It was a very odd month to say the least, with the powers that be deciding to let an absolute truckload of water out of the lake – up to 10,000 megalitres per day at one stage. This went on for three weeks and dropped the lake by around 4%. Apparently it was for environmental reasons but my main concern is what damage these massive flows could have done to the recent spawn. You have to wonder how it would have affected the beds of eggs that had only been in place for 3-5 weeks. I just hope it hasn't completely destroyed the entire season’s spawn below the weir.

It has been absolutely freezing cold of late, and angler numbers have dropped off significantly. The interesting thing is there have been more consistent reports of yellowbelly getting caught in the southern end of the lake. This is really strange for this time of year when the water temp is around 9-11C, and some of them have been quite big – up around 60cm (around 12lb plus). It’s nothing to be sneezed at, even in springtime.

There have been some good reports of Murray cod recently, and when you get one fish you’ll generally get a few. One local punter landed seven cod ranging from 59cm up to 89cm in a two-hour period, all from the one bank. There are only short windows of opportunity as far as bite times go, and it seems this is more common when the water levels are dropping rapidly. Let's hope it gets more consistent now as it starts to rise again.

The trout have been going well recently. Christian Kuegler braved the conditions camping up the lake, and the weather gods gave him consecutive -3C mornings. Despite the freezing cold he was rewarded with some nice fish up to 3.5lb. Some people might say he’s crazy for doing that, but I call it commitment!

Good numbers of fish have also come from Goughs Bay trolling the edges with Tassie Devils. One rainbow came in at 9lb – that's a chunk of a fish.

There still aren’t many reddies on the chew. Where have they gone? Wish I knew.

It has been up and down again but will really fire throughout August I reckon, once the water level is consistent again. Hopefully there will be no more sudden water releases. Good numbers of browns and bows have been caught between 1-4lb. The old dough still getting its fair share of fish, and Powerbait in pink is also worth a shot, along with the trusty Tassie Devils. My favourite Tassie Devil pattern in the pondage is the rainbow trout patterning (blue, white and pink). Tight lines.