BLOG: Cold weather capers

I’m not a huge fan of the cold. The warmth and comfort of home seemingly beats the cold and wet despair of an early morning start on a wet winter day – but you don’t catch fish sitting at home.

The struggle with the cold is part psychological and part laziness; once those character flaws are acknowledged, drumming up the motivation to go fishing becomes somewhat easier. With the appropriate clothing and outer wear, fishing through winter can become a somewhat pleasant experience.

Last week saw me head down to alpine country for three days of fishing at Lake Eucumbene. There, the mercury dropped to six below zero, the days were icy cold and the occasional burst of freezing rain all combined to spell misery – but I loved it!

My new found fishing mate David Xuereb had been asking me to go trout fishing with him and when the stars finally aligned, our trip coincided with an extreme cold snap that turned Sydneysiders into popsicles. During the course of the weekend we caught a swag of healthy trout, primarily on baits and a few good fish taken on the troll during the last session. We fished long and hard with our days starting pre-dawn with a morning session that saw us back at camp for an hour or two for lunch before heading back out for the afternoon session that continued well into the evening.

It was bloody cold but we were suitably rugged up to make the most of the fishing. You need backup clothing in the cold and it pays to have a spare set of gloves, socks, beanie or balaclava in case one pair gets wet – extremities seem to feel the cold first but it’s also of utmost importance to keep your core warm, so thermals are a must, as is a warm middle layer and waterproof outer wear to keep you dry and minimise wind chill.

Once you beat the hurdle of those first few cold weather sessions, waking up on a cold morning becomes easier. The beauty of the cold is that many casual fishermen will often stay at home, leaving their fishing gear to hibernate during the winter. Like I said earlier, you won’t catch anything sitting at home!