Lake Jindabyne Trout Fishing Report.

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Lake Jindabyne Trout Fishing Report.
For 21th March 2011
By Steve Williamson. –
Lake Jindabyne Trout Fishing Adventures.
0408 024436                      Shop -02 64561551

NEWS
Last Week –
I spent a lot of time on the streams and rivers last week in various weather conditions and overall  managed to find some fish in most locations, however sometimes with a little difficulty catching them. The Thredbo River is still holding some good fish and surprisingly mostly rainbows that even look like they may be is some sort of confused spawning mode, often seen in pairs or small groups. Either they are very late or very early if they are because rainbows don’t normally spawn until mid winter. Anyway the fishing has been good however the river was clear and the fish a little spooky with evenings the best time to fish. The Moonbah River is also fishing well and although the water was a little dirty, after some rain, the fish could often be coaxed to take a dry fly even when they were not rising. On the lake the boat trolling also varied and often the fish came on the bite at strange times and the fishing was better later in the morning rather than early.

This Week –
If there is to be any rain it’s going to be early in the week with a possible 20mm on Monday which again will be interesting for the river levels which at the moment are looking perfect.
The rest of the week will be mostly dry and temperatures ranging from around 10 deg C to 20 deg C which makes for pleasant fishing conditions. I would expect that there will be no change from the fishing conditions of last week with the same lures and flies working and some great fishing expected if you just persist as conditions change from hour to hour.

LAKE LEVEL and TEMPERATURE
The lake water temperature has steadied to about 17 to 18 degrees C.
The lake level is at 80% and is dropping slightly at the moment.
Let’s have a look at what the fishing is going to be like over the next few weeks.

Trolling.It was still worth having a downrigger out later in the morning last week, we trolled for two hours yesterday morning with only a couple of hits, then something changed and without us doing anything different to earlier, we ended up with 7 fish and another few lost at the boat in the next two hours. Reports are that there are still some good browns being caught on bigger Rapalas up near Waste Point.
It is now worth trolling around some of the bays early up, keeping a little closer to the shore and use surface lures and two colours of lead core line.
Lure colours are also changing now depending on the light conditions. Yellowing lures, with the number 50 Frog pattern, the SW Lime Green Yellowwings and Y Freddo very popular for the brighter days. Y48 and Holographic (mostly brown lures) Tasmanian Devils in the Duel Depth best in the very early morning, later evening or when it’s cloudy. It’s still worth a try deep down deep off downriggers in the middle of the day and yesterday we were still at 45 feet deep. The better lures are my SW Black one side and Orange the other is going well and so is the Y Freddo.
Rapalas, (Rainbow Trout or Perch) trolled off lead lines is the best lure for catching the brown trout or bigger Atlantic Salmon.
Best areas to try are East Jindabyne islands, Hayshed Bay, Lion and Cub Islands and the South arm have been fishing very well. It might be worth trying Sid’s Bay early in the morning.

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!)
The lake level is pretty steady at the moment and the fishing is improving again with reports of a few bigger browns being caught late evening and into the night.
Powerbait, worms or bardi grubs off the bottom are still the best bet to catch a trout. Still not much happening with float fishing and mudeyes are impossible to get after all the rain and floods.
The big secret at the moment is to fish with bail arm open and make sure you grease the line to make sure you keep it out of the slime on the bottom of the lake. (Try silicone Muslin on your line so as not to damage it)
Best areas for bait fishing at the moment have been, Rushes Bay, Curiosity Rocks, Waste Point, The Snowy Arm and East Jindabyne pumping station.

Lake Spinning
Not too bad with the better time last week being the evenings around sunset and fish in the inlets for best results.
Small Celtas and Mepps in the shallows and it’s worth a cast using Rapalas as well. This time of year a touch of orange on your Rapala will help the strike rate.
Yellow wing Tassies are again doing best on the sunny days in deep water.
Anglers are still having good success using blades that resemble the goldfish we have in the lake.
Some of the better blades are TT Switchblade ‘Golden Boy’, Strike Pro Cyber Vibe 35 BLG and Cyber Vibe 50JU009. (note the goldfish usually bread at this time of year and the trout love to eat the little ones)

River SpinningThe Thredbo River is still fishing well with the lower sections now showing more fish than higher up. More fish have stayed in the river this season due to higher water levels.
Celtas (red and gold) are best or try the Mepps in black and orange.
Sinking Rapalas or lures that get a bit deeper for faster and deeper water.
Soft plastics have also been worth a try and we are having some luck but you must use heavier jig heads while the water is running so hard. If you want a challenge and some excitement then try using poppers. We have some new colours in stock now that are working a treat.

Fly Fishing LakeBetter this past week with a few more fish moving into the lake shallows.
Streamer patters are still best with green and black Woolley Buggers (Bead head) and Williamson’s Goldfish (maybe with added weight or sinking leader). Mrs Simpson and olive nymphs are also worth a try and again let them sink into deeper water as the shallow bays the water is warmer.
Fly Fishing Rivers
On the Thredbo the best fishing has still been by using a hopper pattern with a small dropper nymph.
The streams also fished better last week, now there is less water and I found that even without any risers, the trout were happy to take a yellow Humpy or a Knobby Hopper.
Well worth spending some time in the mountains, fishing the alpine streams, before it gets too cold.
For visitors to the Snowy’s we have a full range of fishing tackle for hire at my shop and fishing tours are now available.

Photos of the latest lake levels can be viewed at www.swtroutfishing.com.au

For more information on the latest fishing conditions, please call into –
STEVE WILLIAMSON’S TACKLE SHOP
             Shop 1 Snowline Centre, Kosciuszko Road Jindabyne 2627
Fishing Charters – Bait  and Tackle Supplies- Marine Supplies
P.M.B. 5 Jindabyne NSW 2627             E-mail  swtrout@airlan.com.au     www.swtroutfishing.com.au
Shop – (02) 64 561551  Fax – (02) 64 572991


Picture - Adam Begg with a nice atlantic salmon caught on a Steve Williamson Personalised Tasmanian Devil Lure.