This was Rodfishers’ first visit to the cottage at Penarth in over a year. We enjoyed the improvements implemented during that time, being new electrical wiring and a brand new bathroom. I’m pleased to say the atmosphere / magic of the place is unchanged, whilst its creature comforts are pleasantly enhanced!

 

Our little group (Mike Chapman, myself, and one night visitors Nick Tattersall and James Wilson) enjoyed balmy, sunny, almost windless conditions throughout – almost unheard of for Oberon!  Whilst the countryside is lush and green after consistent rain, there still is regrettably not much extra runoff – the streams are low and clear, and Oberon Dam still on its knees at barely over 10% “full”.

 

Even so, we found the resident trouts in a cooperative mood, and did quite well in the chasing and catching business, with a total of eighteen good fish landed and mostly released  between us over the weekend. Mike caught the biggest, a 4 pound brown in excellent condition, on a dry fly in the Duckmaloi River.  

 

We found local fishing conditions as follows:

 

Fish River Creek on Penarth and downstream: Low and clear, fish rising and cruising in the larger pools. Ideal conditions for sight-fishing. Both browns and rainbows present, all resident fish. The ones we caught were running between 1 and 2 pounds. Catchable fish only present from the Tin Pool on downstream.

 

Duckmaloi River: Fished several sections of the river. Flowing much better than Fish River Creek, slightly discoloured, but still clear enough for sight-fishing to risers and cruisers. More browns than rainbows in residence, both species with a decent average size of about 2 ½ pounds. Smallest fish caught was 2 pounds, biggest Mike’s monster as per above. Excellent fishing by anyone’s standards!!

 

Penarth Farm Dam: The dam is full / overflowing. The growth rate of the rainbows in that dam is phenomenal. Caught and kept 2 fish from there, the smallest one 600 grams which is probably from the last stocking in February 2009. The other one was 42 cm long and weighed 1,400 grams (over 3 pounds), an incredible football of a fish! It was chockers with Yabbies, unusual food for rainbows. You live and learn. Possibly due to the calm conditions, the fish did not really come on till after dark, when they started swirling in the shallow parts of the dam. Much excitement here, casting to those swirls in the after-glow, mostly unsuccessful, but just sometimes, rewarded by  a mighty tug!

 

There you have it, till next time,

 

Gerhard.