So far this season we have had some good fishing and lake levels are now higher than they have been in many years.

The lake is totally different to fish than last year, with lots of little bays that previously had no water in them.

Streams and rivers are still running well, there is more snow to melt yet and fishing has improved again over recent weeks.

Last year’s productive weed beds are now deep under the water, so now look at fishing the newly covered grass areas. But with a lot of weed in the water, there are a lot more snags and floating timber just under the surface so be careful.

November is time for the annual Snowy Mountains Trout Festival and this year it will fun from October 29 to November 5. For all the latest news on the competition you can go to www.troutfestival.com.

With water levels so high the fish are close into the banks and up in the little bays, making it tough for some anglers. Best methods are to let lines out further than usual, keep close to the edges and when the sun gets brighter head out a little deeper and use lead core lines.

Right across the board there has been a move to using metal blades this year, and some of the best have been Strike Pro Vibro 60 in colour AU7E or Cybervibe 35mm or 50mm in gold.

Yellow wing Tasmanian Devil lures are still also going well at the moment but you need to fish them at different depths depending on the conditions of the day.

Also expect to see some more big Atlantics salmon caught over the Trout Festival week.

There are still plenty of ex hatchery fish lurking the waters of Jindabyne waiting to be caught. These were released over winter but there have not been that many anglers around over the last few months and so plenty of fish are still left.

If you want to catch a big Atlantic, then attractors will help. Dodgers and Cowbells will help your strike rate improve.

Anglers are having good success also trolling worms, soft plastics and even flies behind these types of attractors. Trollcraft Shrimp in gold and black, 3.5 Stumpjumper also in gold, and Trollcraft Fingerling in colours 1061 and 1066 have also been productive.

Rapala jointed minnows are also well worth a try especially if you have an electric motor or a boat that can troll down below 1.5km/h. The big browns are smashing slow trolled jointed Rapalas in shallow water early in the day.

With so much new flooded ground, try the shallow bays and places like Kangaroo Bay near Waste Point, Sids Bay, Hayshed Bay and Hatchery Bay, which have been fishing well for the first time in years.

What an interesting time it has been so far this season with some excellent trout caught from the shore.

The best fishing will still be early and late in the day but if you take the time to present a bait well in the deeper water you can still catch some good fish in the middle of the day.

During the trout festival week the best fishing will be bait from the bank and you will see many boats pulled up around the lake soaking baits instead of trolling.

When fishing for rainbows fish worms off the bottom and a powerbait dropper; Berkley’s Gulp Chunky Cheese might also nab a brown trout.

The big secret at the moment is to fish with bail arm open and make sure you grease the line to keep it out of the slime on the bottom of the lake.

Local scrubbies if you can get some are also catching some of the bigger brown trout.

Best areas for bait fishing at the moment have been Hatchery Bay, Hayshed Bay, Sids Bay and Wollondibby Inlety.

Metal blades have been doing well particularly Cyber Vibe 35 and the Blue Fox Vibrax super minnow in gold. Tasmanian Devil lures in yellow and gold colours are also catching rainbow trout to 1kg.

Spin close around rocky outcrops for best results later in the day and use smaller lures like Celtas or Gillies Spinners around the shallow bays after dark. Don’t stay in one place too long and only put in a couple of casts in each area.

The top end of the lake is still spinning best with Waste Point not a bad option and the Snowy Arm second best.

Don’t forget you do not have to restrict yourself to Lake Jindabyne as Guthega Pondage and Island Bend Pondage are another couple of options that fish well at this time of year.

The Thredbo River has also been good so far this season after the big clean out over winter, however as we get towards summer you will need to be a little sneakier.

Floating minnow lures are best in the pools where you can work them very slowly using a stop and start retrieve. Brown trout or rainbow trout pattern Rapala 5cm or 7cm are fishing very well. Celtas in gold and red are also worth a throw into the pools and work them slowly on the retrieve.

This is also the best month for spin anglers to hit the alpine streams while there is enough water flow and the fish are active. Very light tackle and very small lures like number one Celtas or small 3cm Rapalas are the key.

Polaroiding trout in the lake has now slowed down, but there are still plenty of trout to catch around the drop-offs.

Small green nymphs fished slowly under an indicator are still the best bet on the lake; fish caught in the shallows have been full of small shrimp.

Or use bigger flies like Woolley Buggers and Williamson’s Goldfish; the later has been doing the best in the shallow bays.

On the Thredbo River, most trout are still taken on nymphs, however there has been days with a little dry fly action.

There are more grasshoppers about at the moment and the beetle fishing season is also about to start.

A little dry fly action on the streams with even the Alpine streams looking good at the moment for small fish.

If you want to learn to fly fish the Snowy Mountains then join me on November 6-7; we will head into the rivers and streams which will look and fish fabulously this season.

My one day downrigging course is also in November 20.

For any information and booking forms for these courses please call my shop on 02 64561551 or e-mail me your postal address on --e-mail address hidden-- or visit www.swtroutfishing.com.au for more info.