A view only a flyfisher could love - clumps of rotting weed along a Eucumbene shore. Perfect midge habitat going forward!
On a beautiful winter day you can find yourself fishing in shirt sleeves, staring into crystal clear waters in a permanent state of anticipation and expectation. The prospect of a large brown cruising the bank hunting the yabby beds through the boulders is a big draw at this time of year.
There doesn't seem to be a huge advantage to being on the water early. There are often fog banks over the lakes until 10 o'clock which miraculously burn off when the sun rises high enough, and you don't get the best polaroiding until the sun is high.
Good polaroiding conditions.
This is pleasant fishing. If you're in a boat you can hunt out banks with the best prospects. Look for the dark clay edges where the yabby beds are being exposed to the air by falling lake levels – which happens most of the winter months before the snow melt. If you're driving, pick a spot where the wind blows offshore. If there's an ephemeral creek running into the lake, fish there.
Then there's the other extreme when four layers is still one too few! The wind howls, the sun remains hidden all day, and even after lunch, the night's frost lingers in the shadow of the boulders. If it rains, it’s like being attacked by needles. But if you can stick at it, the results can be worth the effort. No pain, no gain.
Lake Eucumbene has been experiencing a slow period on rainbows, but the browns are still there in good numbers. There are definitely fish around and some very good ones amongst them. The word from those who’ve donged a fish, is the stomach contents are exclusively yabbies.
This chunky Eucumbene brown was released, but I suspect it had been eating yabbies.
For flyfishers, this equates to intermediate or sinking lines and big flies. Rod Allen swears by the She Demon (black of course), but a Sex Dungeon is a good second choice, along with a Balanced Leech or anything that includes the word ‘Zonker’. As with all such things, it’s a matter of personal preference. Fished slow; even static these flies can be picked up by a cruising brown. Don't leave home without one of these big ‘yabby’ flies – even if they can be heavy and a pain to cast. Slow down on that backcast pause...
With the shortest day behind us but the coldest weather yet to come, fishing the Snowy Lakes may not be your first choice for a visit, but don't ignore the potential. And as the days start to stretch out and the margins start to warm, midge fishing should kick off. The banks are strewn with decaying weed, the perfect midge food source. In the middle of the day at Rushy Plain last week, the midge were thick on the mud banks, just not on the water... yet.
Rushy Plain flats.
Jindabyne has more fishers than usual. With a slow snow season, it seems visitors have been looking for another option. Local tackle sales have been higher than average apparently. Winter releases of ex brood stock have seen huge salmon being caught from the shore. All in a good cause, but perhaps a sad end to a useful life. Imagine that temporary sense of freedom.
I only have third-hand reports from Tantangara, one of which was a 6½ lb rainbow. It’s believable, and the pic was certainly of a very good fish. Given the lack of access and reduced fishing pressure as a result of multi-billion-budget-blowout Snowy 2.0, maybe it's not even surprising.
Polaroided Jindabyne brown. (Rod Allen pic.)
Lake levels
Lake Eucumbene is 4% higher than this time last year at 37%, and relatively stable, with only a small drop over the last month, thanks to some good rain and the portal from Tantangara running at full bore with its blue-green algae-laden water. Only in the Snowys!
Lake Jindabyne is rising and heading for 75%. Considerably higher, almost 20% more, than this time last year.
Tantangara Reservoir is at 13% after a rain spike. As per most recent seasons, it seems Tantangara levels are being kept low for the Snowy 2.0 works.
Hot tips
Book your spring fishing trip accommodation early. Anticipate good midge fishing as the shallows flood over that rotting weed… who knows, maybe it will be a caddis year too.
