G'day fishos.
If you haven't been out fishing for a while you should really make a real effort over the next month or so.
This time of the year is the absolute best, and with fishing going off just about everywhere, now is the time to have a crack.
Trout in Hume haven't been this good for I don't know how long, and generally peak over the next six weeks or so.
Yellas are already showing up in reasonable numbers.
They get caught all year round but also have a window of about six to eight weeks where they go bonkers and we're just about to enter that window now.
Reddies, well, they've been pretty good all through winter this year, but there's no doubt they'll chew they're heads off again throughout the warmer months.
Add to that the fact the Dart's going great and we'll have plenty of water in the rivers and streams all around the place, and I'm super excited about the prospects for this season I can tell you.
AT A GLANCE
Dartmouth (80 per cent) - fished terrifically last weekend with those flatlining Tassies doing well and those fishing scrubbies or lures behind fenders or cowbells doing even better.
We had several reports of decent numbers of fish from all areas of the lake.
Dan Poynter even managed to fluke a 44cm Macca on the troll. Pity it was out of season mate. Have to try and find him again when the season reopens on New Year's Day.
Blowering (94.9 per cent) - is slowly improving with a few more yellas starting to show up and a few reddies poking their noses out.
The cod are still patchy though. An odd really good fish on a bait or lure here or there, but certainly not the Blowering we're used to.
The Bidgee - around Wagga and beyond is very high and would be tough going. Most locals are leaving it alone until it gets to a more fishable level.
Tumut River - has been great over the past week since opening.
It fishes best when down a bit, so it pays to check water levels before you make the effort to head up there.
There's no massive secret to fishing it - just use the same techniques you'd use on any other stream.
Snowy Lakes - have been fishing well but everyone outside the Eden Monaro LGA hasn't been allowed in there for a week or so.
It was due to be opened up on Thursday, but the COVID lockdown was extended until this Monday.
The trout should be going gangbusters in all those popular lakes so now's certainly the time to get out amongst it.
The Wall - is tough going with those valves creating their own weather patterns and a constant wind and spray, so if you head out, don't forget your raincoat.
Three members of the Lavington Anglers Club landed over 25 good trout out there over the course of last weekend, with the biggest just over the old 7lb mark.
Josh, Dazz and Sedgie worked hard for their fish, and all were released so someone else can enjoy catching them. Well done fellas!!
In a bit of a shock to the system, Josh caught a trout cod on a lead fish up there in all that turbulent water too.
The yellas have also started to fire up. My young bloke Ben landed five nice ones on Yakamito Vipers down towards the buoys on Thursday and as the water drops, they should turn up in good numbers right along the rocks.
Further downstream both trout and yellas are being caught. Those same Vipers are going great, but bait fishos using worms and yabbs are also picking a few up too.
Hume (97 per cent) fished even better this last week than it had been and that was already pretty bloody good.
We've had heaps of reports of over five trout landed in an outing, with the best being nine. There are a few smaller ones about but a lot of trout being caught are over the 50cm mark, quite a few over 60cm and some over 70cm.
What a season.
Add to that the reddies and yellas, that are getting caught; why would you want to leave "The Bubble"?
McGraths, CC Mini Minnows, Halco Crazy Deeps and the ever-reliable Tassies are lures of choice.
There's lots of colours working, but those K9 series Tassies seem to be catching as good as any and better than most, and general opinion seems to be rigging them with assist hooks has increased most fishos' hook-up rates too.
It's also that time of year when those yellas start getting around the edges looking for a feed and there's been numerous reports of fishos picking a couple up.
Perfect time for a family barbecue on the water with a couple of rods in.
Streams - were high again last weekend but should be at better levels now.
There were still reports of a few caught in the headwaters of smaller streams but the going would be tough.
The Mitta was still at a reasonable level and there were a few caught but it'll be another couple of weeks before we see the best of streams in general.
