It was a pretty hard season with the lack of rain the biggest factor preventing any major action. But all is not lost, as the cold weather does help the fish activity in the mountain lakes.

It's now the perfect time to start throwing around some lures; whether being from the bank or craft, try and focus on shallower water no deeper than 15 feet. Speedy retrieval with some aggressive jerks should entice a strike.

Trout patterned lures are normally most effective, but lately I've found purples and chartreuse to be an extremely good option.

The water is crystal clear and both the fish and myself can see the lure a mile away.

It's been a very strange start to winter on the coast - still above normal water temperature and bait piled up across the shelf meant for a few boats that braved the seas.

The catch was a real mixed bag of big eye, yellowfin, bluefin tuna, mahi mahi and striped marlin.

Unfortunately, no real consistency nor big numbers of fish, but they are there and things should improve after this next round of bad weather.

King fish have been quite active at Montague Island.

Over the weekend squid was the only thing that got the job done - most other methods were unsuccessful.

Burrinjuck is where I'd be heading to chase natives - it has been producing some very impressive fish as of late. Goldens have been quite deep on trees during the morning and cod have been loving larger swimbaits.