Headlines: Fishing has been very good and the lead up to the Christmas break is looking really good for a few Trout. We have continued to get some nice rain and the trout have been biting very well of late. All methods have been producing.
Trading hours over the Christmas period
Friday 21st 9am - 7pm
Saturday 22nd 7am - 5.30pm
Sunday 23rd 7am - 3.30pm
Monday 24th 9am - 5.30pm
Christmas Day - Closed
Boxing Day 7am - 5.30pm
Thursday 27th 9am - 5.30pm
Friday 28th 9am - 5.30pm
Saturday 29th 7am - 5.30pm
Sunday 30th 7am - 3.30pm
Monday 31st 9am - 5.30pm
New Years Day - Closed
Normal trading after this period.
Flyfishing
Rivers:- Plenty of rain in the area has seen some good flows in the streams and plenty of fish on the chew.
Hatches continue to be exceptional this week in many of the popular streams. The last two hours of daylight have been the most productive although you can get some nice fishing by searching during the day too. Many anglers have been leaving the water too early and missing out on some of the best fishing that can be had on our streams. Fishing right into the dark provides many more opportunities to cast at rising fish. Being on the water at first light is another key time.
Best flies have been Adams parachutes, Klinkhammers, Blue wing olive parachutes, Elk Hair caddis and Beetle patterns, Wulff's and Humpies are good too at present.
The Thredbo has produced some great fishing this week and also the Eucumbene. Small high mountains streams will be great as the weather warms up over the coming weeks. There are already numbers of hoppers around and with the huge amount of grasses growing the hoppers should do well.
*Flylife Magazine photographer Brad Harris has had a couple of very productive sessions on the Thredbo, catching and releasing up to ten fish in a session. This was in the middle of the day also.
*Had another top arvo session on the Eucumbene with two mates and between us we caught and released fifteen fish. Best was about 45 cm long and most were Browns. One of the fish landed below.
Lake Eucumbene:- Excellent fly reports from Eucumbene continue this week. 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.
Fish have not been large as a rule but there certainly have been plenty to cast at of an evening.
The lake level has fluctuated a little over the last 14 days but is on the rise again this week.
Numbers of good reports have come from Buckenderra, Rushy Plains, and Old Adaminaby
*Fished Old Adaminaby with Sturg on Friday night for two small Browns, Sturg got a very long Brown which was a bit poor. All were released. There were good numbers of fish rising and quite a few Caddis, Midge and a few Tadpoles. Lake looks fantastic in some of the soaky corners with lots of grass and weed. Midge patterns and Craig's Nightime were the best patterns.
Lake Jindabyne:- There are still numbers of Midges hatching in Jindabyne. The lake is rising rapidly and flooding plenty of grassy bays. As the conditions warm there will be bigger hatches and plenty of fish rising. Reports suggest that the fish have slowed a little on the Midge but this will change when the weather warms again.
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 as the full moon approaches.
Best areas to look at in Jindabyne are Kalkite, Creel Bay, Curiosity Rocks, Hayshed and Hatchery Bay.
Lake Tantangara :- The lake has risen slightly and will be fishing well this weekend. Fish should be in numbers around the edge on the flooded ground. Well worth a look.
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.
Talbingo:- No reports
Baitfishing :-
Bait fishing has been very good in Eucumbene with good Browns and Rainbows coming in from the Old Adaminaby and Seven Gates area.
*Jimmy Savitsky from Canberra reports below.
I tried Seven Gates from Thursday nite until Sat morn and while its pretty slow going and generally it was several hours between bites - I landed 8 rainbows from a pound to 750g so not a bad result. Michael from the store kindly allowed me to purchase some mudeyes over the phone and left them outside for me to pick up after you closed on Thurs but after all that I didn't get anything on the mudeyes! They would just sit under the float for hours without being touched, altho one dissapeared so maybe that was a hit. Thanks for that anyway very helpful service. All the fish were caught on Sherbet Gulp and Lime Twist powerbait. Anytime seemed to be a good time to catch a fish even got a nice one on Friday at 2pm. Casting only a short distance (5-8m) in very shallow water at night seemed to be the best method, I did hook some further out in deeper water at night too tho.
Tight lines.
We now have Bardi Grubs back in stock.
Mudeye's should start to come on over the next few weeks also and the fish will start to get on them soon.
Areas to look at in Jindabyne are Kalkite, Hatchery Bay, Creel Bay, Sids Bay, Clay Pits, Stinky Bay and Hayshed Bay.
In Eucumbene try the Seven Gates or Old Adaminaby.
Best colours in Powerbait have been Lime Twist, Orange, Sherbet and Lemon Twist.
The new Gulp Trout Bait is a new 55% stronger scent . Chunky Cheese and Rainbow Candy have been the the pick of the colours.
Try the two hook rig below for best results.
