First time freshwater fishing, Eucumbene

[sashkello]

Hi All!

I'm heading to Yarrangobilly over Christmas and was thinking to do some offshore fishing at Eucumbene Lake on a rainy day (looking at the forecast, bushwalking will be off the list). I've never fished freshwater before, only beaches and estuaries; I'm planning to take my light setup - 7ft. 4-8kg rod with 2500 spinning reel, spooled with 10lb braid + will put some mono leader if needed.

Typically, I'd catch beachworms or pump for yabbies for beach fishing. I'm not sure what kind of fresh / live bait can be found at the lake and if it makes sense to buy something beforehand? Or would I be able to find earthworms under the rocks on location? I will have my kid with me, so something simple to put on his hook & bobber setup would be nice! 

I've also got a bunch of soft plastics (grubz, swimz, Berkley scented worms & yabbies) and a few Halco Twisties. Not sure if that would work better than fresh bait?

Any advice on a good offshore location (especially around northern parts of the lake) and bait / lures would be very welcome! Thank you!

[dirvin21]

There's plenty of areas you can access the lake have a look at Google 

Worms make good bait in the lake you'd have to bring your own or buy some artificial baits work as well

Trout will eat small soft plastics, justcealk the bank and cast especially uo in the bays

[big Neil]

Yarrangobilly is a very good small creek that holds a lot of Trout. The best way to fish it is a bunch of worms on a small hook and a split shot for weight. Either fish the deeper holes or cast the bait upstream and let it bump back down the rapids toward you. Keep your line to the bait fairly tight to aid the hook up. You will need to fish light though. A 1-3 or 2-4 kg outfit fitted with 4lb line is ideal.

Alternately you can use the same outfit to fish very small lures or soft plastics. For the soft plastics use a 1/12oz or 1/16oz jighead and a small grub-type plastic. If you can get them Strike Tiger nymphs work a treat paired with the Strike Tiger jig heads. Once again fish as light as possible. These are best used in the deep pools rather than the rapids.

There are some interesting caves at Yarrangobilly and also some good swimming spots...so take your swimmers and towels.

Hope this helps, have fun, bn

[sashkello]

3 hours ago, dirvin21 said:

Worms make good bait in the lake

You mean earthworms? They aren't hard to find, if so...

[sashkello]

2 hours ago, big Neil said:

Yarrangobilly is a very good small creek that holds a lot of Trout. The best way to fish it is a bunch of worms on a small hook and a split shot for weight. Either fish the deeper holes or cast the bait upstream and let it bump back down the rapids toward you. Keep your line to the bait fairly tight to aid the hook up. You will need to fish light though. A 1-3 or 2-4 kg outfit fitted with 4lb line is ideal.

Alternately you can use the same outfit to fish very small lures or soft plastics. For the soft plastics use a 1/12oz or 1/16oz jighead and a small grub-type plastic. If you can get them Strike Tiger nymphs work a treat paired with the Strike Tiger jig heads. Once again fish as light as possible. These are best used in the deep pools rather than the rapids.

There are some interesting caves at Yarrangobilly and also some good swimming spots...so take your swimmers and towels.

Hope this helps, have fun, bn

Huh, I didn't think Yarrangobilly is wide/deep enough for anything. Thought to go to Eucumbene Lake. But will give it a try at the creek itself then as well!

Yeah, will explore the area for sure, looks pretty exciting.

[Hoods]

Last year when the lake was rising rapidly we found earth worms just above the water line. by peeling up the grass This year was much more difficult but still found some.

You can look for scrub worms too under logs etc. Or stop at the Caltex in Adaminably and buy some.

The lake was almost up to the old highway bridge at Providence Portal in November.

We had success off the bank just below the Portal (where the water from Tantangarra comes out) using worms. Easy access in a vehicle or park and walk. Lots of success this year in the Providence Arm.

Good Luck.

[sashkello]

Just an update to the topic if anyone will come back here for information...

Ended up not going to Eucumbene Lake and decided to fish Yarrangobilly river near the caves due to very unstable weather. Fished deeper part near the thermal pool and tried throwing lures in shallower sections but after losing an expensive spinner focused on deep water.

Day 1 - two hour session right before sunset on a bright sunny day with no luck. Tried spinners, a couple of small Rapala lures and set up Berkley powerbait nuggets under a float for my kid. Saw something chasing my spinner once, but that's it, not a single actual bite.

Day 2 - periods of rain and mostly overcast, came out much earlier, around 4pm. Tried same stuff until float got hard stuck in some debris, and so replaced it with sinker + hook just to mix things up a bit... Not even running sinker, just clamped it a foot off the end, as I ran out of swivels. Decided to put lure rod aside and try to explore the pool by throwing and slooowly retrieving powerbait nuggets with 10-second pauses every meter or so, letting the current carry it where it could. Got 2 fish in quick succession, both near the edge. One barely legal for feed, another threw back as it was too small. Around 6pm decided to use up last two nuggets and head back. Hooked a 1.5 times bigger rainbow trout on last retrieve using same technique.

Well, I'm still not sure what I'm doing wrong about the lures as I haven't caught a single legal fish on lures yet at all. Nevertheless, I'm extremely happy with the result and trout tasted absolutely amazing oven baked whole. Will come back again for more

[big Neil]

14 hours ago, sashkello said:

Just an update to the topic if anyone will come back here for information...

Ended up not going to Eucumbene Lake and decided to fish Yarrangobilly river near the caves due to very unstable weather. Fished deeper part near the thermal pool and tried throwing lures in shallower sections but after losing an expensive spinner focused on deep water.

Day 1 - two hour session right before sunset on a bright sunny day with no luck. Tried spinners, a couple of small Rapala lures and set up Berkley powerbait nuggets under a float for my kid. Saw something chasing my spinner once, but that's it, not a single actual bite.

Day 2 - periods of rain and mostly overcast, came out much earlier, around 4pm. Tried same stuff until float got hard stuck in some debris, and so replaced it with sinker + hook just to mix things up a bit... Not even running sinker, just clamped it a foot off the end, as I ran out of swivels. Decided to put lure rod aside and try to explore the pool by throwing and slooowly retrieving powerbait nuggets with 10-second pauses every meter or so, letting the current carry it where it could. Got 2 fish in quick succession, both near the edge. One barely legal for feed, another threw back as it was too small. Around 6pm decided to use up last two nuggets and head back. Hooked a 1.5 times bigger rainbow trout on last retrieve using same technique.

Well, I'm still not sure what I'm doing wrong about the lures as I haven't caught a single legal fish on lures yet at all. Nevertheless, I'm extremely happy with the result and trout tasted absolutely amazing oven baked whole. Will come back again for more

So glad that you caught something. It takes the pain out of donut days and lost tackle. Lovely area Yarrangobilly and well worth another visit if the opportunity presents itself.

Regarding your frustration with lures, every Fishraider would have experienced what you are feeling right now. There is a learning curve with everything from soft plastics to surface lures. Much of it is based on understanding what the lure is doing and how the targeted fish species sees it. Most fish species will jump on an easy feed, so making the lure imitate a sick or wounded fish will often do the trick, Put the time in and it will happen for you.

Thanks for the follow-up post and good luck with your lure fishing practice.

bn

[R E G I C Y C L E]

Good to hear you caught some fish. I'm a bit late with this info but the link below may help you with luring in some trout!

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96188-article-lure-fishing-for-trout/

Edited December 29, 2023 by R E G I C Y C L E