The area has been lucky enough to receive good rain and snow all Winter long. Some say the best snow cover in a decade is up top and we are now starting to see just how much is there as Blowering dam seems to just keep on rising.

As the margins of the dam continue to rise with the water temperature, so to do the catch rates of trout and golden perch, which are the flavours of the month.

Fishing from the bank is a good way of targeting both species as each likes to take advantage of these conditions by gorging on poor little critters swamped by the rising water. Whether you use bait, lure or fly, the best time is very late in the day and into the night.

Bait fishos should do well on grubs or PowerBait when chasing trout and those hunting goldens should do best with yabbies on a paternoster rig or garden worms with no sinker if conditions will allow or the lightest of running sinkers.

Fly fishing from the bank has been good and is likely to get better as the water starts to slowly warm. Dark flies like Woolly Buggers and Mrs Simpsons used after dark should pick up a trout or a yella if you’re lucky. If you are really after the yellas in particular, I recommend you buy some 5cm to 10cm flashy saltwater flies and add a rattle chamber to get the fishes’ attention.

Casting lures from the bank or a boat towards the bank can be awesome this month. There are heaps of lures that have their moments but it’s hard to go past the good old lipless crankbait because most fish are starting to become very active and attack loud lures with gusto.

Some days they can be a bit slow and I find slowing everything right down can make the difference, then slow some more.

On the slow days I prefer suspending hardbodies like the 60mm suspending Hammerhead from Custom Crafted Lures. You can work these lures down to the depth you think the fish are holding and then leave them sitting right in the fishes’ faces for as long as you wish. Normally a couple of seconds is long enough but on really slow days a 10-second wait is often required to trigger a hit.

If you want to chase trout casting lures then fish after dark with Rapala minnows, Nils Masters, Tassie Devils, spinners or plastics.

Trolling can be very rewarding in Spring. Trout still spend a lot of time around the surface and can be caught flatlining Tassies, Stuckeys, Nils Masters, Merlins and lipless crankbaits. These lures are also ideal for the yellas.

Finally the trout season is back under way after a very long wait for some people. The river will more than likely be in high flow by the time the season opens so you will need your heavy trout gear to give yourself a fighting chance.

Lure fishing with the local favourite, the Tassie Devil, can be very productive in the high flows but it is always good to try some thing different to increase your chances of catching those big educated trout which no doubt have seen hundreds of Tassies swim by in there lifetimes.

Lipless crankbaits work well in the high flows, as do paddletail soft plastics like the Squidgy Fish range and Ecogear Grass minnows rigged on fairly heavy jig heads around 1/4oz.

Bait drifters do well in the high flows, rigging bait so that it is slowly drifting along the bottom. But bait drifted along a couple of feet below a float can also be deadly on the river trout.

Fly fishos get good results from weighted nymphs fished under a big dry fly and Glo Bugs also have their moments this time of year.