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Lake Jindabyne Trout Fishing Report 21st January 2008 By Steve Williamson Last weeks fishing in the mountains Fishing continues to be very good with excellent boat downrigging. Average catch is 4 fish an hour if you know your stuff. Downriggers are the best way to get accurately where the fish are sitting in 35 feet at a thermocline. Jigging with soft plastics also at 30 to 40 feet deep is an exciting option at the moment also. Bait anglers have not been so lucky and the best fishing has been off deep dropoffs very early in the morning. Fly fishing on the lake has been also restricted to nights and early mornings. Yesterday we received the best rain for almost a month and this should see the river fishing improve. Next weeks predictions. A much cooler week of weather is predicted and even a little more rain. This will help the shore based anglers and will further improve the stream fishing. Lake Level Due to the hot weather over the last few weeks, the lake levels have dropped to about 58% and we will continue to see a drop in water levels now that summer is coming to an end. Lake Water Temperature With last week we had one day of a hot 40 degrees days the surface warmed up to nearly 24 degrees C but has dropped back a couple of degrees due to the cooler weather and rain. I can’t see the water getting any warmer now and we should start to see a drop over coming months. Best methods to catch a trout Best method – Trolling using downriggers on the lake. Best depth- Trolling or jigging at 25 to 35 feet deep. Best lake lure – Tasmanian Devil in various ‘yellow wing’ designs or my black/gold Tassie Devil. Best lake area – Deepwater off Lion and Cub Islands. Best fly method – dry fly – various beetle and hopper patterns Best river – Thredbo river above The Diggings Let’s now have a look at how to catch one in a little more detail. Boat Trolling Temperatures have put the fish into a thermocline and the best fishing by far is with downriggers. The fish are heading into deeper water by about 8am and you must be aware of that. Trout are also moving areas with the lake currents and so keep your options open. Lead line trolling with the aid of a trolling sinker has been the best way to get fish if you don’t have a downrigger. Try three colours (30 metres) early and three colours with a trolling sinker or deep diving lure later in the morning. The Tasmanian Devil number 82 or 89 have been good and Tasmanian Devil number 36 ‘Yellow wing’ has by far been the best overall lure to use on the lakes over the past month. My new black/gold Tasmanian Devil has been very good for downrigging. Some of the better trolling areas this month will be ‘Hatchery Bay’ and ‘Hayshed Bay’. ‘Sid’s Bay’ through to ‘Rushes Bay’ will fish well early in the day for big Brown Trout. Lake Spinning Best lure spinning has been on the lake but fish are still being caught in the Thredbo on small Rapalas in the sinking variety. The best spinning will be early and late in the day and fishing where there are steep drop offs with plenty of rocks will be the best areas. Bays like ‘Creel’, ‘Hatchery’ and the ‘Snowy Arm’ all fish well. As the sun rises, change to a ‘Tassie’ and cast further out over drop offs, letting the lure sink before you retrieve with a slow wind. Best areas have been down at the South Arm or near Banjo Patterson Park. River Spinning On the Thredbo river, a variety of lures will work, but the best will be small bladed spinners, like the Gillies Spina’ or ‘Celtas’ used over the weed beds will be best early. By far floating Rapalas have been best for fishing the slower moving runs and the pools. Lake Bait Fishing. (Primarily most rivers and streams in the Snowy Mountains Region are fly and lure only, We recommend that you first check with the Department of Primary Industries (NSW Fishing rules) as to which rivers in the area you can legally bait fish in. IF IN DOUBT DON’T BAITFISH IN RIVERS!) Bait fishing will improve over this month and scrub worms and tiger worms under a float will still be the best baits. Teamed up with power bait will help your catch rate considerably. Another bait worth suspending under a float is the old faithful grasshopper which is a bait you don’t often seen used much these days but they work a treat and there are plenty about at the moment however you might need the kids with a butterfly net to help you collect the bait. Best bait fishing areas are ‘Creel Bay’, ‘Hatchery Bay’ and ‘Curiosity Rocks’. Another great area is the bottom of ‘Snowline Caravan Park’ near ‘Widows Creek Inlet’. Lake Fly Fishing At the moment the lake fly fishing is best at night. Some of the best lake fly fishing is during the coming months as the water cools and this year with so much weed around the edges of the lake we should see some big fish caught. Try any of the streamer patterns such as ‘Mrs Simpson’ and ‘Williamson’s Gold Fish’. Olive green nymphs and shrimp patterns are also worth a try. The ‘South Arm’, ‘Creel Bay’ and ‘Kangaroo Bay’ are all great. River Fly Fishing On the rivers, the Thredbo the hopper fishing season is now in full swing and there is plenty of evening rises and fantastic dry fly fishing. The Alpine streams are still looking OK and plenty of small fish are being caught on dry fly also. Fly selection is not too critical in these streams but placement is critical or else you just scare all the fish. Try a small Royal Wulff or Royal Humpy and a white moth fly is also not a bad option. Well worth a look at the lower Mowambah near the weir on the Dalgety Road. NEWS Don’t forget the Bestons Trout Challenge being held at Snowline Holiday Park on the 16th, 17th and 18th of February, just call Snowline on 02 64562099 to book. This will be a fun event and plenty of lucky entry prizes even if you can’t catch a trout! Plenty of lucky draw prizes also for the kids and some fun casting events as well. Downrigging Course On the 23rd February I will be holding another one day downrigging course and if you want to learn more then give me a call or e-mail on swtrout@airlan.com.au. Places are limited and the cost is $100. Call me at the shop on 02 64561551 for bookings GUIDING If you would like some personal guiding, I will be available over the coming months for fly fishing tuition and lake trolling trips. Lessons can be booked from 2 hours and trolling trips from 3 hours to a full day. If you want to know more about the latest in fishing conditions just give me a call on 02 64 561551 or check out my web site at www.swtroutfishing.com.au and I am also starting to build my new web site www.fishingcourses.com.au so have a look at it and I would be grateful for your feedback. Until next month, hope you catch the big one. Steve Williamson Lake Jindabyne Trout Fishing Adventures.