On the first morning, catches for many northern anglers varied.

An angler fishing worms in the North Esk River at St Leonards for an hour reported no action but several others also using worms each bagged two brownies feeding periodically from the reasonably clear South Esk River at Hadspen.

Further up the South Esk at Evandale, however, another enthusiast starting before 6am had only one nibble at about 8.30am. Just before that, another bait angler nearby landed a brownie of half a kilogram.        

Running unusually high and slightly cloudy Brumbys Creek was popular with bait and fly anglers, while the lower Meander River was running well within its banks and disappointed three young fishers trying bait and lures.

Not far away, Four Springs Lake was as popular as ever and rewarded a couple using bait from shore with a one-kilogram brownie in top nick with richly-coloured flesh. 

As on the South Esk, trout were feeding in spasms. Inland Fisheries Service checked 178 anglers who caught 261 browns and 53 rainbows, mainly on lures and flies.

Although Tooms Lake is more than two metres from spilling, IFS also reported it as very productive with trout in top nick and six around 2.5 kilograms. Trolling and drift spinning accounted for most.

Meanwhile, Brushy Lagoon had previously been rewarding anglers with sizeable rainbow trout.  

Down East, schools of Southern bluefin tuna over the shelf off Bicheno pleased game anglers using light gear.