Winter weather helps to keep crowds down and certainly shows you who the really keen anglers are. But those who do rug up and persist at Blowering Dam are quite often rewarded with trophy fish.

Sure the fish numbers aren’t there but when there is a chance of the next fish being the biggest you’ve ever landed then I reckon it’s worth the extra effort.

If you still want cricket scores of fish you will have to target the redfin to get good numbers. I normally break up my Winter day by targeting the redfin schools early and once they go quiet I head out in search of a big native or trout.

Jigging is the main redfin technique this month. Most consistent results come from the use of Ice jigs but the metal blade lures are consistently starting to account for some good fish.

Other notable jigging lures include rattling lipless crankbaits, Mask Vibs and any curltail soft plastics, particularly scented ones.

Trout are worth targeting this month as the water temperature moves into their comfort zone.

The trout can be very active at this time of year and can be caught using most techniques.

Among the most popular techniques are spinning the shallow bays or flatline trolling with winged lures, soft plastics, lipless crank baits or small hard bodies like Trollcraft Shrimp, Rapala Husky Jerks or Viking minnows.

If your targeting Blowering’s big Murray cod, which have seen hundreds of lures in their time, you can increase your chances by giving them something different to have a go at.

The new monster Chatterbox from Bozos could just be the next big thing for large cod. Put simply, it’s a 6” paddletail plastic with a massive gold shaker blade at the front. They can be cast, jigged in deep holes or trolled, which makes them a very versatile cod lure and one that not too many big cod have ever seen.

Another new lure that works well on big cod as well as golden perch and redfin is the new Asari Tail Turner from Dan McGrath. These new lures don’t look like your usual hardbodies; they have a much deeper profile and the tow point actually moves back and forth, which creates an amazing action when using a stop-start retrieve or ‘burn and kill’ retrieve as the Yanks call it.

Giving the rod tip short, sharp jabs makes the lure work very similarly to a walk-the-dog style surface lure, only the Asaris do this below the surface. This novel action helps to provoke tight-lipped fish to strike.

There are two sizes currently, a 70mm model that dives to 15’ and an 85mm job that gets down to 20’ and I’m led to believe that they will be bringing out two new smaller sizes that will get bass and bream anglers salivating as well.

The Tumut river has fished really well since the lower flows have started, with most anglers getting into double-figure fish scores.

Most of the fish I’ve caught this season have been on fly with plenty willing to rise for a well-presented dry, but this will change this month and indicator nymphing will be the most rewarding technique.

My other half and plenty of other keen anglers have also been getting in on the action casting lures. Rooster Tails, Bozo Smelts, Celtas, lipless crankbaits, shallow-running hardbodies and Roadrunners, to name but a few, have all been working well.

With some lures outperforming others on a given day, it is a challenge for the angler to work out which lure is ‘the one’ for that day.

Colour choice can also be important but because the Tumut River is almost always running crystal clear, it pays to stick with the natural coloured lures. But occasionally, the bright, flashy lures will outperform the naturals so, as I said, swap and change lures until you find what they want on the day.

Due to way too many fishing commitments, this will be my last month of guiding. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my clients, sponsors, supporters and all the tackle shops around the area that have displayed my business cards and flyers.

I aim to do more tournament fishing and I plan on continuing to help promote, teach, encourage, inform and share my knowledge with people through my articles. I also have plans to produce a range of informative DVDs over the next few years so watch this space.

As always, anyone wanting the latest current fishing info or tips is welcome to email me and I am always more then happy to help out any way that I can.