The River Derwent in the estuary section is always a popular fishery early in the season and saw quite a few boating and shore based anglers opening weekend of this season. While anglers caught a few fish opening weekend the consensus was that it was still a bit early with sea run brown trout being encountered in low numbers and the whitebait stills scarce.

Well, the rains of the last week or so have enticed a better run of whitebait with plenty of trout now present upstream of the Bridgewater Bridge. Plenty of boats and shore based anglers were out on the weekend (25-26 August 2012) and many caught fish.

So southern based anglers needn't look far from home if they want a trout fix without going to the highlands. The Derwent often gives up a few big fish early each season while the trout are on the whitebait.