HOOK IN: Orange Trout Acclimatisation Society president Rodney Tonkin said get ready for the best trout season in a decade. Photo: JUDE KEOGH 0927trout7
CAST a line in Orange, it’s going to be the best trout season in a decade.
Good rainfall over the last two years has left waterways full and the trout biting.
From today rivers are now open for trout anglers with Molong and Bell rivers the top tips for a great catch Orange Trout Acclimatisation Society president Rodney Tonkin said.
Mr Tonkin said he expects this season to be the best one in the last 10 years.
“We’re back in terms of very high levels of water flow,” he said.
“The size of fish in some areas is extraordinary ... at Thompson Creek Dam there have been seven or eight pound fish caught,” he said.
Mr Tonkin said he expects anglers to flock to the rivers to try their luck, with rainbow and brown trout in both waterways.
He said the trout along with native yellow belly or murray cod come from NSW Fisheries hatcheries and are taking to the area well since water levels have increased.
“We’re finding that fish are up stream digging the reeds and breeding,” he said.
Mr Tonkin has reminded anglers that they must have a fishing licence and keep it on them at all times while fishing.
People should also seek permission from land owners prior to entering private property to fish.
“I’m raring to go, just biting at the bit to get at them.”
As a passionate angler Mr Tonkin said there is a definite art to catching a trout.
“It’s not just throwing in a lure, it’s a science.”
While Thompson Creek Dam and Oberon Dam are open for trout fishing year-round, it is the river fishing that has opened up for trout fishing today.
nadine.morton@ruralpress.com