This week has been much the same as last week with wind and sun making the fishing a bit of a lottery. On sunny days the majority of Trout are not showing and go deeper to cooler bands of water. On cloudy days there are fish higher in the water but rarely show and therefore difficult to find. Fish are being caught though and the Any Method lads had some success over the weekend, mostly on bait I believe and mostly deep but not in great numbers. The Fly boys are struggling with ones and twos being a result. At the moment these fish are not inclined to chase and whatever method of fishing you prefer it is best done with a static or slow retrieve. I was out on the Flies Wednesday for a morning with John T. and we found it hard, the sun and wind didn't help at all. We tried different depths and lines and did get some reactions fishing slow and deep using DI7/8 lines. We both had a couple of good pulls and John had a Trout on for a while. We also had some Perch including a double up which for a few seconds got the heart going! George Brown, a friend out in another boat managed a nice Rainbow from deep on a fry imitating Booby. Our Perch and John's Trout were on a similar Booby. We kept on the move and drifted most of time although we did tie up to a buoy in the Bowl as I wanted to try fishing 4 heavy Buzzers on the Floating line, always a favourite method at Bewl in the summer and known among the Competition fraternity as 'Fishing down the Hole'.* Ideally flat calm is the best but then in the wind that was not an option. On this occasion the method did not work but then I didn't really give it long enough. I will next time

I used 4 heavy size 8 curved Tiemco hook Buzzers in dark colours with bright cheeks. My Bewl favourite is in dark Claret with a Black fine rib, a red Butt of about 4mm and a bright Chrome stripe either side of the head. The Flies are spaced max 5ft apart with 8 -10ft from top dropper to fly line giving a leader length of 22 - 25ft Note. Fly size and weight may seem big but they cast well and have caught many fish for many people at Bewl over the years I prefer a floating line fishing up to about 25 - 28ft depth as it presents beautifully as the flies hang vertically. Cast, let the leader and flies sink until they pull the line tip down.* Retrieve very slowly. This method is best fished either in flat calm, very slow drift or anchored. * The floating line is slowest line to sink and will hold the fly depth longer

Okay, so we struggled a bit with the catching but in Summer I still don't think you can beat being out in a boat fishing. Wednesday was magic out on Bewl. Dry, warm, good company, doing what we do. We catch lots of fish over a season and to have a few difficult days or even blank days doesn't bother me at all.. We know the fish are there, we caught into double figures just two weeks ago, but as usual in summer the weather has a big part to play along with a bit of luck. Certainly as the water heats the fish will normally stay down longer. But as I said earlier there are exceptions to that rule, especially when there is cloud. Every hour can be different

Algae, often in summer there is some algae in still waters giving it a green tinge. Bewl has some at the moment and in or after a wind it is most noticeable against the windward banks. It is not a particular problem for the fish but it can restrict water clarity to an extent. On Wednesday there there was quiet a bit on the dam end of the Main Bowl. (A South Westerly wind blowing into the dam). What I don't know is how deep the algae goes with visibility impaired. It may only go a few feet. However, on the flies I find it pays to seek the best conditions that give the fish the best chance of seeing them. The cleanest, clearer water was out in the middle of the Bowl, Bewl Straight and down towards the cages. In fact the most action and fish we had and saw was out of the wind between Beauman's Point and Belgrano Bay, opposite the lodge. So I reckon that is worth a look this weekend. If it is sunny and/or windy best to anchor or tie up and search the depths. Fish are being taken up to 40ft down but could be at any point between there and the surface especially if there is prolonged cloud