Streams and rivers are running well and fishing has picked up well over recent weeks. The spinning has been good and the dry-fly fishing is improving as the weather warms and the insects hatch.

Yellow wing Tasmanian Devil lures are still the favourites but you need to fish them at different depths, depending on the conditions of the day. The Tassie Y82 is doing very well early in the day and as the sun rises, change to a yellow wing No 36.

Attractors will also help catch these monsters; dodgers and cowbells will help your strike rate. Anglers are having good success trolling worms, soft plastics and even flies behind also these types of attractors.

It has been an interesting time so far this season with some excellent trout caught from the shore, mostly due to this year’s water level.

You still will find the best fishing will be early and late in the day but if you take the time to present a bait in the deeper water, you can still catch some good fish in the middle of the day.

The big secret at the moment is to fish with bail arm open and make sure you grease the line to keep it out of the slime on the bottom of the lake. Local scrubbies, if you can get some, are also catching some of the bigger brown trout.

Best areas for bait fishing have been the boat ramp, Wollondibby Inlet (deeper water), Curiosity Rocks bay and Rushes Bay.

While there are still a few fish close to the edges, the better fishing is now in deeper water after about sunrise. Tasmanian Devils are now catching more fish, with the yellow and gold colours better.

Spin close around rocky outcrops for best results later in the day and use smaller lures like Celtas or Gillies Spinners around the shallow bays after dark. Don’t stay in one place too long and put in a only couple of casts in each area.

The top end of the lake is still spinning best, with Waste Point not a bad option and the Snowy Arm second best.

Guthega Pondage and Island Bend Pondage are another couple of options that fish well at this time of year.

Brown trout or rainbow trout pattern Rapala 5cm or 7cm minnows are fishing very well. Celtas in gold and red are also worth a throw into the pools – work them slowly on the retrieve.

This is also the best month for spin anglers to hit the alpine streams, while there is enough water flow and the fish are active. There are plenty of creeks worth trying in the mountains but you will need very light tackle and very small lures, like No 1 Celtas or 3cm Rapalas.

Lake polaroiding has been a little slow but that doesn’t mean that the fishing is poor –  there are still plenty of trout to catch if you fish the drop-offs where the trout patrol during the day looking for a feed.

Use bigger flies like Woolly Buggers at night and Williamson’s Goldfish at Wollondibby and Widows creeks.

On the Thredbo River, most trout are still taken on nymphs but there have been days with a little dry-fly action. There are more grasshoppers about and the beetle season is also about to start.

There’s a little dry-fly action on the streams with even the alpine streams looking good for small fish.

In coming months we have courses for beginner fly fishing, trolling, downrigging and some weekend fly fishing trips. For information and bookings call 02 6456 1551 or email me your postal address on --e-mail address hidden-- . There’s more info at www.swtroutfishing.com.au .

Images

1

Amanda Walshaw from Sydney with a couple of well-conditioned rainbow trout caught on a Y82 Tasmanian Devil lure.

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Jackie Stevens and Byron LeBlanc with four rainbows caught on the troll. They had a great morning, catching another five fish, which were all released.