Harro’s Report August 2011
Welcome to the new series of Awoonga Reports. It’s been awhile…a lot has been happening behind the scenes. New park managers Ron and Vicky Vanderplas have done a marvellous job in restoring (and upgrading) the facilities and services left in such a mess by the previous people.
On the fishing front the news is dominated by the twin facts that the lake has finally stopped overflowing, The lake will stabilise and fishing patterns will develop now that the dribble has finally ceased.
For the first time in what’s been a long winter, we’re seeing the water temperatures in the shallow lake fringes climbing above those in the main basin.
This is a significant development. Lake living barramundi have their activity levels dictated by water temperatures and during this time of the year seek out the thermal blanket provided by sun heated patches of water that occur through a 10ish to 4pm window.
The current lake core temperature is 18-19C but some sheltered shallows are registering 20+C. Right now, they are the places for fishos to be. An accurate temperature sensor is an integral part of a modern fishfinder sonar.
Fish frames, big fish by the way, have been reported in the wheelie bins at the Boynedale camp in the lake backblocks. There are camping facilities there but the location has a security problem.
Hatchery manager Kurt Hutchby reports an infusion of 200,000 fingerlings into this lake. That’s just for this year, and there’s more to come. A rescue project on fish trapped below the spillway saw many big barra translocated into the lake along with a couple saratoga the size of ironing boards and mangrove jacks.
All this activity points to another Lake Awoonga fishing boom in the making. Barra reach the magic metre mark in less than 4 years.
Meantime, there are still plenty of fish still in the lake. Reports of a Pied Pier exodus during the spillway overflow were wildly exaggerated hearsay. Truth be known, a lot of the fish that did go had become very difficult to approach and catch. The new blood will change all that.
Regular fortnightly reports will be a feature of the ongoing park upgrade. Meantime I can be caught Sunday afternoons between 5pm and 6pm on Nugget Downie’s 4BC radio programme and at 0418 892 600
Park guest Matt Hart from Darwin puts the finishing touches to a barra hooked while on charter with Harro !
Get news and updates!
