The Bureau of Meteorology confirms that July is the coldest and wettest month in the highlands.

So while the fishing is ok in a middle-of-the-winter sense, the conditions can be pretty ordinary to say the least.

Cold, calm mornings do however give way to magnificent blue sky days that are simply magical. On these days it is possible to polaroid the odd fish cruising in close, and you’d probably be surprised at the number of fish that will look to the surface for a snack or two.

Midges are the mainstay for this time of year for cruising fish, and calm days are the best time to get some sight fishing from these midge feeders. Overcast days are even better, and with the chance of a few windlanes you are more than likely to find the occasional sipper.

They won’t be easy and there won’t be many of them, but it will mean a day out fishing, and we all know how precious that can be.

Far better would be to walk the shores on windy and dirty days casting spinners like the old traditional Ashley Spinners and Tassie Devils.

Find a shore with the wind blowing onto it and fish your way along the shore, casting into the teeth of the breeze. Big brown trout cruise the windy shores and are always keen for a feed.

The best shores in a westerly/north westerly are the eastern side of Swan Bay, the eastern side of the dam wall and all the way along to McClanachans Point. Tods Corner is also good, and you can easily access the eastern shore of the lake from the road with a 2WD vehicle.

After a very early spawning run, the overwhelming majority of brown trout are back in the lake and looking to feed up.

This is great news for anglers, as most of these fish will congregate along the shrimp and scud beds along the western shore.

These areas are quite close to the shore and well within casting range for the average spin fisher.

Anglers wanting to keep close to civilisation would be best advised to fish in Swan Bay, while the more rugged individuals amongst us will appreciate the solitude, but great fishing, in places like Brandums Bay, Alanvale Bay, Doctors Rocks and Little Lake Bay.

Lake Burbury is also open right throughout winter, and as it is at quite a low altitude it is a little more conducive to fishing. Burbury is a massive lake – long and well as deep. The lake’s population of rainbow trout are always willing to chase a lure, and like Great Lake the chances of early morning windlane action are always a possibility.

It is a long way to Burbury from the major population centres, but reasonable accommodation is available nearby at Queenstown.