I guess I could almost say that I have never seen two years so different, with 2012 having a late, cold Winter and 2013 bringing a warm, wet start to Spring and possibly even an early summer.

As I reported last month, there were only small water releases from Lake Jindabyne into the lower Snowy River and the release will be on November 6. It will be even smaller than the previous five so will have very little effect on lake levels and no effect at all on how the lake will fish during the Trout Festival from November 2-8.

A high lake has kept the edge fishing at its best and plenty of trout are still being caught on bait, lure and fly.

We saw more insects about earlier this year so the river fishing started off with a big bang for the dry-fly fishers. After such a slow start last year it was great to go down to the Thredbo River and see plenty of fish rising.

How the season will progress for now on will depend on how much rain we get. Most of the snow has melted now so we can’t rely on that as a supply for our rivers over coming months.

On the rivers and streams we are seeing plenty of white moths and tea tree beetles and a start to the hopper season.

If you want to you can still use a small nymph dropper in the faster water just to double your chances at catching a fish.

The fly-fishing on the lake is still very good. Small bays and inlets will produce results very early and late in the day if you’re careful not to spook the trout.

Woolly Buggers, Craig’s Nighttime and Williamson’s Goldfish have been the flies to use at dawn and dusk. The shallow bays are worth a try before the sun rises but after that you had better be fishing deep.

Towing lures at 2m and on lead-core lines will be the best methods to get a trout for the trollers.

It is also definitely worth trolling some minnows early in the morning off the lead-core. StumpJumper have some great colours in the 3.5” model now. And with Tassie Devils in Canberra Killer, Willy’s Special and brown bomber and the usual Rapalas, you are sure to catch a few fish.

The unique action of Rapala’s new Scatter Rap has proven very effective and it would be wise to try one off your lead-core early, especially before sunrise.

We have been trying out the relatively new LED Balista Trigger lures and have found them effective off the downrigger and lead-core. There are some exciting colours in the new range.

Best areas to troll at the moment with the high lake have been the East Jindabyne Islands, Hayshed and Hatchery bays and up at Creel Bay.

Bait fishing has been good, especially if you team up your rig with worms and artificial baits. Put two hooks on the line and combine a worm and artificial bait to double your chances.

Best areas have been around Waste Point, the Claypits and at East Jindabyne near Rushes Creek.

Spinning has been good early and late in the day and should continue that way for a while yet.

There are trout about and the best fishing is in the shallows early and in deep water later in the day.

Minnows like floating Rapalas, StumpJumpers and other brands have been best in natural rainbow trout and brown trout patterns or in gold to represent the Jindabyne goldfish that the trout love to eat.

Don’t stay in one place too long and put in only a couple of casts in each area.

If you have been following my Lake Jindabyne Trout Fishing Adventures Facebook page you would have seen the new Bullet lures we have been trying out.

With the rivers now open we have experienced some good success with these little lures.

As the name implies, they cast like bullets and have been effective in the faster water and have a great action for such a small lure.

Check out the range in my shop or on Facebook – so far there is no website for these lures. Call in at my shop next to the Shell servo at the junction of the Kosciusko Road and the Alpine Way or phone me on 02 6456 1551 for the latest updates. For daily updates become our friend on Facebook.

NOVEMBER ROUNDUP

Best method – Lake bank with artificial bait or scrub worms.

Best trolling lure – Rapala CD07 Scatter Rap gold, Tasmanian Devil No 111 green and gold.

Best lake areas – Creel Bay, Waste Point, Stinky Bay (The Haven).

Best lake fly– black weighted Woolly Bugger, Williamson’s Goldfish.

Best river fly – black bead-head nymph, size 12 Tea Tree Beetle

Best river lures – Gillies Feathertail Spinner, trout pattern 3cm Bullet Lure

Best lake lures – Trout pattern Dorado and Rayza 40 blades.