The old bushie's adage that Murray cod come on the bite when wattle comes into bloom has come true in the past week. Several anglers tried their luck in the small Yerrabi Pond at Amaroo and at Burrinjuck Reservoir, with good results.
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Fly fisher Nathan Walker was the first to score, with a nice eight-kilogram fish at Yerrabi that took one of some big new flies he has been tying. He used an eight weight rod and weight forward eight weight line with a short leader and hooked the fish from the shore at 9 o'clock on a bitterly cold night. This was his second cod on fly in recent weeks.
Another angler used a surface lure for the first time and was rewarded with a small cod near the rock wall at Yerrabi just after dark. Another regular angler landed two small cod on spinnerbaits at the same location late in the afternoon.
In Burrinjuck a number of mostly small cod have been taken on spinnerbaits and bait. Best locations have been the shallow margins of the main basin, especially in the Goodradigbee Arm. Best baits have been shrimps and yabbies. The fish have been taken from the shore and from boats, with the best fishing in the middle of the day.
The closed season for Murray cod starts soon. The fish cannot be taken in the ACT or NSW during September, October or November, while they are breeding.
Mountain lakes
Fishing looks to be steadily improving in the mountain lakes. Several anglers reported reasonable catches in Jindabyne on Power Bait, Gulp and scrub worms. Most of the fish have been large browns but a few medium-sized rainbows have been taken. Best locations have been Creel Bay and East Jindabyne.
Eucumbene visitor Walker landed a three-kilogram brown on a Woolly Bugger fished on sinking line from the shore at Buckenderra and saw another angler cleaning a fish that looked to be about four kilograms. Overnight anglers at Cemetery Point caught some nice browns on bardi grubs.
Eucumbene is at 44 per cent of capacity and rising as water is released from Tantangara and from recent snow melt. Tantangara has dropped from a high of 62 per cent to 59 per cent.
Coast news
News from the coast is good. Barry Goodman made the long trek down to Mallacoota and landed plenty of flathead and large bream, on bait and soft plastics. Jorge Aguilla fished soft plastics from a boat in Ulladulla harbour for 10 nice tailor. Another angler fished St Georges Basin for an excellent catch of two bream, two flathead and two two-kilogram snapper. Two other anglers nearby landed nine flathead on hard bodied lures.
A group fishing Tabourie Island reported large numbers of luderick, drummer and groper feeding in their berley trail only minutes after they started fishing. They landed and released a lot of fish, keeping three luderick for the table, and were busted off by oversized fish on several occasions. Best baits were local green cabbage and green prawns.
Polaroiding time
Traditionally this is the time of the year when fly anglers try polaroiding for trout in the mountain lakes. The technique is quite straightforward. You walk quietly along the bank watching with polaroid glasses for fish in the shallows, then cast to them without spooking them.
Sometimes it helps if you have a mate spotting for you from a position higher up the bank. Consider everything you see – a shadow, weed bed, stick or log – to be a possible fish and cast just to the outside of it. It's surprising how often it turns out to be a real fish. Any time of the day is worth a try but early mornings before the wind gets up are often the most productive.
