We have been having a great summer of fly fishing up here in the Goulburn Valley and things are set to continue as we move into the tail end of the hottest season of the year. Autumn is literally days away, something noticeable not only because of the dates on our calendars, but because nature is showing us that she is ready to make the transition.
The first cold nights have hit us with the past two seeing the first signs of heavy dew on the ground. Don’t get me wrong, the days are still hot and the evenings warm, but by 10.30pm things are well and truly cold with a fog sitting in the lowest parts of the valley until about 6.30am. These colder nights are one of the first signs that we are moving into a new phase of the year and that summer is in its last throes.
Add to this the fact that we are starting to see more and more crickets everywhere, trees are starting to drop a few extra leaves and most noticeably; the days are ever shortening with full darkness descending around 8.30 pm. There is no doubt that autumn is nearly here.
Last year we experienced the worst summer in our history courtesy of the terrible bushfires that burned from the first week of Feb until nearly mid-March. A few months ago all the forecasters were telling us that this summer would be worse than the last. Mercifully this has proven to be incorrect and we have just had our best summer of fly fishing in many years with the quality angling set to continue.
The reasons for this are quite simple but I will briefly touch on them. Firstly there is the indisputable fact that Mother Nature has been kind to us! The regular, heavy, fortnightly drops of rain have been nothing short of heaven sent. For an atheist like me that’s a big call. This rain has topped up and refreshed the water in our smaller, unregulated rivers and streams. It has also ensured that Lake Eildon has remained at around 30% the entire summer, cut demand for irrigation and therefore allowed water managers to conserve as much as possible. This has meant cold and clear water all summer long for the Goulburn River.
Next we should mention the great work done by Fisheries to restock the river. While they only put approximately 2500 fish into the river this season, the return to anglers has been immense with many seeing and or catching many of these stocked browns and rainbows. These fish have supplemented the wild stocks and returned a value well and truly beyond what was ever envisaged. I know that we have caught the same fish 7 times thus far, a beautiful brown of around 3.75lb. It is always in the same short section of bubble line and often rising. This fish has made at least 5 of our clients very happy, obligingly taking a dry fly, being photographed and released to be caught another day. I won’t go into the math but suffice to say, that fish is one of the most valuable in the river!
Fisheries have confirmed that their plan is to restock the river in larger numbers over the next few seasons with a view to making it a permanent fixture of their management plan. As a result the Goulburn will continue to go from strength to strength.
Getting back to the weather and the regular rain. What this means is that we have essentially got through summer without the traditional ‘February Blues’; a period when things heat up just a little too much and the fishing slows down due to the water temps/lack of oxygen causing the fish to shut down.
This year we have seen ideal water temps on all but two or three days and this has meant consistent angling and perhaps equally as impressive, great growth rates in the fish.
Cooler, oxygenated water and an abundance of terrestrial insects really get the fish feeding well. Grasshoppers and perhaps more importantly these days, willow grubs, get the fish eating off the top for long periods during daylight hours. We feared back in January that the rains and unusual weather may have decimated the willow grub population, but they have returned with a vengeance and are falling into the willow lined stretches of our waterways as I type this. These grubs are not comprised of calorie poor ‘wings’ and ‘legs’, rather they are a solid chunk of protein that are dropping into and floating on the surface of our rivers all day long. Fish feeding on them have been doing so for months now and they have put on maximum condition. The effort for reward ratio firmly establishes these insects as the most valuable to the trout of our region. I have seen fish eat as many as 500 in half a hour period!
Another factor worth mentioning is the fact that the river has remained fairly steady this summer. Having the river at a fairly regular height allows fish to get comfortable in certain feeding lies and really capitalise on the available food. While no doubt fish quickly adapt to changing levels as far as working out where the food is, constant manipulation of the height will mean that the fish are more disrupted and likely to be wasting a lot of time not only adapting to the changing levels but also because they will be having to compete with other fish for space each time there is major change. This is another thing I have watched for hours from a hidden vantage point. The amount of time and energy a fish expends chasing out other smaller fish when they are all forced to relocate is massive.
So in essence we have had consistent rains, fish stockings, steady levels, great water temperatures/clarity and a proliferation of terrestrial insects. All of these factors have come together this summer to give us a season to remember and it is far from over yet.
The end of February will bring us many more opportunities to fish with willow grub and grasshopper patterns. We now have a week of thirty degree days forecast and I will go as far as to say we should continue to see plenty of both insect until we get the first near to freezing overnight temperatures in mid-late March sometime.
The fact that the lake will continue to provide us with cold and clear water for the rest of the season will mean we will get a resurgence of hatch based fishing. Some caddis and mayfly will still be on the cards with some stupendous spinner falls in April yet to come. May will then bring a low river and some great nymphing as well as fishing hatches of midges and blue wing olives. There is just so much fishing to do between now and the Queen’s Birthday long weekend when we see the river officially close for the winter.
In terms of getting a plug in we should say that we are currently flat out with guiding/teaching work and this is usually our slowest period. Once the weather cools people’s minds often shift from beach to river and the phone rings red hot and it becomes more difficult to get a hold of us. As we are booked out now in February I would urge you all to try and think about any upcoming trips/sessions ASAP. Of course we will do our best to look after those looking to make a booking at the last minute as we always do. It’s just that going on past experience, this autumn will no doubt be a very busy one for us.
Also for those interested we have just had a cancellation for the Easter weekend (as well as a few spots next week) so we have accommodation for the entire period as well as guides available. Our New Zealand trips are going well and are scheduled to be rebooked from April 1st. Those interested in joining us need to go to the New Zealand trips page and lodge an expression of interest ASAP.
That’s it for now. All the best and tight lines from all of us here at GVFFC
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Cheers
Antony
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