As the days get longer we are now benefiting from being able to spend more hours on the water and begin to see an improvement in fishing conditions.

Although there are no reports of whitebait as yet in the southern estuaries they will not be far away. With the whitebait run comes the prospect of sea run trout, which can be caught in the Lune, Huon, Esperance and Derwent rivers.

Larger numbers of aggressive bream will also begin to turn up, along with other sportfish such as mackerel, mullet and silver trevally.

The D’Entrecasteaux is a hype of activity recently as anglers converge on large numbers of recently escaped Atlantic salmon. Anglers are catching them around Conningham with the fish tipped to disperse over coming weeks.

As the fish thin out they can be caught around river mouths with the Huon’s upper reaches also likely to see an increase in catch rates.

Lure, fly and bait anglers will all work well, just remember to look for signs of free jumping fish. Another tip is to concentrate on heavily structured shores this includes oyster-covered banks.

Sport anglers will do well fishing the Lune and Esperance rivers where the above mentioned sea trout are one of the more recognised target species.

The middle reaches of the rivers will give up some often hard to locate bream, yelloweye mullet and the occasional small flathead. Lure, fly and bait are all effective methods, but it is well-recognised that the larger fish fall to bait.

Trolling the Huon and upper reaches of the Derwent rivers is always popular at this time of the year. Cobras and bibbed minnows are effective.

As the water begins to gradually warm up, the sought-after table fish, flathead, will also begin to turn up in larger numbers. For those after a feed, the sheltered water bay fishing on the inside of Bruny Island should give up enough fish. Bait fishing with a berley trail and soft plastic fishing are the two recommended methods.

The saltwater fly angler can also have a ball here with these easy to catch fish readily accepting traditional weighted Deceiver and Clouser patterns flies.

For those owning large enough vessels, the deep water bottom bouncing wide of Bruny Island can also be productive. The key is to pick the weather in this traditionally windy time of the year.

Reefs wide off Adventure Bay and the Friars are recommended. Morwong perch, striped trumpeter, large sand flathead and the occasional tiger (king) flathead are the target species. Fresh bait is often the key to success.

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Sport anglers will do well fishing the Lune and Esperance rivers for sea run trout.