Delraiser

This was a dead Jewy (around 50cm) I saw floating at Rhodes on my walk home the other week. A few other dead things in the Haslams creek mangroves as well (mainly small bream). Haven’t heard anything for a while now but am still seeing the odd dead fish float by

Hi fishii This answer is assuming you are looking at their side casts and not the new spinners...... It will pretty much be determined by the type of fishing you’re planning to do. If it’s beach or rock fishing and involves bait, mono line, sand and getting wet, then an Alvey is a lifetime investment worth making. They do take a bit of getting used to in regards to line management, but practice makes perfect. I probably wouldn’t recommend them as an occasional use reel for that reason, but if you are planning to fish often they are great Mine are relatively “new” graphite back models (625b with 12lb for the light stuff and 650bc with 18lb for the heavy stuff) and they aren’t at all heavy or cumbersome. They are pretty much bullet proof and require minimal maintenance (just a good wash and a light oil); you’d have to be pretty tough on gear to break one

The general consensus from American sites is around 6 years for Rainbows, although you'd expect the odd fish to go on to reach 8-10. This explains why the general size of Rainbows in comparison to Browns is smaller as they simply don't live long enough. It also explains why stocking levels need to be higher (along with a certain lack of natural recruitment)

Folks, just a heads up on the current conditions at Thommos. The banks are very soft and slippery at the moment and you should fish with extreme care. The lake is being drained rather rapidly which means the meter or two of bank closest to the water will be very wet and have had little time to dry out. We went up Sunday but pulled the pin straight away after a few slips and tumbles. The fishing is good but I didn't feel it warranted the risk. It's a long way back to the car if you do injure yourselves so please take care.

Nice fish. Just spent 3 days spinning the banks of Eucumbene for one half-baked strike and a bunch of follows from 6 inch fingerlings.. The water looked good, but for whatever reason, the fish weren't playing nice. A couple of boaters we bumped into had caught the odd fish but even they reckoned it was bloody tough. Even the bait fishers were struggling! I think this has just been one of those years in the Snowys. My fingers are crossed that things will pick up post spawn around August

Cheers Matt. I remember back in the early 90's seeing a smelt school bust up at Pejar that looked more Tuna than trout, so we can only live in hope that it gets back to something like it was. You mention Oberon. Any news from that neck of the woods? It was my next option before I get back to Thommos in a month or two

Mate, no doubt it could just have been lockjaw, but for a lake that used to be so food rich and produce so many stonkers, it looks kind of sick up close. I am keen to see it recover as we could do with another decent trout lake within 3 hours of Sydney. Lyell and Thommo's are pretty much it at the moment

Cheers mate, I certainly hope it was just an off day. Mind you, I don't ever remember fishing a lake that looked so dead under the surface. Even on a blank day at Thommo's you can see what the trout eat. As for the Grass Minnows, there isn't any particular one that works. At Thommo's I try to match lure colour to light conditions, so if it's bright, I stick to dark or natural colours like Black Gold or Watermelon (same colours in the Powerbait T-tails work well) and if it's overcast I go a bit brighter like Pearl, Gold or Silver . With the water so clear up there, I just try to contrast lure with the brightness of the day. This has seemed to work best for me lately (the fish below was caught on a watermelon Grass Minnow, and I got another later in the day on a Pumpkinseed T-tail)

After hearing the odd report here and there on Pejars recovery after drying up, I decided to head down on Friday for a weekend fish with the wife. Pejar was always a good winter fishery, if a little inconsistent, but always had ample baitfish and mudeye populations, so I figured with 6 years to recover since it was empty and a few stockings over the years might hold some promise. The weather was perfect, about 13-14 with light winds and a little cloud cover. The dam was 100% full and the water was a little stained but otherwise clean. So far so good. We started at the north arm of the dam, using our proven Thommo's tactics of slow rolling Ecogear Grass Minnows and Powerbait T-Tails up through the water column. Two hours in and nothing.......not a touch, bump or look. Moving to the south east arm near St Stephens church, we cast for hours upon hours with not a single look. Soft Plastics, Rapala Minnows, Tassie Devils the whole kit bag was thrown at them and zilch. My attention started to shift onto the lake itself and I was becoming a bit concerned by a few things. Firstly, there were no signs of fish at all. Secondly, there were no signs of fish food. No insects, no baitfish, no yabby beds. Thirdly, there didn't appear to be any substantial weed growth to support said food; just what appeared to be flooded grass with some slime growing on it. After a solid day and a half of lure fishing, I reached the desperation stage and rigged a couple of bait rods with powerbait and gulp nuggets but even that remained untouched. Now it could just have been a bad couple of days, and next weekend the place will probably go off, but I came away from the trip not entirely convinced that the lake has fully recovered. The lack of cover and apparent food is a real worry 6 and a bit years on. By rights, it should have good weed growth and ample food, but it just looked so barren. I do wonder whether it can sustain a healthy trout population in its current state, or whether such a recovery might need a few more years yet. Has anyone else fished here lately, and do you think it is a chance of getting back to the glory days?

Thanks for the info mate, it's good to see the fish having some kind conditions up there for a change. I reckon they have done it a bit tough over the last 5 or 6 seasons. I certainly hope that they can successfully spawn, but most of the literature I've read indicates Rainbows need running water, so who knows? I might park Thommo's for a few months now to leave the fish in peace. Hopefully by late August they will be feeding up again. While it was good to see, it certainly came as a shock being only early June. The long weekend has traditionally been one of the best times to hit the lake as the fish are usually super aggressive and you don't normally have to be too selective with lure size or colour. Looks like I will have to reset the calendar forward a month or two.......

Hit Thommo's today for a spin and much to our chagrin, the Rainbows have already started their futile spawning attempts. A couple of fellas had picked some up on Glo-Bugs, but their minds were on other things and lockjaw had set in. The false-spawn is somewhat of a regular thing at Thommo's, but I can't ever remember it coming on so early. It's usually something that kicks off well into July, but I guess the recent cold snap, and the sudden water level rise could well have triggered the trout to go early. The big question now, is given this has kicked off so early, will the fish finish early as well? Usually Thommo's fires back up sometime in October, but this year we might see some decent action in September.

Cheers mate, but I am afraid it's a domestic weekend for me. I am keen for the missis to get her first trout so a trip to Oberon in the next month might be on the cards. That's if I can drag myself away from Thommo's......

Folks, Have there been any reports from Oberon Dam lately? Ever since the redfin went in, I haven't heard much so assumed that the trout fishing is now stuffed. If it is, it would be a massive shame as this used to be my favourite trout lake and is where I caught my first ever trout on a lure. I don't want to make the effort to get out there and spend all day catching 6 inch redfin, but if the trout are still there, I wouldn't mind a trip for old times sake

A couple of fish from Saturday.... This was the first, taken after several hours and a couple of near misses. The lure was a 50mm Squidgy Fish in Silver Fox colour. I didn't bother measuring but I'd say at least 3-4 pound and far and away the best fight I've had from a trout. I hooked him around some drowned trees and a few times he threatened to run me through them. This was the second, and biggest fish. It didn't fight as hard as the first, but was a fair bit larger. The pics don't quite do justice to how well conditioned these fish are. They are just so fat across the back. Letting the big guy go. It seems a shame to just catch them once This was our best day at Thommo's so far and certainly makes up for many fishless trips. With the water levels up, I think we are in for a cracking few months

Well done lads. We bumped into you guys on the way back to the car on Saturday and were wondering how you would get on (I hope the wind died down a touch!). Glad to see you managed a fish in the end. I certainly appreciate what it takes to catch fish in this lake as I have scored many donuts in the past. With the lake level up, the next few months should make for cracking fishing. I will post a couple of pics of our weekend adventure tomorrow.