Lake Jindabyne cheat sheet
Every fish, the NSW fee and limits, the methods and the one box of tackle. One page to take to the water.
Lake Jindabyne
Open all year. The October long weekend opens the prime stretch; autumn is best for big browns; winter holds the trophies; summer means deep trolling or dawn and dusk.
Licence
Pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee (covers fresh and salt across NSW). Buy it at NSW DPI Fishing or a tackle shop. About A$7 for 3 days, A$14 a month, A$35 a year (2026). Carry the receipt while you fish.
Size and bag limits
Trout and salmon 25 cm minimum, 5 in total per day, all four species combined.
Fishery note
The fish are good eating within the limits. Release the big brown trout. Clean and dry your kit between waters.
Bank vs boat · season · time → rig
| Fish | From the shore | From a boat | Best time | Rig |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow trout | Yes, the main shore fish, in the bays | Yes, trolling | First and last light; deeper in summer | Nymph or streamer (fly), or trolling rig |
| Brown trout | Yes, the bays and rocky margins | Yes, trolling | Autumn and winter; dawn, dusk and after dark | Streamer or nymph, or trolling rig |
| Brook trout | Only when it comes shallow in the cold | Yes, the proper method (deep) | Cold months, deep | Trolling rig (downrigger) |
| Atlantic salmon | Possible, the odd fish in low light | Yes, the real edge (near the surface) | Cooler half of the year | Trolling rig |
Shore only is mainly a rainbow and brown trout trip at dawn and dusk. A boat adds day-long trolling, the brook trout and the Atlantic salmon.
The rigs
Downrigger or leadcore to a spoon or minnow, towed at the depth the fish are holding (deeper in summer)
PalomarTapered leader to tippet to a nymph, fished sub-surface to trout in the margins
Improved clinch · surgeon's / blood knot for the joinsLeader to tippet to a wet fly (a Woolly Bugger), stripped deep along the banks
Improved clinch · surgeon's / blood knot for the joinsTapered leader to a dry fly, to a fish working the surface on a calm evening
Improved clinch · perfection loop to the lineWhat you need
A 5 or 6 weight fly outfit covers the shore; a trolling outfit and a downrigger cover the boat. A light spin rod is the simple shore alternative.
The knots
| Knot | Ties | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| Improved clinch | Tippet to fly, line to a spin lure. | Fly and spin |
| Palomar | Lures, swivels and trolling. | The trolling and spin gear |
| Surgeon's knot | Tippet and leader joins. | The fly leader |
| Perfection loop | The leader loop to the fly line. | The fly leader |
Learn the improved clinch and the Palomar first; they tie most of this. Wet every knot before you pull it tight. The blood knot is an alternative to the surgeon's for the leader joins.
This one page is the printable I take to the water.
Give me an email and I will show it to you, ready to print. A one-page reference: what's on by month, the licence and rules, a rig for every fish, the shared tackle box and the knots.
I'll send you the cheat sheet, and email you when I add a new place to fish. Nothing else.