One keen angler just below Brumbys Creek's Second Weir recently found hefty trout gulping down small beetles, basically black with some green underneath and massed in clouds near the surface. Several trout also seized his lure but came unstuck.

Other beetles usually near northern trout streams now are small black and brown tea-tree beetles that draw trout up in rivers like the South Esk, North Esk, Meander and Macquarie systems.

As their name suggests, these beetles are often on tea trees, and where any of these line river banks, anglers may well find rewarding floating copies below and just downstream from them.

Tea trees along smaller rivers like the St Patricks are worth checking too.

Several north-western anglers recently fishing the upper Mersey River with small lures found trout rising to midges.

They netted and returned eight browns and rainbows, small but appreciated.

Up top, the trolling specialist was again pleased with results from Woods Lake last Monday, but was again upset by weed fouling hooks.

Yet between 7am and 11am he and friend took limit bags of brownies, including three over 1.4 kilograms.

Also appreciated by flyfishers on nearby Penstock Lagoon were highland spinners hatching during mornings occasionally calm.

Trout stocks there were boosted when Inland Fisheries transferred 1000 tiny wild rainbows from Liawenee Canal, Great Lake.

Arthurs Lake 1.54 (metres from full)

Great Lake 11.00

Little Pine Lagoon 0.59

Penstock Lagoon 0.09

Woods Lake - spilling

Lake St Clair 1.79

Lake King William 1.79

Lake Echo 2.88

Bradys Lake 0.79

Bronte Lagoon 0.95

Laughing Jack Lagoon 1.18

Meadowbank 0.42

Lake Plimsoll 1.77

Lake Murchison 13.42

Lake Mackintosh 1.90

Lake Rosebery 0.01

Lake Pieman 0.88

Lake Mackenzie 4.71

Lake Rowallan 5.89

Lake Parangana 1.40

Lake Cethana 2.58

Lake Barrington 1.40

Lake Gairdner 0.76

Lake Paloona 2.50

Lake Leake 5.10 (FSL 5m)