In the shop we have had a constant flow of excellent reports. For local anglers the rivers have been awesome. The King (Upper), Howqua, Jamieson, Big River, Toponga, Rubicon, Goulburn, Stevenson, Acheron, Latrobe, Torongo, Tanjil (West Branch) all going bonkers. Also some good reports from the Otways streams such as The Cumberland and Erskine. The Tassie highlands has been tough this year. A lack of warm weather has meant the gum beetle falls haven't really got going. Fortunately the mayfly fishing has been spectacular with big hatches on Little Pine and enough of them out on the western lakes to keep the fish looking up. Warm weather looks to be on the way and so the fishing will really start to fire now. In the lowlands the rivers have been excellent with lots of trout and some very productive dry fly fishing.
Great Lake Gut Feeder
I'd heard people talk about gut feeding trout before but was never convinced they existed till now. Clinton is a long time customer of ours and he caught this monster 12lb+ brown. While cleaning his catch around the boat ramp after a successful days fishing, he threw the guts out and noticed it very quickly disappeared. With the next bit of gut he threw in he watched it intently only to see a three foot long trout come and shovel it off the bottom and eat it whole. The fish was so close he could count the spots on it. Quickly he grabbed his fly rod and cast everything he could at the fish but unfortunately it wasn't interested in anything of the feather and fur variety. Later that night he was on a mission. Fuelled with enthusiasm they combed Miena for a snapper outfit, a large hook and some guts. Within 15 minutes of being back at the boat ramp, Clinton was hooked up to this monster trout. While not on a fly rod, you could argue Clinton matched the hatch and so well done on this magnificent capture. I'm working on a Marabou gut fly right now just in case...
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| Clinton with his massive Great Lake gut feeder. |
A small update from our mate Adam Royter who's been fishing around Eucumbene.
A quick Eucumbene update – The lake is steady at 53% and the fishing is as good as I've seen it for the last 10 to 15 years. Early morning and late afternoon there have been some reasonable midge hatches with enough rising fish to stick with the dry fly. During the day, polaroiding and casting to the odd rising fish has been great while during the quieter periods blind casting wets is very productive. Lots of nuggety rainbows and the quality of fish can only get better from here
The surrounding rivers are also fishing well. The Thredbo River has plenty of flow and is fishing well right through the day with a dry and nymph combo. The Murrumbidgee has had fantastic mayfly hatches and is fishing best in mild overcast conditions.
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| Adam nets a solid Eucumbene rainbow. |
