LAST week was really fun fishing. Having covered a range of waters from Batlow around to Wee Jasper and up to the high country I’m not sure whether I’ve been lucky or the fishing has turned on a bit.
The creeks have been providing some of the best light gear fishing of the season.
The brown trout are seemingly quite focussed on the spawn season ahead but the rainbows which typically gear up a little later on, have been putting on a show.
Through summer, some of the smaller low land waters become seemingly fishless but as things cool down and we get the odd top up of rain the quality fish begin to emerge.
I rehashed a piece of water that links to the Tumut River in a location just outside Tumut (enough information there).
Through summer it was predominantly carp but as the conditions have changed and the Tumut has become a much smaller body of water it seems some really good quality fish have decided to seek the fertile tributary waters. With a light dry fly set up (3 Weight fiberglass rod) I worked carefully through a deep, fast moving stretch of the creek.
Casting a small mayfly pattern #18 Parachute Adams, I was sure I’d seen a decent looking trout head porpoise through the surface of the water.
I covered the area multiple times with the fly but it didn’t come back until I got the cast a good metre ahead of where I’d seen the fish rise. A very fast take from the fish and it was bedlam. Jumping and twisting, even at one point beaching itself on the far bank and rolling back in, I chased this surprisingly large fish down through the snags to a big slow pool at the bottom. Weighing in just under 3 lb and a healthy 46cm it was a prime condition fish.
The small creeks have provided a lot of fun like this over the past week and exploring these hidden gems has really filled my trout fishing cup.
Exploring and finding new water is why I do it and it’s such a great time of year for hefty missions with cooler temps, less snakes and beautiful scenes.
There has been some brutes moving in the high country; those big veteran brownies have been pushing in small numbers into the streams from Eucumbene and alike.
The last speckle of rain got them excited but they are very tricky and require a good lot of careful stalking.
If it’s a big fish you’re after, try fishing the waters that run into dams. It’s something I tend to do once or twice a season but not as much fun as the small stream stuff.
But hey, everyone’s different and if you want to catch a big trophy, now’s the time. Happy fishing and keep those rain dances coming.
