Recently we
had our annual trip to the Bundarah for the "bundarah hunt club". After a few
years living and working at "The Willows" owned and operated by Helen Packer I
had fished much of the water in the area. What started as myself and my old man
heading up regularly has now become 8 close mates. Once a year we book out
Helen's huts and after a curried scallop pie and a beer in Bairnsdale we head up
the hill. The area is an attractive prospect for flyfishermen of any skill
level. The sheer amount of streams and attractive fishable water within
an hours drive of Anglers Rest means that a group of people can head up for a
week together, enjoy the social side of the trip and not step on each others
toes when it comes the the fishing.
I have noticed over the years that introducing my mates to the
sport and the area that it has grabbed them as it has myself and
extra encouragemnent is never needed to get the guys up there. It is a truly
magical spot.
Without mains electricity or any other real utility services it
can feel quite remote and indeed there is some epic 'backcountry' fishing to
be had but there is also many streams lazily gurgling over the pebbles and
boulders through open farmland making it great water to be learning how to
flyfish. I have witnessed many people over the years catch their first trout in
one of the many mountain streams in the area including the legendary Mitta,
Bundarah, Cobungra, Gibbo, Victoria and many, many more more.
There has been much said in flyfishing circles in the last two years about the good health of the rivers and the quality of the fish caught. This trip was no exception and produced some wonderful fish all of which were in pristine, fat condition and Im not sure if its just me but there seemed to be much more leaping out of the water this year than ever before??!! in the smaller streams there was lots and lots of fingerling sized fish all eager to take on a large wulfff, this is surely a great indication of a healthy river system.
There has been much said in flyfishing circles in the last two years about the good health of the rivers and the quality of the fish caught. This trip was no exception and produced some wonderful fish all of which were in pristine, fat condition and Im not sure if its just me but there seemed to be much more leaping out of the water this year than ever before??!! in the smaller streams there was lots and lots of fingerling sized fish all eager to take on a large wulfff, this is surely a great indication of a healthy river system.
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| The lucky green hat! |
Early mornings produced really aggressive takes on nymphs before
the sun came up. As soon as the sun hit the water the fish started to look up
and were smashing pretty much anything you can offer them. There were huge
hatches of caddis all day long and lots of of stoneflies with the fish
targeting them right on dark.
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| Sam with a quality brown. |
The streams were in great condition and
as low as I've seen them at this time of year (at least for the last few years!)
one night there was 2 inches of rain up on top. The next day we fished the
Victoria river which is a 50 minute drive away from Anglers rest. Upon arrival
and finding it high and dirty we discussed turning around and exploring other
options but decided we would have a walk up and see what happened. 10 minutes
later we had released two small but very encouraging browns and the excitement
started to rise!! for those of you unfamiliar with this part of the world
imagine an alpine meadow covered in snow grass, free of trees with a meandering
snaking stream flowing through the middle. The sun was shining and hangovers
were slowly wearing off!
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| Hugh with a lovely brown. |
We came to a slightly deeper corner pool and after watching for a
minute or two my mate Hugh noticed a rise followed shortly afterwards by another
and another. Solid swirls suggested a larger than average fish which seem to
be common in this small stream. Hugh gave me the opportunity. I cast the 20
feet to the feeding fish presenting a caddis moth three times and three times
being ignored despite putting it on his nose. I told hugh to try his wee ck
hopper (possibly the most effective fly ive ever used in this part
of victoria, (when I initially asked Muz Wilson, who designed this simple
yet unfailling pattern what it was he replied "its friggen food mate"!!!!)).
Hugh cast to the fish who turned and literally swallowed the fly before doing
what those wild browns do best and fighting well above its weight. A very
satisfying release indeed all caught on the GoPro camera.
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| Hooked up. |
The ability to fish a different river every day is a great way to
make sure I didnt sleep past dawn. The fact that you can fish all day from day
break to after dark and catch good solid fighting wild trout all day long,
mostly on dry flies is very exciting this early in the season and I feel that we
may just be in for one epic summer on the streams!!!
This report comes from Sam Stringer, FlyLife magazines newest contributor! Thanks for the update Sam.
The Flyfisher Team
