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Fishing Report Archives:  Print friendly version
Archive Date: 15/02/2005
Headlines
Next report up-date will be 2nd of March - please call the store for current information on 02-6452-5538
* Spinning reel Clearance - Be Quick ONLY WHILE STOCKS LAST ! http://www.alpineangler.com.au/store/products.cfm?ID=108
The cooler weather has made the trout happier and we did get some better reports back in over the weekend. The best shore based fishing on the lakes is first light in the morning - and pre-dawn with either mudeyes or mudeye pattern flies. Trollers have been doing well using 3 colours of lead line and their down riggers for best results, working between 20ft to 30ft. The flyfishing on the high country rivers has been quite good with some great reports back in from those fishing dries and hopper patterns, again with early morning through to midday being best.Remember to call in to the store for a cuppa on your way through and we'll update any further details on the day 
Note:We have changed our opening time on Sundays to 8am during summer - refer to our home page for full opening hours.
NSW Fishing Licences:-Due to the amount of work involved with licence returns we are now ONLY offering fishing licences On-Line Via the NSW Fisheries web site with the use of CREDIT CARD PAYMENT ONLY !
You can actually buy one now yourself @
https://pnpnet.qvalent.com/OnlinePaymentServlet?cd_community=NSWFISH&cd_supplier_business=NSWFISHERIES&cd_currency=AUD
#Please allow a little time for us to process these as we may be busy.
Flyfishing
Rivers:- The high country rivers have fished very well over the last month , with a swing to hoppers in the last few weeks.Hopper fishing is great fun,and you only need to drift one along the steeper banks now to find a fish.Other patterns to have in your box at this time of the year include,yellow stimulators,royal humpies,royal wolfs, elk hair caddis, red tags,adams,klinkhammers and a few nymphs.Try fishing early morning through to mid-day and then again from around 6pm till dusk with the warmer weather.
Lake Eucumbene:- The lake has now started to slowly drop , with patchy fishing over the last few weeks with the hot and variable weather. The key is to get on the water early , pre-dawn through to midday being best.The midge fishing has now thinned right out, with a swing towards hoppers,beetles,stick caddis and mudeyes into the night & early morning. There have also been a few nice browns sneaking around the margins on tad poles. Select area's with plenty of grass down to the water and an of-shore breeze for best results. Catching a few hoppers first and keeping them in a container can also be a sneaky way of finding the fish a little quicker - just put half a dozen out on the water in the likely looking area's - If there's a fish in the area it wont take long to find it.You then need to get your hopper pattern out on the water in the vicinity as quickly as possible with out spooking the fish. The other trick worth practising is to try and "strip-strike" when you get a take with out lifting the rod to high. This will result in more hook-ups and less break-offs. If you also miss the take, your fly should also still be in the right vicinity for another take if the fish didn't feel the hook. You may also come across some fish grubbing around on stick caddis and tap poles , so try these patterns if you don't get a look in on a hopper. The mudeyes have really started to move over the last month,and we should see some of the best mudeye fishing in many years leading up to Easter.Try fishing a mudeye pattern either late into the night or again pre-dawn in the mornings, being the coolest times. Patterns worth having in your box include , Cubbits foam mudeyes, muddler minnows, fur flies, Craig's night times, tiahapy ticklers, mum's poodles etc .
Customer report Via Email :-
Hi Guys,I called in at your store on Thursday 3rd Feb and purchased a weatherproof jacket and some flies and things.Im a very novis fly fishermen and have had a fair bitch of a time trying to get help from tackle shops in my local area.Whilst in your store I received valuable and more than helpful, friendly advice on some basic fishing methods.I asked which flies were working and was sold some bead head olive and black woolly buggers and some brown woolly buggers and I have to say that thanks to your knowledge and advise, I caught and landed my first ever trout on a fly rod.It was a rainbow of about 1.5 pounds caught on the olive beadhead (which you sold me). I caught it in the rough shallows near the dam wall at Breamar bay( where you told me to try). I let it go as it my was first fish on fly and hoped this gesture would bring me good luck.
Day 2 of my trip saw me fishing with the bead head again with no luck early so I changed to the brown woolly bugger and stripped quite aggressively. Things were pretty quiet and it was about 11.45 am so I was thinking about having a lunch break. I gave it one more cast out into a ripple free part of a bay and began retrieving again with a fast aggressive strip when all of a sudden a big boiling swirl formed on the surface and huge bow lines honed on my fly coming like a steam train, I thought oh shit and kept stripping then bang!
Line started screaming off my reel and kept going, It took out all my fly line then my backing line started to go, I had about 2 turns of the reel left and thought it was all over so I started heading out a little bit deeper hoping he would stop which he did.I retrieved line as quick as I could getting all the backing line and most of the fly line back again, at this point he jumped and I got my first glimpse of this fish and with out a lie it would have been every bit of an 8 pound rainbow! Then he went again heading for Adaminaby at a rapid rate of knots.
Because I retrieved ten fly line by hand trying to keep the rod high and the contact tight I had a pile of fly line at my feet which decided to tangle and was heading for the runners on my rod, I said please stop so I could untangle it and he did momentarily before screaming off again.20 minutes or so had past and I thought he should get tired soon cause I was then slowly I worked him back a bit closer until soon I could see my leader clear of the water.I played a waiting game for a further 10 minutes while he swam around me like a circling shark and a got a close up look at this monster lump of a fish.
Much to my surprise I noticed a devastating sight that I had the fish hooked by the dorsal fin which sent shivers down my spine realizing I could lose it at any minute.I wanted to net it but thought heall just take off so I waited, then he jumped out of the water right in front of me as if to say good by and we parted company.My concern of the fly pulling through his fin became reality. I was disappointed to say the least but also ecstatic about what I had just experienced being my 2nd fish on fly and all. I was also pleased he got off because I felt like we both had a victory. On the last day a caught a nice brown of about 1.5 pounds on that brown woolly bugger with a slower retrieve who also put up a great fight.
So to cut a long story short, I feel on top of the world at the moment and its all due to your helpful , friendly advise and knowledge so thanks heaps!!!
Yours truly,
Craig Martin Orbost Vic
P.S Iall be back up later this year to buy a fly rod and reel off you. Thanks Again
Jindabyne:- Not a lot of change this week. The mudeye fishing after dark has been quite good , so try and fish into the night or early in the morning ( pre-dawn ) around area's with web beds when the margins are at their coolest.
Trolling
Terry Senior( Above ) and Ziggy from Canberra trolled Middling bank on Lake Eucumbene Sunday morning for 3 nice rainbows and dropped another 4. The boys used flatlines and Alpine cobra's in the "Alpine Special" and Flat fish in "fire tiger" colours.
This cooler weather has really improved the trolling, with some great reports back in over the weekend from both lakes.Generally the best fishing has been early in the morning from first light through to mid-morning. You will now do better using lead line and running downriggers , working down between 15ft and 40ft feet. Generally the best colours in the Tassie's have been Col S12,Y82,Y05, YFR ,89 & 55.Our own Alpine Cobras have also proven to be consistent fish takers in :- Alpine Special , alpine frog ,green ghost & pink bits all fishing well of late. The Sting cobra's from Tassie are also gaining quite a following with 16 unique colours now in our range.Minnows are also always worth having in your spread with RMG Scorpions in the new killer colour No 61 holographic crawfish , Stump Jumpers, baby merlins, Attacks and Rapala's all worth a swim. Best colours are gold & blacks, rainbow and browns trout patterns, tigers and pink/violets. The Merlin deep and Ultra deep minnows are one of my personal favourites, running between 3 & 4 metres on a flat line. Merlin Colours worth a try include the orange and green tigers, gold spots tail and yellow attractor.The Rebel crick hoppers also continue to fish well with the black one being the pick along with the Smilin jack version in black/gold. Running 3 colours of leadline can also help pull a few fish through out the day, getting your lures down around the 3 metre mark.We have also just received some great new colours in the Rapala minnow range with the "Muddler" , "Brown Muddler"and "Brook Trout" patterns looking fantastic ! The Rapala jointed shad raps have also gained quite a reputation for producing quality browns. We also carry a full range of the ever popular and proven Flat Fish , which seem to be making a come back - again !
Bob from Canberra, took mate from Darwin, Allan out for his first trout fish over the weekend.The boys fished out from Anglers Reach, trolling with leadline and Downriggers around the 15ft to 20ft mark.Best lures where Tassie devils in Cols 36 & 89 , which accounted for 12 nice rainbows and quite a few other smaller fish which where released.Bob recons they weren't like barra - but fun all the same !
Customer reports Via Email :-
Howdy Guys,
First of all, thanks for being open on a Sunday. Having made the decision to go fishing last Sunday, I needed to source a new rod following a mishap the previous weekend that caused the end of my current stick. So with confidence I set off from Canberra early in the morning knowing that the Alpine Angler would have what I needed.
Given the choice of a couple of rods,I opted for the second hand Strudwick.Taking your advice, and a few new packets of Squidgy wriggler's, I headed a kilometre or so downstream from the Skitube station along the Thredbo River. As usual, the water was crystal clear,offering a great view of the trout cruising the river. I was quite surprised how many fish were cruising around in the middle of the day in such shallow water.
Unfortunately I couldn't get too much interest in the Squidgies, so I threw a Berkley power minnow in the direction of a small school of what I assume were rainbows. This got an immediate reaction, and within a few cast and retrieves I had my first hook-up. After a short struggle it broke free, and that was the end of the action in that part of the river.
With the sun setting over the Rams Head Range I headed back upstream,
opting for a final session with a bright gold Halco Scorpion. On the first retrieve I hooked up a nice little 28cm rainbow, which put a nice cap on a thoroughly enjoyable day on the Thredbo River.
Sam Highley
Canberra
Jindabyne:- We have had some great reports back in from Jindabyne over the last few weeks. The best reports have come in form around Rushes bay, Waste Point and the Kalkite end. Both leadlining and flatlining have been productive, with most yellow-wing cobra patterns doing the job along with minnow patterns like RMG's, Merlins , Stump Jumpers and Hot N Tots being the pick.
Baitfishing
 Taylah Elliot from Queanbeyan (pictured above ) with her first ever trout. A nice 1.5kg brown caught fishing worms up at Jindabyne with her dad.
It looks like being a blinder mudeye season this year with some great reports coming in from both Eucumbene & Jindabyne over the last few weeks. Just remember with this warm weather that the best fishing will be late evening & pre-dawn through to early morning as that's when the lake margins are at their coolest, and the fish will come in. The best way to fish these is with a water fill bubble float, using a foam/rubber stopper bead to set the depth you want to fish. The best hooks are short shank size 10 or 8 black octopus or suicide patterns, hooking the mudeye through the wing case behind their head. Drawing below - BUT feel free to ask how to set these up when your in . It's also always worth having a bait on the bottom, particularly through the day. The best rig for this is using scrubbies with a Power bait dropper (pictured below). This rig has really proven itself over the last few seasons; with both options you really have it covered. Power bait naturally floats, so the distance you make your dropper is the distance you can expect your Power bait to be above the bottom. This means that fish will find your bait a lot quicker even if you have cast into weeds. If they don't eat the Power bait they have found your main bait a lot quicker. Best colours in the Power bait have been Orange, Sherbet, Lime twist and rainbow. The hook is important when fishing with Power bait and we get a special "single egg" pattern in from Gamakatsu just for the job - which has a short shank and ultra wide gape. Feel free to ask us to go over the rig next time your in if still unsure.We should also start to see some better mudeye fishing on the lakes of an evening as things warm up.
Mudeye Rig
Powerbait Dropper Rig
Best areas on Eucumbene include: Middling bank, Rushes bay at Frying pan, 7 gates,Below the Eucumbene River mouth up at Providence, yens bay, Breamar bay and along the dam wall.
Best area's on Jindabyne include: The clay pits in front of town, Hatchery bay, creel bay and Kalkite.
Jindabyne Dam Wall project Up-dates :- For detailed information regarding the work being carried out on the Lake Jindabyne Dam wall, including road delays etc go to :-
http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/LevelThree.asp?pageID=56&parentID=254&grandParentID=3
Lake Levels
Eucumbene 62 % and stable/fell only .2 %
Jindabyne 62 % and Stable
Tantangarra 7 % and Stable
Regards Scotto & Team  |
