We’ve had some very diverse weather conditions in February, which has made the fishing difficult to predict. One day we suffered through 41°C only to wake up to a 15°C temperature the very next day.

This time of year the fish usually sit deep, around 40ft but on an overcast day after a cooler night you can still catch fish with lipless crankbaits around heavily timbered areas. Surface fishing is best late at night. A popular fishing area is the Glenbawn boat harbour, which provides a sheltered fishing haven with easy access from the main basin. There is plenty of timber to provide cover for all species and is usually productive for bank fishing in the early morning and late evening.

The harbour entrance is a natural ambush point for natives. Start your troll way out along the submerged Golden Point, past the steep drop-off and continue through the narrow entrance, you’ll find both sides of Golden Point provide good opportunity to troll, cast and bait fish. Drowned Cabins is another good place to start a long trolling run, under Brushy Hill and along the wall around Spillway Bay. This is quite a scenic run where you can test all of your techniques. The wall is the most trolled (often the most productive) run on the lake for yellowbelly. Troll right in close to the wall but remember to observe the exclusion area near the intake tower. If this doesn’t work for you, try the second deeper drop-off a little further out from the wall and run a little deeper.

The Gig is the most popular area on the lake due to accessibility and consistency of bass and yellowbelly catches. You can cast, troll or baitfish from the east end of the Spillway, or target the submerged timber and some deepwater channels from the Spillway past The Gig and onto Kurrajong Point. You’ll find good shore access from Wilga Park, Cemetery Point and Curra Keith Bay. Troll and cast around Cemetery Point back into Curra Keith Bay, as bass like to lie in ambush waiting for baitfish on these submerged points.

The north run is excellent trolling and casting territory, right along the broken weedy shorelines from Cemetery Point to Yellow Boy Bay. The Rock Slide or Clay Slip is also a good spot for casting or baitfishing. Troll deep lures along the old riverbed across the mouth of the Twin Bay and close into the centre tongue of land, then through the Narrows on the Port Side. Lost Island is a favourite casting area for bass, although hard to find when the lake is full, so look for a few telltale treetops in the middle of Bid House Bay. These trees indicate a large submerged island with lots of underwater timber – a great environment to bait fish or cast lures.

At One Tree Hill the river bed snakes through the middle of Bid Shallow Bay fronting the soil con sheds. Locate the river by the tree lines and follow it in close to the northern side of One Tree Hill, which will bring you to great trolling grounds. At the end of the lake, the left side banks of the shallows opposite the Pan Handle are not so shallow. There are steep cliffs, drop-offs, underwater structure, and trees. Here is a great area to troll, cast, or bait fish for yellowbelly and bass.

St Clair will fish much like it has in past months, as there is an abundance of weed growth. I use little beetle spins in behind the weed edge or, as the day goes on, I move out further and fish the outside edge of the weed. Try a jigging technique to spice things up a little. Look around the deep timber before the dog-leg in the Falbrook Arm, and the timber at Andrews Point and Richards Point as these areas are great to bait and deep jig.

• Peter Fogarty runs the popular Lake Glenbawn Kiosk - offering fuel, tackle, ice and the best food on the lake. Make sure you drop in when you visit the lake for the latest reports. You can also visit them on www.lakeglenbawnkiosk.com.au or call on (02) 6543 8355.