We’ve had a real mixed bag of weather and fishing.

At Bronte lagoon, Fly Corner, between the shack shore and the long shore at Bronte has produced well. It’s nice and sheltered and was a real haven in a couple of the rough south westerly days we had. Some fantastic conditioned browns were lost and landed from here, the successful fly has been Muz Wilsons Black Fuzzle Bugger and that old Tassie classic pattern, Wigrams Robin. There were some good chironomid rises on the calm cool mornings with some good fishing being had in Bronte and the Dee Lagoon.

Lake Echo also gave up some good fishing to anglers polarizing along the steeper banks, in all cases the fishing have been in great nick. Gum beetles were very quiet with only a few being on the water here and there but jassids have been on the minds of everyone as they always are in the last month or so of the main trout season, with reports of localised falls from all over the highlands.

I saw my first jassid for the year while deer hunting but since there were some reasonable rises to jassids in Dee Lagoon, Bronte and for those luckily enough to have access, Highland Waters. The southern highlands rivers seem have suffered the same fate due to the cormorant plague as the rest of the state. A good mate has had five visits to the lower Shannon for only an average of three or four small fish each visit with almost nothing in the shallows. It a similar situations in the Ouse River.

The fishing in June in the Southern Highlands is really scraping the bottom of the barrel! Forget Lake Meadowbank, Hydro have drawn it right down for their maintenance work on the dam and all that remains is the original old river course, everything else is dry and dying. We’ve had warm sunny days and you can bet we will have a harsh frost or three by the time they raise the level again, which is expected to be in mid-May. What damage this will do to the weed flats and aquatic life I don’t know, plus the fact that the majority of the very good rainbows that were in here have gone over the Meadowbank damn into the Derwent proper, so things don’t look good for the water for the foreseeable future.

All that remains are a few browns in the old river bed, tench and redfin perch. I think we can add this water to the lost or losing list in Tasmania.

The only viable destination in the region is Lake Burbury. Trolling or lure casting from a boat or shore will be the most reliable method for June. It is a gamble though, with the long drive especially for southern based people, so you really have to pick the weather. Whatever happens though, the scenery is spectacular and if you catch a fish or two at this time of the year, well that’s a real bonus.