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March is prime time
  |  First Published: February 2010



March is a great time of year in the southern highlands. The weather is pleasant and settled with plenty of trout on the prowl and the trout don’t have to look far for a meal either.

March is the month for beetles and other terrestrials.

Wayatinah Lagoon

I’ve had reports of some good sessions here from anglers using soft plastics from the shore, landing browns up to 1.3kg. Pearl and pumpkin seed colours have been the go-to lure for them. Wayatinah is a great water to retreat to if the weather takes a turn for the worst further up in the highlands.

Lake Binney

Binney has had plenty of attention lately from both trollers and shore-based anglers. The Binney wall has been a hot spot with some good Atlantics and trout being caught on lures both from the wall and by boat-based anglers trolling just off it.

Keep an eye on the IFS website for Atlantic salmon stocking information. The salmon are stocked into Bradys but it doesn’t take them long to turn up at the Binney wall as they like to hang around here.

Fly anglers will find plenty of good fish on all shores of Binney during March. The trout will be patrolling around logs looking for beetles and other terrestrials, blue sky days are ideal for polarising around the logs, walk slowly and try to look in every nook and cranny.

Bradys Lake

Bradys has been hot for some and cold for others. Some nice rainbows have been landed on lures around the Dee tunnel up to 2kg. This is a top spot at all times, as is the mouth of the White Water. Some good Atlantics have been landed from this very popular part of Bradys.

Good fishing to beetle feeders is to be expected in March. I’ve seen plenty of gum beetles drifting along the Bradys Sugarloaf shore already. Anywhere around the island is always a good bet to find a working fish, with some good polarising on a good day.

The Bradys dam is also great on a warm calm evening, recently dozens of risers were seen mopping up chironomids and caddis, although many were just out of casting reach, so a boat would be handy.

Bronte Lagoon

My experience has been that Bronte has been fishing well all season and I can’t see the situation changing in March.

My uncle had a good session recently around Bull Rush point. Good browns to just under 1.3kg were holding up in the dips and depressions that are a feature here, intercepting duns and beetles drifting around the point. Even if nothing is showing fish can be brought up to the surface constantly at this time of the year. My favourite shores are the deeper areas of Woodward’s bay, the Red Rocks, Rowallan Bay and Tailers Bay.

I like to use a two fly rig and the English dries are just as effective on this side of the highlands as they are in Arthurs and Great Lake. My favourites are the Claret Hopper with a pearl rib and the Bibio Hopper.

Pine Tier Lagoon

Pine Tier Lagoon is always worth a look; dawn and evening are always better for the northern shallow end. Weed can be a problem when the lagoon is low, but there are pockets of deeper water around the river mouth that are easier to fish.

The steeper shores will have plenty of fish patrolling on the lookout for gum beetles and other terrestrials during the day and there will be reliable rises to highland spinners on calm afternoons. Sometimes these rises can be prolific; the fish aren’t big but there are the odd surprises to 1kg and they are always fat and put on a good show.

Lake King William

This lake will be very low in March, but fish will be found in the deeper gutters and along the rocky and gravelly shores. The odd fish was still tailing recently around the deeper gutters and anglers are likely to see dozens of risers in the late afternoons and evenings.

Again the English dries are very effective. If they wont come to a dry a small #16 007 Nymph or size 14 Scintilla Stick Caddis should fool them.

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