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It’s all go at Eucumbene
  |  First Published: December 2006



Welcome to our new column. We’re Peter Schroeder and Lars Leckström, both keen fishermen from the Adaminaby area and we’re looking forward to providing first-hand fishing information about Lake Eucumbene and the Eucumbene and Murrumbidgee Rivers and surrounding creeks.

The level of Lake Eucumbene is around 22% at the moment and despite dire predictions by some, anglers are having no difficulty launching their boats at Old Adaminaby, Anglers Reach and Buckenderra. During the recent very successful Snowy Mountains Trout Festival some 140 boats were launched in Lake Eucumbene each day. Water levels in dams right around the eastern seaboard are at record lows and surely now our politicians must realise that more thought needs to be given to water usage and the suitability of some of the crops that are grown in one of the world’s driest continents. Now for the news.

TROLLING

Excellent fish have been caught trolling in the Lake with most of the popular areas producing good fish. Successful methods have been flatlining, lead-core and downrigging, dependent on the time of day. Best lures have been the winged lures with Lofty’s Eucumbene Special in clear and yellow wings and Lofty’s numbers 53, 48, 65, 70 and 100. Some of these lures are speciality lures for Lake Eucumbene and are only available at the Adaminaby Angler.

Good colours to use early in the morning are those with some pink, orange or other brighter colours. Start by fishing close to the bank early and venture into deeper water as the day progresses.

Also remember to change lure colours during the course of the day to gold or brown and then progress to the darker colours during the afternoon and evening.

During the Trout Festival Craig McLaggan, of Lofty’s Lures, conducted a very successful seminar explaining many different techniques which can be used to increase success rates while trolling. One of the main things Craig emphasised was not to be bound by hard-and-fast rules but to be prepared to improvise and use your imagination. We will provide you with more information and techniques about successful trolling in subsequent issues.

BAIT FISHING

Excellent results have been obtained lately, especially with orange PowerBait and grubs on a running-sinker rig. Mudeyes will become more prominent as the Summer progresses and we will detail successful techniques for fishing the various baits around the Lake. Best times are early in the morning, evening and after dark.

FLYFISHING

The Eucumbene River still has a lot of rainbows with well-conditioned fish being caught on wet and dry flies. Some excellent browns are also starting to appear.

The Murrumbidgee River is also starting to fish well with some good trout being caught downstream from Bolaro Station, near Adaminaby.

Most successful flies in the streams have been brown or black nymphs fished under a strike indicator and the most successful dry flies at the moment have been Red Tags, Humpies in various colours and beetle patterns. Some small hoppers are already starting to appear.

The best time to fly-fish Lake Eucumbene has been before sunset and into the evening, paying special attention to any hatches that may be occurring and obviously then trying to match the hatch. Other than that, best flies tend to be the searching patterns like Woolly Worms and Woolly Buggers, Craig’s Nighttime and Mrs Simpson.

For regular updates about this area visit www.alpinetouristpark.com.au/fishing.shtml or www.adaminabyangler.com.au/reports.html .

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