Historical Catch Records - Part B

THURSDAY, 18 MARCH 1943

Page 28 

During the past few years numerous references to the establishment of trout at Pemberton have appeared in “The West Australian”, so reading that a more extended open season for 1942-3 had been decided upon, I determined to go down and see for myself.

The Trout Acclimatisation Society’s enthusiastic secretary and other members did everything possible to make my stay enjoyable and instructive and took me to most of the pools where fly-fishing or spinning was practicable. During four days of fishing- no fishing after 7pm-I saw landed eleven trout above the statutory minimum of 12 inches (30cm); the largest of those was a brown trout of 3lb 6oz., the others were all rainbows between 1lb. and 1.75lb; as many more were hooked and got away. Very much larger fish than these are in the streams; one fish hooked in the Big Brook close to the township must have weighed 6lb at a conservative estimate. This fish gave a spectacular display of leaping clear of the water before it threw the hook. 

It is of course quite impossible to form an estimate of the number of fish in the streams, as there are miles of water open to them. Many of these streams are so overgrown that it is extremely difficult to force a way down to the water and quite impossible to throw a fly. However, all or nearly all the pools I visited where observation or actual fishing was possible held trout, and some of these pools were 20 miles apart and in different streams.

A factor at present operating against successful fishing with the artificial fly is that there is so much food at the bottom and in mid-water in the shape of gilgies, lampreys, and minnows that there is no necessity for the trout to rise to the surface to feed on floating flies and insects. Later, when the sub-aqueous supply becomes inadequate the position will no doubt adjust itself, as happened in the Great Lake in Tasmania.

Incidentally at the time of my visit the hatch of fly on the streams was not extensive- a few flies resembling iron blue duns, a few winged ants and sundry light coloured moths were all I saw; grasshopper, however, swarmed in those places where the banks were cleared and grassed, and the trout certainly came up readily for those that fell in the water. At present the spinning of a small artificial minnow gives the best results with the bigger fish, but only one type of the dozen I tried held any interest for them. In this connection it should be remembered that the elimination of such monsters as the one I saw hooked would be beneficial to the streams, as such fish are cannibals and rarely bother about coming up for flies and insects if under water food is plentiful. The position is then that the fish are plentifully and widely distributed; they are all in the pink of condition and are strong vigorous fighters, giving magnificent sport on light tackle.

The society’s next step, when times become normal, should be a judicious and well-planned expenditure on clearing narrow tracks from the roads down to good fishing water- a short distance in many cases- rolling or cutting down the scrub a chain back from the water’s edge at certain points along the pools-the big timber could remain – and in dragging some of the more impossible snags out of the water, a few natural hazards being all in the game. One stretch of the Big Brook-potentially the best I saw- was quite unfishable owing to fallen logs and other obstructions. A few pounds worth of well-directed labour on this stretch of the water- I never passed without seeing rising trout -would make it first class water. Many other pools could also be made angling possibilities at little expense. 

When these improvements are effected-a small matter compared with the surmounting of the difficulties inherent in the establishment of trout-Pemberton will be able to offer tourist and visitors from overseas sport of the highest order in a glorious summer climate amid magnificent scenery.

THURSDAY, 27 APRIL 1944

Page 29  

The four days spent in Pemberton last year so impressed me with its trout-fishing possibilities that I went down there again this year-

* * *

“To note with practis’d eye where, 

in midstream

Or by the pendant bank, the watchful trout

Rings the smooth flood.”

* * *

I stayed longer on this occasion and the lengthier stay amply confirmed the impressions I had previously formed.

The exceptionally hot dry summer had, of course affected the depth of the streams, and some of the water I fished last year had become too shallow to retain fish, which had dropped down to deeper water. However, the trout are now appreciably more numerous, but have, I fancy, become a shade more sophisticate, which is all to the good. 

During my visit I landed 17 trout, of which a number had to be returned as being under the 12inch (30cm) limit imposed by the society. Incidentally, I think this limit is a trifle severe; in Victoria it is 11inch, in NSW 10inch, while in Tasmania it is 8inch. I was unsuccessful in catching any of the bigger fish, albeit I saw both brown and rainbow trout of three and four pounds landed by more skilful and more acrobatic anglers.

On one memorable afternoon I had a clear view of a veritable monster whose weight could have been conservatively estimated at 10lb. This patriarch will hardly be taken by orthodox methods so long as his haunt is in this particularly impossible pool. I went to some trouble to establish the “condition factor” of most of the bigger fish caught during my visit and this varied from 42 to 47, which compares more than favourably with the 42 of the fish from the famous River test and the 45 of the Blagdon Lake trout.

Another encouraging feature was the fact that the trout definitely rose more freely to the fly than previously, so that during the latter part of my stay I never used the spinning rod at all.

Before the next open season the society proposes intensively to stock two of the more open stretches. These fish will be the two-year-olds and will measure 14-15inch at the time of their introduction.

This policy will. I am sure, yield dividends in attracting more visiting anglers, who, on payment of a nominal daily fee, additional to the ordinary licence fee, will be able to fish two or three miles of water in which they can see plenty of fish and where there will be fewer natural obstacles to the proper exercise of their craft.

Under the present system of stocking it is possible for the trout to explore the many miles of water available to them in the network of streams in the Warren district, and while this method is the only long-term method and augurs well for the future, it does not ensure adequate numbers of fish being in the few streams readily available to visiting anglers.

With transport facilities as they are at present it is obviously impossible to reach the more distant waters.

War conditions have necessarily made any attempt at clearing the banks or de-snagging the streams impracticable, but with the return of normal times I have no doubt but that the society will pursue a vigorous policy in this respect.

An undoubted advantage would be the provision of a flat -bottomed boat for use on the water pools, some of the best of which are now unfishable from the banks and too deep to wade, although the water is itself quite open.

I tried this method on two occasions from a privately-owned boat and found it to answer admirably, although heavy constructional work on a weir in the vicinity militated against successful fishing as the vibration of the hammering had put the fish down.

I had the pleasure of watching the technique of a master angler; his fishing was obviously perfection; he employed every fancy cast in the fishing books together with some of his own, and in the two days I ghillied for him he caught -one small trout.

Last week the Master went down to Pemberton again and rose, hooked and landed a 3lb 9oz. brown with his very first cast, which goes to show that trout-fishing is much like any other kind of fishing, in one respect, at all events.

I understand the society has drawn up an ambitious scheme for the post war development of its hatchery and allied objectives. I have seen enough to feel confident it will be a success and prove instrumental in the distribution of trout in all those WA waters suitable for their introduction.

Note: The formula for the “condition factor” is found by multiplying the weight in pounds by 100,000 and dividing the cube of the length in inches. Length is measured on the flat from the tip of the nose to the end of the middle ray of the tail.

WEDNESDAY, 28 MARCH 1945

Page 1 

For the third successive season I again visited Pemberton this year to try my skill against the wily trout Mr Adlard wrote. In fact my enthusiasm led me to make two trips; one for a few days before Christmas and for three weeks all in January. Owing to the exceptionally dry winter the streams were below their normal level and this militated against good fishing; although I am afraid not the sole factor in giving me the impression that there was a reduction in takeable fish this year. As against this the stream abound in young under-sized trout, probably yearling, which augur well for the future.

I caught 43 trout during my stay, some of which I returned as before the legal limit of 12 inches (30cm). The weights range from 0.75lb to 2lb 14oz. My best day was on January 5, when I caught four trout all well over 2lbs. Admittedly I caught more fish than in a similar period last year but this improvement is undoubtedly due to a closer knowledge of the streams and, I hope, some advance in technique, moreover I had to return a higher percentage of “under the limit” fish. The decrease in takeable fish was due to the intense fishing of the accessible stretches of water and the practice of bait fishing at night. It is regrettable that the strenuous and untiring efforts of a few enthusiasts to put Pemberton and district on the trout fishing map and thus provide a major tourist attraction should be jeopardised by this ill-advised behaviour.

I am convinced that if trout are to be permanently established in the district the present rules will have to be more strictly enforced and ought to include the following alterations and modifications.

1. No fishing one hour after sundown.
2. Certain stretches (notably the Big Brook for a mile or so below the weir), reserved for fly only; others reserved for spinner for example, the water above the weir as far as Gander’s Bridge; and others in which bait-fishing under specified conditions is permitted.
3. The restriction (temporarily at least) of future open seasons a maximum of six weeks not necessarily continuous, say four or five weeks around about Christmas and a week or ten days to cover the Easter holiday.
4. Another point: I believe the introduction of fish which have been hand fed for 2 or 3 years is unwise. These fish do not know how to fend for themselves and rapidly lose condition=-I know because I caught some of them.

The fish should be turned in as fingerlings when they will more rapidly adapt themselves to the conditions and, as mature fish of say 1.5lbs, be more in accordance with the biological content of the water.

Nothing has, of course been done to make the streams more fishable, but that is only to be expected with the society working hard on the propagation side, and with little cash resources.

I spent quite a lot of time removing such obstacles as came within my limited capacity and it was remarkable on subsequent occasions to note the improvement effected by efforts even so small as these necessarily were.

Unfortunately additional hazards have arisen since last year in the shape of sundry evil-looking bulls; these strongly resented any intrusion their territory and were responsible for frequent hurriedly undignified withdrawals which were hardly ever “according” to plan.

Far fewer rises were to be seen this year as compared with last year and this is probably due to the decrease in sizable trout and partly to a distinct scarcity of surface food.

I saw only sundry whitish-looking moths towards evening, a few flying ants prior to any rain, while the ubiquitous “hopper” was always falling in the water during the day time.

The trout rose vicariously to all these and obviously the fly-box should contain imitations of these insects. Mr Lyne, of Hartley’s, in Melbourne can supply excellent patterns of the white moth, Dunne’s brown ant, (nearest approach to our flying ant), and also a hackled “hopper”.

I am satisfied that the use of other patterns, even if proved killers in other parts of Australia is a sheer waste of time and that only time and experience will teach us what type of lure and tackle will catch out trout.

In regard to spinners, the closer the resemblance in a tiny brown trout the more successful the spinner will be, proving, I think indisputably that the larger trout. And indeed not so large, destroy great numbers of their own species.

With all other types of spinners I found that, although the trout frequently rushed up and followed them a yard or so, they invariably turned away with a tail-flip of disgust. In the shallows, and the deeper water when clear, the whole performance could be plainly seen. On two or three occasions great trout eight or ten pounders chased the spinner; these were wild brown trout mighty descendants of the original stock. During my stay I must have seen at least a dozen big trout over two feet long. Incidentally, all the trout I caught from 0.75lb to 1.5lb; both browns and rainbows were in the pink of condition, beautifully proportioned and with a condition factor of 42 or better.

During my stay I acted as cicerone to several visiting trout fishermen and was as thrilled as they were when some of them were successful in landing their first trout. All of them were clearly impressed by the angling possibilities of the district its delightful climate and glorious scenery.

In conclusion I wish to thank the Society for its many kindnesses which were so largely instrumental in making my visit so enjoyable.

THURSDAY, 31 May 1945

Page 4  

I visited Pemberton three times during the 1944-45 season; for a few days before Christmas, again for three weeks in January and finally for four days at Easter. Owing to the exceptionally dry weather all the streams were well below normal level, but I am afraid that this is not the only reason for an obvious reduction in the number of takeable trout.

Admittedly, I caught more fish than ever over a similar period last year but this is to be accounted for a by a closer knowledge of the streams and I hope some improvement in technique; moreover I had to return a higher percentage of under the limit fish.

Let me enumerate the main factors contributing to this falling off in numbers. 1. Trout are taken out during the close season with regrettable frequency. 2. The practice of bait-fishing from sundown until late at night. 3. Night-lines, set lines, which are often left unattended until morning. 4. Other more dubious methods which it is obviously impolitic to make more generally known than they are a present.

It is very regrettable that the strenuous and untiring efforts of a few enthusiasts to put Pemberton and district on the trout-fishing map and thus provide a major tourist attraction should be jeopardised by this ill-advised behaviour. I am convinced that if trout are to be permanently established the present rules will have to be more rigorously enforced and should include the following alterations and modifications. 1. No fishing one hour after sundown. 2. Certain stretches-notably the Big Brook below the weir reserved for fly only; and others reserved for both fly and spinners, for example the water above the weir as far as Gander’s Bridge; and others in which bait-fishing under specified conditions is permitted. 3. The restriction-temporarily at least-of future open seasons to a maximum of six weeks not necessarily continuous say 4 or 5 weeks round about Christmas and a week or 10 days to cover the Easter holiday.

Another point: I believe the practice of introducing fish which have been hand fed for 3 or 4 years is a serious mistake. These fish do not know how to fend for themselves and rapidly lose condition- I know, because I caught some of them.

One of them by the “Sturdee” Scale, should have weighed 4lb instead of the 2.75lb it actually scaled, while its “condition factor” was 34 as against a normal 45. The fish should be turned in as fingerlings when they will readily adapt themselves to the conditions and as mature fish of, say 1.5lb be more in accordance with the biological content of the water.

Nothing has, of course, been done to make the streams more fishable but that is only to be expected as no local labour is available. I spent quite a lot of time removing such obstacles as came within my limited capacity and it was remarkable on subsequent occasions to note the improvement effected by efforts even so small as these necessarily were. Additional angling hazards have also appeared since last season in the shape of sundry vicious-looking bulls; these animals strongly resented any intrusion into their domain and were responsible for frequent withdrawals which were rarely according to plan.