August and September are traditionally the windy months on the Central Tablelands and while many anglers prefer to stay out of the wind, trout love to patrol and feed along wind lanes and wind-blown shores.

For those of us brave enough, the fishing can be quite good, especially for shore-based trout anglers at Thompsons Creek Dam, Oberon Dam and Lake Lyell.

A wind-blown shore with a mud line pushing three or four metres out from the bank is ideal. Trout, especially large browns, will use this mud line as cover, darting in and out and feeding as they go.

Casting larger lures such as jointed Rapala Shad Raps or presenting flies like a large black or brown Woolly Buggers should get their attention.

If wind blown shores are home for the browns then wind lanes are home for the rainbows. Wind lanes are a little harder to fish from the shore but where they come close to a prominent point or end against the lee shore you can just about guarantee some trout will be close by.

Low light periods are still the best time to be on the water, although not as important as in the Summer.

If big redfin are your thing, this is the time to be on the water. Numbers will be way down on Summer hauls but the average size will be way up and reddies to 2kg are not out of the question.

Carcoar Dam possibly has the edge with the bigger specimens but Ben Chifley also produces the odd honker at this time of year.

Jigging or trolling the deeper water for layered redfin on or about the thermocline is one successful method. The other is to cast a variety of hard lures or soft plastics around solid shore structure.

Small, bright spinnerbaits are also worth a try here. I usually swap between patterns until one outfishes the other, then milk it for all it’s worth.

Although they’re mostly quiet, some native fish can still be caught at this time of year. Slow-moving plastics and bait will outfish fast-moving reaction baits 10 to one.

Add some form of scent to your plastic every six or seven casts. Four or five minutes per retrieve is about right; it’s that slow.

Watch your line like a hawk and if you end up with a headache, don’t blame me!

I have been missing on 2KY’S High Tide Radio Program of late due to a job change and extra work commitments but hopefully things will settle down by the time this goes to print.

No1-

Fishing slowly with soft plastics will still give you a chance on golden perch such as this Windamere specimen.

No2-

Carcoar Dam is the spot for big Winter redfin. This one was just on 2kg and was caught on a brightly coloured Mann’s spinnerbait cast at shore structure.

No3-

Wind-blown shores and wind lanes are good places to cast a fly or lure at this time of year.