# catching trout in the southern highlands



## Brackos (Mar 7, 2013)

hi everyone,

i have heard about people catching trout out of the wingecarribee and i have been trying to catch one for ages. all i have caught are redfin and bass out of the river. can anyone give me some tips that might help me catch one of these fish.

thanks


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi mate, if there are trout in there, this should give you a basic idea on how to catch a few.

My favourite lures are, 1/12 oz Little Phoebe Spoon, Megabass ito X-55sp, Lucky Craft CRA PEA Daiwa Doctor Minnow and Ecogear MW62F although all bream hard bodies will work. Soft plastics such as Berkley T Tail minnows, power minnows and single tail grubs are also very effective.

The technique i normally use is;

I always fish upstream. In any current, trout will always be facing upstream and expect all of their potential food items to be coming from this direction. I am always fishing my way upstream and casting in order to bring my lures running directly down current through to a 45 degree angle across the current. Both fast running water and deeper slower moving pools will hold fish.

When fishing fast moving and particularly shallow water I will generally use the small spoon. I rig mine differently from how they arrive, with a double split ring and a single Decoy troutin' single in either size 6 or 8. I use a number 8 in really small streams where the fish are smaller as the larger hook increases the chance of a trout loosing an eye.

Rigged this way they are amazingly snag resistant, i get them out of trees with a flick of the wrist and as they ride hook point up i can work them through water so shallow they scrape along the rocks. The key is to ensure the hook point is pointing in the same direction as the curve of the lure to ensure the best action. They are tiny being only 30mm long but i took 2 rainbows over 10 pounds on them a couple of years ago so they tempt big fish.

I rig them with a small egg snap to give them a non rigid tow point. On days when the fish are short striking i will use a 2" grub as a trailer on the single hook. You can rip these lures in really fast when working them down a fast moving rapid or fish them slowly through shallow pools if the pool is only small and you can't be stuffed to change over to the small hard body.

When fishing fast water I am looking for several different types of structure. The tail end of a run or rapid is always worth a few casts. The main rapid or run will generally hold a fish or two, particularly in front of any rocks causing pressure waves or any little gutter in the run. The end of the pool before the start of the rapid is another hot spot.

In a deeper pool, a strike can come from anywhere in the pool. The edges are always worth a few casts, particularly if the banks are either shaded, under cut or have submerged timber along side them. You can pull a fish from anywhere in a deeper pool. Deeper pools are where I will generally change over to a hard body minnow or if the pool looks good enough I will switch to a lightly weighted SP and fish it very slowly and thoroughly.

If the bottom of the pool is very prone to snagging, I like to fish a drop shot rig with a slight difference. Rather than tie the weight on, I tie a half hitch at the end of the line and lightly crimp a split shot just above it. This way when the weight gets caught on the bottom, it will slide off the line before you line breaks saving you from having to re-rig. All you need to do is to add another split shot to the rig.

In small streams that are too small to float the yak, I will always wade up the centre of the stream, casting to any likely looking areas before I get too close and spook the fish. You can make as much noise as you like when fishing a rapid as they are a noisy place and all the noise you make will flow downstream. When wading through slower moving water, move slowly and keep noise to a minimum. If you are careful you will be able to present a lure to a trout before you spook them. I prefer to wade up the middle of the stream rather than bush bash the bank as you are offering the fish a lower profile which makes it harder for them to see you. I always wear natural coloured clothing.

In water deep enough to float the yak, I will paddle downstream far enough that it will give me a full days fishing to get back to the car. Generally a two hour paddle will take me five or so hours to fish back upstream to my access point. I will tie the yak to my waist with some rope and it will follow me like an obedient dog while I wade up the stream. When I get to a pool, too deep to wade I jump in the yak and fish it from the yak until I am in wading depth water again. Fishing this way gives you access to rarely fished water as a pool too deep to wade with no bank side access is the limit of most trout fisherman's access.

My hot tip: Trout are not like a bass or a cod you can piss off enough to get a territorial strike. Your first shot is your best and your window of opportunity narrows with each subsequent cast.


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Oh, i forgot to add. The bigger fish are better targeted of a night.


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## theGT58 (Nov 1, 2011)

Unfortunately you may have a bit of work as all those fish will pretty much take the same things.

If there are bass and redfin in there as well I'd hazard a guess (hey, could be totally wrong as I don't know the river) that the trout are struggling. I would expect both redfin and bass to out-compete them over the long ter so they are possibly in quite small numbers.

Fishing in winter (now luckily!) when the other two may be a bit more sluggish is where I'd start.

Building on what Scott said if it were me I'd start off with trying more trout specific techniques: Using vibrax and mepps spinners work the back of current, around rocks, mid current structure etc and anywhere similar the trout will be holding waiting for food to come downstream. As Scott said cast upstream. Maybe avoid the edges to keep away from the other species a bit.

If you have a fly rod i'd break that out. If not rig yourself up a fly rig for your spinning rod: just tie on two flies about 50cm apart, split shot at the top with weight to match the current. Fish this rig upstream same as above and let the bottom fly bounce along the bottom. This rig is really only worthwhile though if you have a bit of depth (about 1m or so), reasonable current and the bottom is not so snaggy.

You will still catch redfin no doubt.

Other than that I'd have to put my thinking cap on.

Powerbait maybe?

Good luck, let us know if you're successful.


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## Brackos (Mar 7, 2013)

Ok thanks i will be going this weekend


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## JoshCarpenter (Mar 30, 2012)

Before we go too much further, are we talking about the Wingecarribee river or reservoir? Because I'm quite sure the river is classed as a "general Trout stream" as it flows into the Wollondilly River and is closed season at the moment. Which you can't even get around by saying the good old "I was fishing for Bass and these damn Trout keep getting in the way" (yes, it beats me why we have more stringent closed seasons for an introduced species rather than our own natives). I know all this because the Wingy would be the closest Trout water to me as well being in Jervis Bay

If you are talking about the water storage dam then go for it as they are not closed.

Here is where you can find the highly confusing regulations http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/inf ... and-salmon


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