Fishing Clarrie Hall Dam, Nthn NSW

[Gigantor]

Am heading down to Clarrie Hall Dam shortly and am interested in hearing from regular fishos to this dam as to :

(1) How the dam has been fishing lately?

(2) What technique works best on this dam?

Haven't fished this dam before and am keen to understand it's specifics.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

Pete

[Roo]

Can't help with latest info Pete, but literally just passed a map on the office wall and thought about having a flick in there soon. We've usually done pretty well in there by targeting the edges of the lily pads, particularly where the bottom slopes away gently. Usual bass lures apply here but I usually do well with 3" sliders, rigged on a 1/8th jighead and popped ontop of a lily pad then dropped over the edge to fall down the face of the weed, then slow rolled back. Also found Vibe baits do ok but depends on the mood of the fish. I have'nt fished the dam since before winter so I've got no idea if the fish are schooled up or dispersed. if they are schooling, then best concentrations will usually be in the lower half of the dam towards the wall, if the edges are fishing well then the the Islands in the top half always have produced well for me. If your fishing Kayak, you can head right up the very top where the creek feeds in, again, not sure if thats where the fish will be...but it sure looks nice. if bringing a boat then don't forget to remove petrol motor and tank.

And a camera.....dont forget to bring your camera, this has to be one of the prettiest dams around.
Cheers Roo.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e351/orbyroo/Fishing%20stuff/th_ClarrieHallspots.jpg (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e351/orbyroo/Fishing%20stuff/ClarrieHallspots.jpg)http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e351/orbyroo/Fishing%20stuff/th_P1021403.jpg (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e351/orbyroo/Fishing%20stuff/P1021403.jpg)http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e351/orbyroo/Fishing%20stuff/th_P1021405.jpg (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e351/orbyroo/Fishing%20stuff/P1021405.jpg)

[bugman]

Pete,

Big story on the front page of the Tweed Daily yesterday about the high levels of Blue Green alge in there at the moment.

Roo - we're nearly neighbours. Next you want to head up for the day - give me a bell. I can't take the motor off the Brooker. I'm pretty much available on any day. The weir at Murwillumbah has been fishing well. Holding heaps of bait lately.

Brett

[Roo]

No worries Brett,
I missed the Algae story, just looked it up online, nasty. myself and Themissus have fished the river from Byangum bridge up to the first rock impasse, only a couple of Kms. some good ground there too. Have yet to go the other way down towards the Weir, might try that next time. We often fish below the weir from mur'bah up to it... a good mix of fresh and salt species. nothing like getting flathead for a feed, some cheeky little bream and jacks for fun then tangle with a cranky bass all in the same stretch.;) ;D

Cheers Roo.

[crab man]

Hi guys fished there today , got 15-20 so bass kinda lost count no big ones 37cm was the best heaps of 25 cm , we just trolled the weed egdes untill we hooked fish then casted the area. look around Snake island (the first one from the ramp) , Planty of fish fell to a wide range of lure to mate my fav was a little black and white "smak" lure its been doing very well , .
Good luck sorry no photos the camera sh*t it self
Cheers Craig

[themissus]

Cheers for the update crab man, we were thinking about having a lash on the weekend. Not sure whether to hit the dam or try above the weir? I like Dunbible creek too......
Brett we'll give you a yell if we head up.
Cheers Kim.

[Gigantor]

Thanks, Roo & Bugman. Yep found the Tweed Daily article. Not good news at all. Would you expect this to still be a problem in 2 weeks?

Thanks, Crabman and Kim. Sounds like might be better fishing below the dam hey? What would be the best launching spots above and below the weir?

Thanks,

Pete

[macca]

Crabman

Thanks for the update, was there any real sign of that blue green algae stuff there all warning us about...is it as bad as it sounds?

Cheers

[Roo]

Thanks, Roo & Bugman. Yep found the Tweed Daily article. Not good news at all. Would you expect this to still be a problem in 2 weeks?

Thanks, Crabman and Kim. Sounds like might be better fishing below the dam hey? What would be the best launching spots above and below the weir?

Thanks,

Pete

Above the weir, The Bridge just out of Murwillumbah(Byangum?) is an easy launch for a little electric tinnie...we've done it with our little 3.5m Quintrex and Subaru Forrester. any boat much bigger or using a 2wd might be tricky as you need to back down over the gravel and sandy river bed....and I haven't looked at it since early this year either.

Below the weir there is a boat ramp in town but you'll have a fair haul up towards the weir. petrol motors allowed in the river below the weir and you'll need it too. I'm not sure how far away from the weir you are supposed to stay, I've been right up to it before but since read that you're not supposed to go within "X" mtrs of it. The river below the weir has lots to offer. worth checking out for a mixture of species.;D

[Gigantor]

Thanks, Roo.

I'm a kayak fisho. So I don't necessarily travel to far too quickly. A typical session would be 4 to 6 hours and travel about 10 klms. But the beauty of the kayak is that you can put in virtually anywhere.

When you say the "bridge" just out of M'bah, is that the one where you have to turn left onto Bakers Road to get to the ramp/launch area? Oxley Creek runs off directly opposite too? If so, is the weir upstream or down stream of the launch spot?

Thanks very much.

Cheers, Pete

[Roo]

Yup, Thats it. Weir is not far down stream.

[StevenM]

Pete

I have a good launch spot out from M'Bah and there are lots of crossings as well

[crab man]

Crabman

Thanks for the update, was there any real sign of that blue green algae stuff there all warning us about...is it as bad as it sounds?

Cheers


Hi mate no reall sign of it to me , seemed pretty normal to us although we didnt go right up into the shallow bays where i think it is worse, Some bloke told us we should go or eat the fish etc etc , Who keeps the bass outa there anyways lol and not as if we drink the water there or even have a swim!! Seen a monster carpet snake sunbaking in a tree west of snake island that was pretty cool!!
Cheers Craig

[Roo]

I do....drink the water and eat the bass that is. The water in Clarrie is released into the river to supplement flow, so ultimately tweed shire residents do drink it....but only after its been tickled up by the treatment plant. The bass in there taste pretty good to me, I figure better to eat the stocked fish than the wild ones but then again, a fair percentage of the population in the river would be escapees from the dam. I will refrain from taking fish while ever there is a algae alert tho', better not to tempt fate.

Cheers Roo.

[crab man]

Hi roo nothing wrong with taking a feed of bass mate , im just not a fan of them :) I would drink the dam water if i had to but to take a bottle of water is not hard lol as for tweed shire water im sure it gets treated alot befor it hits the taps!
Chrees

[Roo]

Hi roo nothing wrong with taking a feed of bass mate , im just not a fan of them :) I would drink the dam water if i had to but to take a bottle of water is not hard lol as for tweed shire water im sure it gets treated alot befor it hits the taps!
Chrees

Definitely don't do that. all those filthy fish in it....and the odd fisherman answering the call of nature....eewww!:P

[crab man]

Hahaha Bass pooo, dont worrie normaly take a few stubbies just incase i run short of water ;) haha