Received this encouraging message from the ever energetic Steve Samuels. Members might wish to be a part of this experiment – it involves catching trout folks!
We’ve now learnt that fish were over 20cm when stocked. The tag is the same as the yellow tags we’ve seen on ex-brood stock released into Jindabyne so will be easy to identify. Don’t forget to phone in the number to receive the promised lure. Hopefully anglers will carefully release any caught to continue the experiment. While they are under legal size, they ought to be big enough to compete against redfin predation.
This is shaping up to be a very useful experiment. I will keenly await advice on the results if I can’t get up there myself. (Shame that Oberon is outside NSW CFA Region 3 and 4 so any trout we caught would be ineligible for a CAA trophy … unless we have an official event there – now that’s an idea we can discuss 😁).
Dear Supporters
As you may know, as President of the Monaro Acclimatisation Society Inc, I have been campaigning for a better approach to fixing our problems with many of our trout dams in NSW. Most of you will be aware that redfin have become a serious pest, and where they have colonised in trout waters, the rainbow trout have virtually disappeared. Earlier this year I was successful in gaining support for the development of a NSW Trout Strategy to try and get better trout fishing in the dams that now have redfin.
Yesterday (Monday 17th July) a small but significant experiment was launched at Oberon Dam. NSW Fisheries have released 500 tagged yearling trout into the dam and the hope is that anglers will fish for them over the next season and report their captures. One of the significant approaches will be to see that if stocking bigger rainbows will allow them to survive the redfin.
Below is a short statement from Cameron Westaway on this stocking and I hope that all of you who fish here will support the experiment as it will inform us for future stockings.
We have a long way to go to bring back many of our once famous trout lakes, but it seems that this first small step signals a new approach to support our trout fisheries.
Regards
Steve Samuels
President
Monaro Acclimatisation Society Inc
Dear Trout strategy working group members.
As a dummy run for a possible trout strategy action we are stocking 500 tagged yearling rainbow trout from the Dutton Trout Hatchery at the “reef” in Oberon dam (which has been the subject of redfin degradation) next Monday at 11:30am with the Member for Bathurst and Minister for Lands & Forestry the Hon. Paul Toole.
People who ring in details of recaptured tagged fish will be sent a free little ripper oar gee lure.
Cameron Westaway,
Senior Fisheries Manager Inland