Manton Dam.
Lost to recreational fishing?
Hard to remember a build up when just about everything has fished so well.
As we have suggested many times this year, this is the best season we can ever recall for Coroborree, and now Hardies and Shady Camp freshwater would have to be included in that statement. The recent wet week slowed things down, but only marginally, and these spots are now back to their productive best, with lots of fish and many good ones mixed in.
However star turn at the moment has to belong to Manton Dam! A reduced water level seems to have contributed to a metamorphosis from ugly sister to princess! Virtually overnight Manton is fishing like a true Top End Billabong. No longer the sole domain of stealthy figures making secret midnight trips to troll deep divers that would put a nuclear sub to shame in a diiving contest, Manton is producing quality fishing for barra and saratoga, in daytime, to lures cast trolled and on fly!
In years past the only way to fish this joint was to pull maxi divers through the forest of deadwood deep in the old channel, preferably at night, and, I gather, often accompanied by some mysterious voodoo and sign language. The idea of casting or trolling the edges was ludicrous, all fish caught were black backed monsters, and the lures and tecniques were closely guarded secrets!
My, how things change. Brenton Marschke, previously one of the aformentioned secret society of Manton Madness Maniacs, admitted during the week that it was fishing so well as to compare it to Coroborree or one of the other billabongs. Many are getting fish of size casting into the lillies and at rockbars, and trolling the edges and lillies is producing bags of good big fighting fish, clean and edible!
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| Paul Enright has been getting a few like this over the last couple of weeks just trolling the rock bars at Manton Dam |
Which begs the question - why is this? The dam has been stocked for well over a decade, but the fish, though large, were ellusive. I know of one crew, new to town, who went out and caught their first barra ever last week, and three more good fish to match.
Is it the lower water levels that have bought this on, or has the dam, the stocking and the fishery reached a maturity that augers well for future years?
It has always been a mystery that our Manton Dam never seemed to reach the heights of similar stocked waterways such as Awoonga and Tinaroo. Perhaps we have turned the corner, and on our very doorstep have produced a potential barra heaven, accessible and fishable by all, especially tourists!
With the pressure that Coroborree is under, this would be a welcome addition to our options, especially if the fishing keeps on going into the wet season.
However, there is a snake in the woodpile!
Rumour has it that the water levels have been deliberatley dropped in order to assess the dam as a future water storage area for the fast expanding Greater Darwin. Since this was the original purpose of the dam, that would make economic sense. But the same rumour is suggesting that if so the area would be closed to recreation: fishing waterskiing etc, the same fate as Darwin River Dam. Now that would be a courageous call.
Many, if not most of the Queensland impoundments are also domestic water storage facilities, yet they have been successfuly used for recreation for decades.
Surely, after years of improving infrastructure, adding roads, a park and picnic areas, and a decent boat ramp, to say nothing of the far sighted effort to stock with Barramundi, surely the powers are not considering closing it to recreation!
If that were proposed as the future of Manton Dam, I suggest that the government who brings in such a ridiculously short sighted decision should take a quick check on their day jobs!
They'll need them! |
