IF YOU begin to think there’s something fishy about the traffic flowing between Tamworth and Sheba Dam this weekend – or anywhere leading to the dams near Nundle – then you would be right. And you’d better get out of the way.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There’s expected to be a rush of weekend sportsmen on the road to bagging some big ’uns.
The restocking of the dams with some big fish earlier this week will have set any mad fisherman off. There were about 80 big brood stock trout let loose in the dam and they’re likely to be a big target for any self-respecting trout fisherman.
In fact, says Tamworth trout club president Laurie Muldoon, plenty of them will be heading to Sheba to hook a big one. And if you know the two interconnected dams up there, you will know that the prospect of plenty of fishermen around the shores sets the scene for some pretty heavy traffic and tangled lines.
“It will be a stampede, because they really are trophy fish. Usually they’re hard to catch, but it’s rewarding. The fact big fish like this are released into the dams makes it good sport, where the odds for the fishermen are pretty well much improved,” Mr Muldoon said.
While the Tamworth Trout Fishing Club meets once a month on a Tuesday night at the Tamworth Hotel for strictly fishy business, they get much more satisfaction out of doing their releases with the department and running fishing clinics.
Fisheries officers Ron Smith and Craig Watson were among some fishing club members who helped unload the rainbow trout this week and release them into the wilds of the waters at Sheba.
The stock, about three years old and past their productive best from the Ebor fish hatchery, are fair game for fisherman, according to Mr Muldoon.
He reckons it’s a captive pool and plenty of people will be there to bag what they can – within the game limits – this weekend.
So, he’s among those who reckon the road to Sheba will be very well travelled over the next week or so.
In a couple of weeks, the department will also look at putting another 4000 fingerlings and fry fish in some regional streams, including the Gwydir and Namoi systems, including offshoots like the Macdonald near Bendemeer, and even dams like Malpas, Beardy Waters and Dumaresq.
It is all part of the 2015/16 fish-stocking season in NSW waterways, with Department of Primary Industries fish hatchery staff responsible for the releases.
According to Mr Watson, the Sheba stock are mostly between three and four kilos each and great trophy catches.
Last season about five million native fish, trout and salmon were released into NSW waterways.
