G'day fishos. Jellyfish in Dartmouth Dam? Yep, you read it right there's jellyfish in Dartmouth Dam, so when you see them up there on your next trip, there's no need to stop drinking.
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And stop rubbing your eyes - they're real!
Having seen some up there recently, Matt Mildren posted that fact on popular Facebook page Trout Trollers. He received plenty of feedback, some of which could be described as non-productive or amusing. The bottom line was that others have also seen them at Dart, and they are apparently quite common throughout heaps of our freshwater dams.
I did mention them myself many moons ago in this very column when I'd spotted some in Hume, and there were sceptics then, too. A mate of mine, Frank Prokop, who has been involved in fisheries circles for many years at one level or another, said, as he remembered it, they were seen around this time of year in big numbers in most big impoundments if conditions were favourable.
So, if you're poking around one of our big dams somewhere and think you spotted jellyfish the size of anywhere between a 10 to 50 cent piece, don't be scared to tell anyone - because you probably did!
AT A GLANCE
Dartmouth (63.8 per cent) - has been patchy for some, but most fishos are still getting a feed. Lead lining is one of the more productive methods, and I suppose that's because quite a few fish are now feeding a little higher in the water column due to cooler temps. Col Gardiner and his wife Janice found a patch of fish closer to the surface recently and managed to land 14 in a session, consistently trolling over a reasonably short run once they'd picked one up.
Nearly all those fish were caught on Tassies and King Cobras, either behind lead line or flatlining.
Keep that in mind - too many fishos pick up a trout and keep trolling off into the distance. Once you've caught one, work that area for a while. If there's tucker there, you'll often catch a few.
Streams - are still looking sensational and fishing well.
Predicted rain for this week will freshen them up a bit and will encourage those trout to get moving upstream to spawn even more.
We've heard some terrific stories of some great fish being caught in a lot of streams in most local systems, with all methods producing fish.
It'll depend how much rain we get this week as to whether streams will be fishable next weekend. If it's only a little, they should be sensational. If it's a lot, not so much. Either way though, it'll encourage those spawners.
Blowering (81.2 per cent) - has been OK too, but still has room for improvement.
There's been a few reddies and the odd cod about, so it's still worth a visit.
Eucumbene (27.5 per cent) - has been a big improver, with some really nice trout being trolled up during the week. Lead line has been popular, as have shallow divers in close early in the day.
Jindabyne (75.5 per cent) - is also going OK, so a visit to the high country would be well worth putting on the agenda over the next few weeks.
The Hume Dam (42 per cent) - carries on its merry way, making everyone happy by yielding heaps of redfin for those keen enough to head out.
And, with our recent weather, it hasn't been hard to be tempted.
Bait, trolling, casting, jagging - it just doesn't seem to matter. Just about everyone's catching fish and looks like doing so for a while, I hope.
There are a couple of threats though.
Nearly all the females are carrying eggs and males are also getting ready to spawn. Once that happens, will they go off the chew?
The other threat is possibly more serious, with quite a few fishos reporting picking up a couple of reddies with sores on their skin - and not very pleasant looking ones. They aren't the more common sores you see from anchor worm, more of a fungal-looking thing.
I'll try and keep you posted on this one.
The Cod Scene - is reasonable in both the upper Murray and the Murray below Albury, but neither are going gangbusters. Mulwala, on the other hand, has been great.
There's been plenty of fish about and some belters among them.
Shawn Bowdler picked up a couple of decent ones during the week on one of his Mudeye lures. There's been quite a few reported over the metre mark, as well as plenty of smaller fish.
Surface lures, swimbaits, trolling and bait fishos are all reporting great fishing.
