What do they get up to on these cruises anyway?

Now that it is actually winter, everybody should be aware of various closures of fishing waters around the place.

Closest to home is the annual closure of the hot-water outlets of our local power stations.

Fishing is prohibited in both the outlet canals and to within 100 metres from the mouth of said canals at the Munmorah, Vales Point and Eraring power stations.

The closures are in effect from dawn until dusk and continue until the end of August. These closures are in place because big numbers of juvenile fish congregate in the warm water of the outlets over winter and there are some dipsticks who think nothing of catching a bucket full of undersized fish.

Trout streams are also closed for winter. This is to allow trout the chance to leave the dams and head upstream to spawn.

This also means that you don't try fishing Thredbo River 50 metres upstream from where it runs into Lake Jindabyne and telling the ranger that you weren't sure where the lake started. He might not be so understanding next time.

There's also a ban on the "possession" of bass or estuary perch in rivers and creeks this winter.

This means that you can still catch them, but you can't keep them. Apparently this is the time when both these hard-fighting Aussie natives head towards the ocean to go about the business, so if you catch one, take its photo and put it back.

None of these bans, however, affects "impoundments", so it's a good time to go for a fish in your favourite pond.

Hook, Line & Sinker has been part of some very enjoyable and successful, albeit cool, fishing and camping trips, both in the Snowies and at various lakes around the Barringtons, and can highly recommend it.

There's nothing quite like a roaring campfire on a cold winter's night.

While a heap of fish leave lakes to head upstream to spawn, there's still a truckload of hungry ones which hang around.

In the case of bass, which must get to saltwater to spawn, they don't (can't) leave the dams they live in, and they still have to eat.

That's it. Happy winter everyone, and remember, there are only 29 shopping weeks till Christmas.