A nice Eucumbene brown to help make the winter cold bearable.
Nearly spring
As we drift through the last month of winter, the evenings are already stretching out, with sunset now after 5.30 pm, and fishable light for at least an hour after that. Already we have a 12-hour fishing day if you’re keen!
Keith’s Eucumbene trip
Meanwhile, my good friend Keith, who’s been keeping the cobwebs out of my Pajero and Quintrex while I’m summering in Cornwall and Europe, spent a few days fishing out of Buckenderra. A fair amount of planning went into that trip, and he spent sufficient time with the likes of Rod Allen, Col Sinclair, and the other Steve, to get a reasonable gauge on the fishing in Lake Eucumbene.
Keith and Rod look pleased (and appropriately dressed) to head off for another winter session.
No real surprises. Enough browns to keep a good flyfisher interested, not much sign of the rainbows which appear to be in the doldrums – the boom/ bust fishery that would benefit from better management (in my opinion). Thank goodness for the resilience of the browns!
Keith fished a lot of the southern end of the lake and also launched the boat out of Old Adaminaby to get easy access to the Eucumbene arm of the lake. He fished big flies, mainly Woolly Bugger variations, on both floating and sinking lines. “Slow retrieved flies on fast sinking lines were the best”, he told me. The boys focused on soaks, and areas where there was a transition from soak to deeper water. All good advice to anyone thinking of fishing Lake Eucumbene in the next few months. You might even find Keith, the flyfishing equivalent of a religious fanatic (he claims it to be ‘mindfulness’!) huddled up on a lee shore incanting against the cold, with my boat nearby.
One of many on the Woolly Bugger.
Jindabyne
Jindabyne reports have been a bit scarce, but I’ve had one report of good brookies being caught in the Thredbo arm, and some quality browns coming out of deep-water spots, all the way from East Jindabyne to Waste Point.
Lake levels
Lake Eucumbene is closing on 35% compared with 46% this time last year. With lots of snow and rain, the lake has been rising steadily for the last month. Historically, 35% isn’t too bad considering, for example, that at the same time in 2021, the lake was just 25%.
After the usual decline through the first half of the year, Eucumbene is starting to slowly climb back up the 'tide' marks.
Lake Jindabyne is at 60.7% and has been rising steadily for around 6 weeks. It’s now exactly where it was this time last year, although back then it was actually falling.
Tantangara is at 24% and appears to have levelled off and perhaps even dropping a little after a steady rise. This time last year it was at 11.6%.
Fishy-looking water near the dam wall. (Rod Allen pic.)
Soon enough, we’ll be in spring and not long after that, the NSW river fishing season will kick off again, on Saturday 4 October. I’m taking bets on the likelihood of a snowy start to the season – we must be due one? All cause for optimism. If you’re planning a trip, book your accommodation early. I struggled to find somewhere to stay for a trip in early December!
I've missed these fish, can't wait to get back.
