Thursday 5 December.  Four days into Summer, three weeks until Xmas and it snowed in the mountains. Not just a bit but a lot – which is great news for the Snowy Lakes and rivers as we slip into the warmer months. It’s a real “refresh” button; snow melt is cool and full of oxygen and it’s great for the recently hatched rainbows. On the fish front Eucumbene is still a little cool. I’ve had three boat trips in the last week, the first two on the western shore south of Adaminaby from Copper Mine to Cobrabold, and yesterday from Anglers Reach to Providence.  From a fisher number perspective we’re in the pre Xmas lull period when everyone seems more interested in parties and shopping than fishing so it’s a great time for a visit. On Tuesday afternoon there was only one other boat trailer at Old Adaminaby and we didn’t see another boat the whole 6 hours. On Wednesday morning, ahead of the snow front the wind blew progressively cooler and stronger, peaking at about 40 km/h whilst we were trying a drift through the Providence flats. The lake level is dropping steadily, now below 46%, so Providence won’t be fishable for much longer at this rate – which is a warning – it’s very shallow and there are some islands just under the surface. By my recollection this is the lowest the lake has been since October 2011 when we were coming out of the last drought; and before that it crashed through 46% to 20% in 2006 as last drought really took hold.  Generally, lots of rises and fish to cast to. But they’re fussy. Caddis boils and midge feeding swirls and only small brown trout on this occasion. It’s the same everywhere or so it seems.  One group reported a slow few days on the Swampy; another group of 3 anglers had 7 sessions on the Goodradigbee for no fish – but just think how good it’s going to be when they all wake up.

Over at Caddigat Lakes we’ve had some interesting groups and sessions; the rainbows are in beautiful condition. Great colours and chucking on the weight after spawning.    Eelco (dad), Yarno and Ewout (the boys) came over for the day to try fly fishing. I don’t think there are a lot of trout in Holland. It’s a constant source of discussion amongst guides and instructors, the ability to pick who will show more than a passing interest and perhaps go on to take it up.  The boys showed curiosity but were a little more interested in shooting their movie (look out Baz Luhrmmann).  Dad’s got his second casting lesson tomorrow night. Another trout nut – John – nailed a cracking fish boiling on a sparse dun hatch at the top of Spring Dam.

More on the naked trout website. Tight tippets all!