July is all about waiting for the next trout season, so wait and stay warm we must!

In late May there were still a few leaf hoppers around; both the red and black jassid and the smaller cinnamon variety and a few good fish were being landed on imitations in the Dee Lagoon.

I also observed some good fish rising along the Binney wall; it was a shame I couldn’t cast to them though because, as with most waters in the southern part of the highlands, Lake Binney is of course closed until August. It was enjoyable slowly wandering along watching them chomp down on the surface food though!

Following concerns raised by a number of Bradys Lake regulars due to lower than average catch rates over the last couple of years, the Inland Fisheries Service are about to conduct a netting survey of all three waters in the Brady’s chain of lakes: Bradys, Binney and Tungatinah.

Hopefully by August I’ll be able to report on the results and questions that will arise and how the IFS intend to act on returning the system to the normal catch rates that are expected of these three very important waters.

July is also the month that the Bronte and Bradys area annual clean-up is undertaken; we usually set at a date in the last two weeks of the month. The idea of the clean-up was originally started by Bradys Lake locals Ken and Marea Orr and the Miena police officer Steve Timmins who were appalled at the amount of rubbish left around the various campsites after the trout seasons end.

The clean-up has now grown with many locals, shack owners and IFS staff chipping in and cleaning up camp sites from Lake King William to Lake Echo and every water in between and at the end of the very big day a BBQ is put on, funded by the local council.

If anyone is interested in attending and giving a helping hand, please call into the Bronte General Store and add your name to the list of helpers.

Meadowbank is by far the best option for July. Lake Burbury also remains open all year but it’s a big risk to make the trip, unless you live on the West Coast, in the off chance to find the weather right and the fish on. Meadowbank is close enough to the southern population areas for a quick session of trolling, spinning from the shore or wading the shallow northern basin, casting a wet around the tussocks.

Three hundred Atlantic salmon in the 3-4kg range have recently been stocked in the Lake, so there is some very good sport to be had for the lure angler and maybe even a chance of hooking up on a deeply worked wet fly.

My uncle in past years has landed Atlantics on large wet flies that have been cruising the shallows; they really put on a show in shallow water! For the fly fisher at this time of year I always recommend wets with a bit of hot orange in them, the MK II Woolly Bugger and an Orange Bellied Yeti are firm favourites.

The August opening is just around the corner, so there is no better time to get to work at the bench and get a few flies tied up, or if you don’t tie, select some from the shop.

I rely heavily on various Woolly Buggers such as Black, MK2 and other variations, Sloane’s Fur flies both natural and black with a bright red silk head and a Scintilla Stick Caddis for the first month of the season in the southern highlands.