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Monaro Streams – February 2019

After the recent rain, a last minute decision was made to make the trek up and fish the rivers. While the level and flow was back to usual (it was previously pretty low), the rain had dirtied the water fairly significantly. This and the fact it was blowing an absolute gale, made if a difficult and frustrating day of fishing – it happens though 🙂

Most pools where we had previously fished with confidence didn’t produce any action. An idea was floated where the flooded river produced an abundance of new food which meant the fish were not feeding, it could have been due to the dirty water, no one was to know for sure.

At the end of the day, we picked up some rainbows which lifted our spirits (much needed!). As the storm clouds rolled through, we decided to call it a day and head back home.

Catch Up – November 2018

I’ve been out and about over the last few weeks but sometimes fishing gets in the way of taking photos. I’ve also been lucky to fish some special stretches of water that I’ve sworn not to post photos of – sorry :-).

Here’s a quick photo from yesterday where Mark and I decided to head up to Murrumbidgee. Just after the storm we were anticipating a hatch but with the cool weather and southerly breeze, it didn’t eventuate. We still managed to land a couple of fish and drop a few more, all good fun. Bring on the warmer nights!

Eurobodalla Bass – November 2018

We decided to pull over quickly on our way home from the coast to checkout a stretch of river that looked great and where I have seen bass hitting the surface previously. I only had the 6wt in the car but these bass fight like cannons, great fun! This spot is definitely on the list now to spend a bit more time exploring, maybe with a 3 or 4wt rod.

Snowy Mountains Solo – October 2018

With the weather looking great and a spot of rain overnight, I trekked over solo to have a crack at what I think is my favourite ‘local’ river. I’ve always had plenty of luck fishing there previously and even if I don’t land a fish, it’s a great place to spend the day.

This time though – I was lucky enough to have plenty of fish to the net, including getting 2 nice browns on dry flies (my first on dry for the season) early on in the day by sighting them. By the end of lunch I had 4 browns and 4 rainbows to the net, and a few other dropped, bumped etc.

I rigged up 2 rods, a czech/euro nymph rig and a dry dropper rig, alternating between runs. It’s amazing how much more enjoyable fly fishing is when you have confidence in your setup. From rod, to rig, to flies.. when you have it right and fish are rising to your fly, there’s no better feeling.

The only real downside to the day was that I lost A LOT of flies to trees/bushes/snags etc. I was using fairly light tippet but at the end of the day, if I’m catching fish, I don’t mind losing a few flies here and there.

After lunch, I thought I’d head over to the rising Lake Eucumbene to have a quick look and a quick cast. The wind was fairly strong but I managed to pick up a small rainbow and dropped another fish (I think it was a brown). All in all, a good solo day out.

As you’ll see, I also had a bit of time to get the drone out, which is the first real look I’ve had at my own casting..let’s just say I have some bad habits I need to correct.