Headlines:  Fishing has been very good over the Xmas period with some good rain, and over the last week some, very fine but hot days.  River fishing has been excellent.  Lakes have fired and overall some great fishing has been happening.

Flyfishing

Rivers:-  Plenty of rain in the area has seen some good flows in the streams and plenty of fish on the chew. 

More terrestrials have been hatching with the last week of hot weather.  There have been numerous Beetles on the wing with hoppers becoming more and more prevalent.  Searching during the day with a Beetle or Hopper is a great way to find some nice fish when all appears quiet. 

Evening rises have been excellent also with lots of Caddis and Mayflies in the hour or so before dark. 

Best flies have been Adams parachutes, Klinkhamers, Blue wing olive parachutes, Elk Hair caddis and Beetle patterns, Wulff's and Humpies are good too at present. 

Lake Eucumbene:- The lake has been steadily rising for the last week or so and excellent fly reports from Eucumbene continue .  Fish on midges and small wets have been common.  The lake is looking fantastic at Buckenderra, Seven Gates, and Yens Bay  with lush grassy bays and quite a few fish moving in them early and late. A Midge pupa, Stick caddis, or small Nymph fished with a slow twitchy retrieve will produce in these areas.  A beetle pattern on wind lanes during the day is another successful method at this time of year.  Woolly Buggers at other times of the day and especially off deeper rocky points can turn up some nice Browns.

Polaroiding from the bank and boat has started to be a good option also with sunny bright conditions.

Evenings have been best with more fish rising in close and depending on the night there has been some great Midge fishing or after dark searching with Mudeye patterns.

Rising water has provided some great fishing areas.  Here is a pic taken on Saturday night.  Great for early morning polaroiding and plenty of aquatic food for the fish to search for.

*Myself and a few mates have had a couple of evening sessions on the lake last week.  Thursday night saw two of us catch eight fish between 35cm and 45cm. A mixture of Browns and Rainbows all caught on Midge pupa and Midge Balls.  A repeat trip to the same area on Saturday night saw better conditions for hatches and fishing but fewer fish.  We only landed one between three anglers but had plenty of shots at rising fish but they were a little bit tricky on the night.  Best Brown for that session pictured below. 55cm on a Mudeye pattern.

Lake Jindabyne:-  The lake appears to have steadied at present but the water is still high amongst the grass in the bays. Due to water temps early morning  is the best option although some reports from evening sessions have been good.   

Midge Balls, Midge Pupa, Stick Caddis, Olive Nymphs, Black Nymphs, Craigs Nightimes, Muddler Minnows, Scotch Poacher, Fuzzy Wuzzy's and Matukas are the patterns of choice at the moment.

A Mudeye pattern after dark should turn up a few good fish.

Best areas to look at in Jindabyne are Kalkite, Creel Bay, Curiosity Rocks, Hayshed and Hatchery Bay.

*Dan Radovanovic caught nine Rainbows all bar one on Sherbet Powerbait the other on a Scrubworm.  Jindabyne was the location.

*Jack from Cooma caught a great 1.7kg Brown at Eucumbene again on Powerbait this time in Rainbow colour.

 Lake Tantangara :-  The lake has risen and will be fishing well this weekend.  Fish should be in numbers around the edge on the flooded ground.  Well worth a look with a drifted hopper pattern a great option.

Trolling and Spinning 

Eucumbene:-   With the rising water launching will become progressively easier.  Below are photos from Buckenderra on the weekend with a solid boat being launched easily.  Plenty of trolling access from there now.

Launching access is available at Old Adaminaby, Anglers Reach, Dam Wall and Buckenderra.

Trolling has started to improve in the lake.  There are good numbers of fish being caught trolling around the edges of grassy bays, in  the deeper water around the Western shoreline and also the river mouth area.

Small lures like the new Rapala CD1 are dynamite in the shallow areas and are best fished off the rod tip.  In deeper water throw one on behind a Cowbell or Fender for best results.  Deep diving Stumpjumpers and Ultra Deep Merlins are great in the deep bays or when drifting and casting.

Tassies that have been working are numbers 55, 89, S12, Y94, 50, and Y82

 RMG Scorpions are also great at this time of year.

 Best areas have been the Dam wall, Old Adaminaby, Grace Lea, and the area off Seven gates.

Jindabyne:-  With the rising levels the weed beds are the place to troll.  Being in close is the key as is an early start.  If you really want to catch a fish being on the water as the light starts to improve is essential.    As with Eucumbene, Tassies and shallow running minnows are the go in close.  Small Rebel Crickhoppers and CD1's have been very good too.

Leadcore has been better over the deeper water and a minnow like a Rapala, Scorpion, Attack or Strike Pro will catch you a fish or two.

Tassies with gold and greens have been the main colours producing this week.

The quality of some of the fish has been superb with real football like condition.  Keep an eye on how hard you set the drag on your reel, as the first hit and run from some of the better Rainbows have been absolute howlers. 

Best spots to troll have been Sids Bay, Creel Bay, Kangaroo Bay, the bank between  Sid's and Kalkite and the islands adjacent to the township.

*Matt, James and Andy Talyor had an interesting session spinning the lake.  Matt landed one, James landed three and poor old Andy, who had given his new rod to James, missed out.  Fish were all Rainbows and one that was dropped looked near 2 kilos.  Vibrax minnow spins and Gold Stiffy's were the gun lures.

Talbingo:-  No reports

Bait fishing has been very good in Eucumbene with good Browns and Rainbows coming in from the Old Adaminaby and Seven Gates area.  

We now have Bardi Grubs back in stock.

Judging by the amount of Dragonflies on the wing of late Mudeye's should start to produce a few fish over the next few weeks.

Areas to look at  in Jindabyne are Kalkite, Hatchery Bay, Creel Bay, Sids Bay, Clay Pits, Stinky Bay and Hayshed Bay.

Try the two hook rig below for best results.