10-04-2009, 07:35 PM
(10-04-2009, 05:03 AM)Anguis Viridis link Wrote: Great writeups! Can you explain more about the streams? Spring fed? Mountains? How do you find these places?
Not really spring fed just rainwater from forests in the catchment areas up in the hills. Winter is the wet season in this part of the country and we've had a shitload of rainfall the last few months (after several years of drought) so the streams are pretty full. We aint got mountains here in SW WA only "hills". Highest mountain in SW Aust is Mt Bluff about 1100m....
The trout are lucky to breed, let alone survive the summer, although there are a few streams deep in the forrest where they do breed. Not the right substrate, temps etc. Numbers are kept up with yearly stocking. Big debates here in Aust re trout - they are introduced predators that have been shown to have negative impacts on native fish, and other aquatic life. So I have no prob whacking them over the head for a feed... Lots of introduced redfin perch in the rivers and impoundments too - and they are a worse pest - illegal to release back once caught - just like carp too.
There is only one native freshwater species worth angling for in the SW - freshwater cobbler - a catfish. Nice to eat too. Marron - v. large freshwater crays (2nd biggest after giant Tasmanian crays I think). Different story over east and up north in the freshwater - over east - huge Murray cod, golden, silver and maquarie perch and my fav - Australian bass - awesome fish. Up north there is heaps - Barramundi the most popular, others like Sooty grunter are awesome too. Just gotta watch the crocs. We even have huge freshwater sawfish up north that grow to 7 metres!
Marto