The Pomahaka flow reached 70 cumecs at Leithen Glen but within a couple of days it was back to 7 cumecs and should fish well this weekend.
Most other streams are fishable but the Clutha is still very high.
As the weather warms the tussock lakes will be worth a visit.
A lot of anglers fish later in the season when cicadas are flying and can doo quite well but it is worth remembering that the fish are there all the time and they have to feed and are therefore catchable.
Typical stillwater flies work well damsel fly nymphs, water boatmen, midge pupae, and snail imitations.
Worm fishing will produce fish a will spinning.
As usual in stillwaters it is a matter of locating the fish as trout are not spread evenly throughout a lake.
They congregate where most food is available.
If trout are rising it is easy to locate them and if the food form can be identified they can be caught. If they are not rising it can be a bit more difficult.
As the tussock lakes contain brown trout, other than Upper Manorburn Dam, which has only rainbows, and brown trout feed in relatively shallow water.
This means most of them are well within range regardless of your mode of fishing.
Small bays can be a good place to start or fishing from a point with the wind blowing across it.
As fish feed upwind casting from a point across the wind means you are likely to cover more fish than casting into the wind or downwind. Whatever the approach it is a good idea to let your lure or fly sink before starting to retrieve as trout often feed close to the bottom.
And do not retrieve too quickly as that will pull you fly or lure back to the surface.
No rising fish indicates fishing deep.
I actually fished a river on my last couple of outings which was a nice change after several weeks of fishing the Maniototo dams.
I fished the Taieri on Strath Taieri.
I saw very few rises and because it was over cast and breezy it was difficult to spot fish in the water.
I started on a stretch of water that I know well fishing a weighted nymph.
I covered places that I have caught fish in the past reasoning that if there were fish there before there was a good chance of them being there again.
The tactic was to let the fly sink them retrieve slowly when fishing flat water or fishing it drag free in a ripple.
It was the latter that produced the first fish and the former the next two.
It was a while before I found a rising fish.
It was in shallow water underneath an overhanging willow which ha an appetite for flies, consuming three of mine before I caught the fish. It was worth it.
