NPD FISH STOCKS ... What has happened???

[wallyfly]

The decline in the bass catch numbers in NPD makes one wonder just how many went over the spillway during the four periods that the gates were open. If the numbers are to be compared with the number of lung fish returned from the spillway to the dam and assuming the lungfish numbers to be much , much lower than bass and yellowbelly in the first place, plus the fact that bass run downstream to breed, the numbers of fish lost could be ENORMOUS and would take years to recover providing we don't have more floods and the dam is restocked to it's maximum capacity. Food for thought Fishos, Dino and I have caught 120 bass in a morning session in the past but it's not happening now. Tight lines. :cheer: Ian M

[Dinodadog]

ah those were the days, the more fish I caught the less I could feel my crook back. ha ha

[Rocket75]

they certainly are conspicuous in their absence, I hope that the worse case scenario isn't to blame, but only time will tell.

[Angus]

Hopefully they will fire back up in summer.

But based on reports people are sticking catching dozens and dozens below the wall every session so id say a fair few went over.

Angus

[Do$tylz]

id also say possibly based on the pictures of the ones that are caught, they're gorging themselves as it is so aren't as hungry. Is that possible??

[chris_stewart14]

Agreed that alot would have certainly gone over the wall but it is a massive expanse of water and only a small amount of which that is in the vacinity of the wall.. Our little permit arm would maybe at most make up a 1/5th of the total water area and only a small area of that section would even see much fishing action. Im sure there are still plenty in there but have recieved alot of fishing pressure over the first half of the year and might have relocated to a section we cant fish or an area that wasn't fishing so well afew months ago. I'm sure acouple of NPD rats like yourselves will figure out those tricky Bass in no time..

P.s. I use that term in the most indeering way possible

[Little Grey Men]

I've got my fingers and toes crossed that it's because the dam has destratified quite a few times recently. The colour of the water out there has been a bit odd looking. If the dam balances back out again, hopefully the bass will get interested again.

Even still, a hell of a lot of big bass must have taken the plunge.

We'll be dealing with those ones soon enough though

[shayned]

Be interesting to see what happens as the water warms and the effect of rotting vegetation dies away. Still catching staged fish at the moment in the dam.

[Angus]

chris_stewart14 wrote:

Agreed that alot would have certainly gone over the wall but it is a massive expanse of water and only a small amount of which that is in the vacinity of the wall.. Our little permit arm would maybe at most make up a 1/5th of the total water area and only a small area of that section would even see much fishing action. Im sure there are still plenty in there but have recieved alot of fishing pressure over the first half of the year and might have relocated to a section we cant fish or an area that wasn't fishing so well afew months ago. I'm sure acouple of NPD rats like yourselves will figure out those tricky Bass in no time..

P.s. I use that term in the most indeering way possible

It is a massive expanse of water. But when the wall went over was the time that the bass should have been schooling right at the wall. So the fish per square meter could have been a lot more.

Bare in mind thats just in theory.

Angus

[Dinodadog]

In previous years NPD has never been as good during the months of Oct to Apr as it is for May to Sep. Having said that if its this bad now heaven help us. We can live with one hope that the water being so dark may force the fish to stay close to the surface.

[Feral]

ah ya sooks, they are just still schooled up, they will be back up the top end of the dam quick enough. I reckon that with the water flows the schools have moved downstream, rather than just schooled up in deep water. They will be moving back upstream with the warm weather soon enough. Then they will take up residence in the snags and against the banks, making for good challenging fishing!

[Brian D]

There is no doubt that NPD is a special place and for those who fish the dam regularly it is part of the family routine so I hope for your sakes the fish area at the dam wall.

I can't help but think of lenthals dam and what happened there in the major floods. I mean besides the idots at the gates and stupid rule makers.

In my little local there are virtually no fish above the weir and heaps below. I would guess that 95% went over the wall.

I just hope the baiters don't eat them all. There is a guy that throws them little ones back over the weir but I am affraid that he is too small and too few to make a huge difference. I suppose I am hoping that the stocking guys drop some fingerlings in above the weir.

I am greatful there are options because I don't believe the little Albert will be able to substain the pressure.

[Dinodadog]

Yes Brian it is a special place, anywhere within 50klm from home is always special. When the bass usualy school up this time of the year they dont just school up down near the dam wall, they form schools to well above the PRFMA boat launching area. The rise in the water from 23% to 51% saw them come on the chew and start forming schools all over the place, then when the second influx of water that made it rise to 100$ saw thousands of bass go over the wall and since then I have not seen one school. There are still bass in there but they are well and truly scattered about. I trolled for over 1/2klm in one section and never seen one fish and yes it was turned on. But you know me never one to give up to easy. ha ha

[Little Grey Men]

It's odd that you haven't come across any schools Dino, and I know you keep a pretty close eye on that sounder. Funny to think that you used to find schools while walking the bank. That boating arm is a big stretch of water with varying depths, structure and water quality. hmmmm, bit of a worry.

Not to worry mate, I've got a killer little Loomis and Twinpower setup for snag bashing below the wall. We used to walk a long way to find them a year ago so nothings changed.

Probably need the exercise anyway

[elops]

Angus wrote:

Hopefully they will fire back up in summer.

But based on reports people are sticking catching dozens and dozens below the wall every session so id say a fair few went over.

Angus

.

Just another reminder it is still closed season.

[elops]

The answer is YES a large numer of fish have gone over the wall.The PRFMA will restock with as many fingerlings as we can afford you can assist in this by directing your SIPS to North Pine Dam.EVERY DOLLAR=4 FINGERLINGS A very large large undertaking indeed, all help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance Steve.

[StevenM]

Some would have gone over the wall, however, they would be still there, the trick is to find them.

I fish Big W. With all the increase in levels their is more water to go looking for them. Also they are not in their "usual" area for this time of year.

I can say that they are still there and it has taken me up to 4 hours to find them.And then that was with pure luck. You can be 2 meters from the next guy who is showing fish and you have nadah.

Dont know how deep NPD is but remember the cone angle your sounder has. If its a 20 degree you may be looking at a 1meter area at 6 meters. Fun hey.

Keep looking and you will find. Small grid work and happy days. Then its a mater of small changes the next time you go out to find them again as they do not move far.

The last ABT electric at Big W. 60 odd competitors, 16 fish. I was there the same day and got 30 in site of those guys, matesof mine with me only got about a dozen each.

What lure was turning them on and how it was worked can be the difference. What was the gun lure last year may not be the same puppy this year.

Happy Fishing

[HookedOnTackle]

i heard that people have been putting nets in the damn spillway to catch any half decent size fish that goes over. down behind the ymca at the crossing/weir there, found several carcasses of fish including one lungfish. don't know if they had tried cooking them or they were killed due to natural causes. the higher water was a very dark brown, maybe levels of run off and chemicals got too high in there.

[Dazzamcgee]

Sure afew would have went over the wall but I believe fishing pressure is the problem.....

[Dinodadog]

To compare Wivenhoe dam to NPD dam at this moment is ludicrous. NPD has had at least 4 lots of thousands of fish go over the wall, Wivenhoe lost none. NPD has turned black from rotting vegetation because of its close boundaries, Wivenhoe has absorbed its rotting vegetation and the water has hardly been affected.

[Dazzamcgee]

Guy's we all care for the dams and the fishing we do in OUR dams but to compare one to the other is just stupid!!!

Some dams florish while others ride the rails for existents!! Dams are just big fish ponds and at times even the slightest pressure weather it be from fishos or natural occurring problems can cause the eco system to crash......

I see ppl from here getting double figure Bass and red claw and when things start to slow up they wonder why??? any wonder!!! Time to slow up on the action Guy's!!

FISH ARE SMART!!!!!!!!!!!!

[StevenM]

Dino, you just missed the point.

Stand up son and it may hit ya fair in between the eyes, re read the post.

Dazza.....your on the money with your reply as well.

To a point I use to fish Cressy when it was the big bass mecca, unfortunately the butchers heard about it and cleaned the place out. No bag limits to hillbillies. You still go there today and ya can catch heaps of fish...all small. You get back to the ramp and Pa comes down and says "Cetch eny baaass" "Eny size tu dem" "Neid to feid da kin hey" :ohmy:

Rednecks...I hate rednecks.

[fishyman]

its just going through its natural cycle, yes we lost fish but there are also some still in there

the people that want to man up and still fish hard will be rewarded and the people that cop out and blame it on the rain wont catch any

just my 2cents

[rayke1938]

What is happening at NPD at the moment is exactly what happened at Hinze and Lenthalls when they had a sudden influx of water after a long dry spell.

The problem at NPD was exacerbated by the nature of the terrain and several rainfall events that promoted a large amount of regrowth on the previously submerged flats without any increase in water level.Before the rain all the flats were covered with near impenetrable undergrowth and trees up to 20 feet high.

All this is now in the process of decomposing. When this happened at the Hinze the fish seemed to move into the deeper water to escape but this doesnt seem to have happened at NPD with most of the fish being caught in shallower water.

There are still redclaw there but you have to move your pots around.

Shrimp are bountiful so it isnt a food supply problem.

The few fish that I have kept recently have had empty stomachs and quite a few of them have been hooked in the side of the head which points to an aggression not a feeding strike.

When the dam first opened all the fish had full stomachs and would regurgitate small boneys and shrimp when caught.

Also very few fish have been caught on bait with the fish showing no sign of schooling up in their usual haunts.

I dont believe that problem is caused by overfishing as in the past there would be a flotilla of boats sitting on one spot day after day for weeks at a time and everyone catching fish.

A large number of fish certainly have gone over the wall but when the vegetation finally breaks down and oxygen levels return to normal I believe that things will return to normal.

Cheers

Ray

[chris_stewart14]

Agreed boys... I think it's probably a culmination of a little bit of everything here. Opinions are like a$$holes. Everyones got one Unless anyone can speak Bass then I guess we'll just haveto wonder where they have all gone for the time being.

Chris

[Dinodadog]

Its very hard to read what is going on in other peoples minds by reading the few words that are written here. I am not one to cry over spilt milk I was only stateing facts as I have seen them. Just to show I dont stand still I went out this morning and got into double numbers for the first time in 4 weeks, you ripper.

[shayned]

wallyfly wrote:

The decline in the bass catch numbers in NPD makes one wonder just how many went over the spillway during the four periods that the gates were open. If the numbers are to be compared with the number of lung fish returned from the spillway to the dam and assuming the lungfish numbers to be much , much lower than bass and yellowbelly in the first place, plus the fact that bass run downstream to breed, the numbers of fish lost could be ENORMOUS and would take years to recover providing we don't have more floods and the dam is restocked to it's maximum capacity. Food for thought Fishos, Dino and I have caught 120 bass in a morning session in the past but it's not happening now. Tight lines. :cheer: Ian M

Hey Ian,

This isn't the first time that NPD has gone over,how did you cope last time? How long after the last overflow event did you catch 120 bass in a session? What size were they? When has this dam ever been stocked to it's maximum capacity?

Cheers,

Shayne

[elops]

wallyfly wrote:

The decline in the bass catch numbers in NPD makes one wonder just how many went over the spillway during the four periods that the gates were open. If the numbers are to be compared with the number of lung fish returned from the spillway to the dam and assuming the lungfish numbers to be much , much lower than bass and yellowbelly in the first place, plus the fact that bass run downstream to breed, the numbers of fish lost could be ENORMOUS and would take years to recover providing we don't have more floods and the dam is restocked to it's maximum capacity. Food for thought Fishos, Dino and I have caught 120 bass in a morning session in the past but it's not happening now. Tight lines. :cheer: Ian M

How do you keep 120+ shrimps alive?

[Dinodadog]

Steeve look back through my posts they were caught on plastics,g/vibes and slugs that day. 12/7/o7. We catch a few on shrimp and are proud of it as this is where we started many years ago, but I dont have hundreds of dollars of lures in the shed just to look at they see plenty of water. HA HA Those bass were caught in a period of my life I will never forget I just hope I can do it again one day. 8th 21,10th 32, 11th 60,12th 74,13th 39,16th 21 18th 15,20th 21,22nd 39,and this went on for a few more days.

Shane half the fun of fishing is finding the fish as you know and we are not giving up on the place we are firmly anchored there we take the good with the bad and have done for years.

[elops]

Not having a go at YOU mate I am new to this forum and have not looked at your old posts.

But one thing that sticks in my mind is the comment B#*%IT that was scrawled accross my catch card and also the catch card of another much better Bass Angler than I when we both had 100 plus fish days in 2006 and I distinctly remember observing shrimp being used.

Regards Steve.

[Dinodadog]

I am mystified PM sent

[shayned]

Thanks for the info Dino, a wealth of knowledge and willing to share as usual. That was a pretty amazing run of captures, I would have been happy with any of those days.

You're right though the thrill of the chase and what might be, just keeps you casting. Sure beats the hell out of daytime telly.

[wallyfly]

Shayne, The last time the dam went over we used not fish from boats. You were probably too youn g to remember. We , the public , were invited to assist in the recapture of lungfish and other species, which we did and were thanked by none other than the Minister of the day, Henry Pallischay, on site. [ circa 1998/99 ]

We did very nicely on fly in those days, Les James and I caught and released more than 150 in one session below the wall. Lots of small Bass but many over size plus tarpon and others. Many people enjoyed the sport until it became a killing pond for some who would take and keep everything they caught.

Dino and I caught more than 120 off the bank near the Mc Gavin View flags on slugs and plastics inn one session when the dam was at it's lowest. Virtually all over size up to 50+. No shrimps were used in that session.

élops, Your knowledge of keeping shrimps appears to be sadly lacking, aerated fish tanks at home and battery powered units until you can hang your shrimp bucket over the side of your boat.

Ask Wayne about the estimated stocking capacity and why the numbers have been controlled It has been a great fishery in the past and, properly managed, it will continue to be so. Ian M

[shayned]

Too young, how I wish.

Thanks for the reply, hopefully the information on the lake continues to be collected and the stocking management remains on track or even improves into the future, after all it is a pretty special fishery with a lot of people passionately committed to it.

Funnily enough I was at the dam when the recovery effort you mention occurred. I think I found my house a couple of days later and moved to the northside not long after. My infatuation with Lungies kicked off at around the same time.

[catch-fillet-release]

I have lived in Brisbane for 11 years and went fishing for the first time here at the NPD a couple of weeks ago - after some pestering from the six year old. Fortunately I live 5 mins drive from the dam, but I have been probably 5 or 6 times in the last fortnight, usually there in the evenings, and have not caught a cracker. I enjoy the peace that you get when you are catching nothing, but my son is not so interested in the serenity.... but, tomorrow could be the day they start biting!

cfr

[rayke1938]

CFR are you bank or baot fishing?

Cheers

Ray

[catch-fillet-release]

Hi Ray...

Fishing from the bank for us, have been going around forgans rest area, but might try closer to the dam wall next time.

cfr

[Dinodadog]

have a look at the PRFMA website and click onto lake samsonvale,then click onto hints and tips, then click onto bankside fishing