the weedbeds should once again become a worthwhile pastime. Small diving minnows, beetlespins and bibless rattlers are good weapons around the weed beds. Along the flats, Rev Heads are pretty hard to beat.

The resident saratoga should also start to cooperate a little more frequently by October and throughout summer. These unusual fish have a breeding population in the lake, but it is a slow process waiting for the numbers to increase to levels where they can be specifically targeted. The local stocking group is trying to get approval from the DPI&F to stock a few more ‘toga but this is proving difficult. I’ll keep you posted.

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1) Hopefully when the water warms up in Lake MacDonald a few more of these Aussie bass will be on the chew.