Fishing Australia

SNOWY LAKES

Experienced fly fishos are still notching up the most fish in lakes Jindabyne and Eucumbene, but trollers and bait fishos are also getting a few at times.

Bait fishos casting from the bank are getting a few on mudeyes under floats, and bardi grubs, scrub worms and artificial baits fished on a running sinker are also working well. If using a running sinker rig, 2 kg line will help no end because it allows you to cast a nice light sinker size 1 or less, far enough to get into the deep water where the rainbows hold during the day. Some anglers are using 2 or four pound braid to get maximum distance with light sinkers.

A 2 kilo trace around 70 cm long is ideal, and a size 12 or 14 hook will get you loads more fish than anything bigger. Mould artificial baits to this, or pin the grub or worm through one end.

Importantly being able to use a light sinker means the bait has less chance of coming off on the cast, and it also allows the trout to take the bait more freely.
Rainbows school, so where you find one you often find many more, especially when the sun gets lower and the trout move in to feed, in which case you don’t need to cast as far.  Trout fishing can be hit or miss at the best of times, but when you find a patch, a little bit of finesse goes a long way…

BEACHES

Rough or calm, recent storms or not, identifying the best gutters is extremely important each time you beach fish. A spot that produced heaps of salmon or tailor could easily be a dud spot on a the same tide a week later if the sand has moved significantly. There are many other factors that come into play, and that;s why each week I get reports of boom or blank fishing from different fishing groups.

Spend time learning how to read a beach, go for a surf and look for fish or feel the current for yourself if possible. Most of all have a good look right along the beach, or change beaches all together if you can’t find some deeper darker looking water, or chase bream around the rocky corners instead. Lifes a beach with beach fishing once you get a feel for it.

CICADAS IN THE AIR.

By now surely every one who has visited the coast as noticed the cicadas which can be deafening at times. These are a favorite food of bass, but bream, estuary perch, and many other species also eat them.

A small lure or fly that represents a cicada is sure to get a reaction when fished at dawn dusk and night along banks that hold lots of cicadas.

At night fish will roam much further into the middle of pools far from cover. Don’t expect bucket loads of fish, but the surface strikes are exciting fishing by all accounts.

Further downstream near the river mouths jewfish remain challenging but reliable for keener lure casters using softies and live baits fished at night.

GAME FISHING

The main concentration of striped marlin has yet to settle down, and this is probably a couple of months of yet when the east Australian Current settles down into some more consistent eddies. In the meantime most ports along the south coast have recorded them, along some black and a small number of blue marlin.

Switch baiting is the best option, and a small stripey lure out the back can break the boredom if things are slow. However once balled up bait and or marlin are spotted, put away the small rods, they will only get in the way and spoil your chances.

Mahi Mahi and rat kingfish and small number of yellowfin can also be found along the shelf at times.

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos