A vacancy at last.
Well, this trip to the north-east Victorian streams had been in the diary for a month or so. Accommodation booked and an appropriate amount of excitement and anticipation locked in. Weather patterns tracked, recent rainfall events acknowledged, and river heights observed and checked. Everything was looking very promising. I couldn’t wait to get up there and tackle some nice fish as we did last month.
The day before our departure with all gear packed, all food shopping done, good wines purchased and imported Peronis already on ice, we were ready to go!
Alas, at this moment I found out Fly Fish Australia was holding a flyfishing competition on the same river! I spoke to one of the competitors and had a look at their beats. The whole stretch of the upper Mitta Mitta from Anglers Rest to above Big River Bridge was taken up by competitors.
Okay, I probably should have postponed the trip, but how can you when the engine is
practically running and one foot is already in the car.
I devised a plan. We would hit the river on the Friday afternoon, before the competition. The Saturday we would spend up high and away from the throngs, and Sunday make our way home at a leisurely pace via the Ovens River.
The river was at normal late summer/ early autumn levels and running cold, so in that regard, tick! However, the fishing proved to be challenging at times during the bright blue daylight hours - a bit of cloud would have been nice.
Lowish but cold.
On that first day, it wasn’t until late evening when the trout turned on. Not rising to a hatch (which was non-existent) but rather and somewhat unusually taking a small beaded black halfback nymph fished under a hopeful dry. A few nice fish to hand put smiles on our faces. It was so good to see healthy populations of trout around despite their shyness during the day.
The temperature dropped dramatically on dark as we headed back to our cabin. A roaring fire, good food, lots of laughs, and talk of the next day's expedition into the wild.
The perfect end to a day on the water.
On the Saturday we hit the road and drove past car after car at each access point. Pink plastic ribbons marking the beats were an inconvenient and annoying sight. Note to self: add checking for competitions in the future before locking in trips.
We pushed up high and fished the magnificence of this river in the wilderness. The water was reasonably low and flat, and it wasn’t until we approached the end of our beat that the river structure improved and the trout appeared. Big trout! Ed had a nice fish on for a few seconds. The angry brown made a huge commotion before tragically spitting the fly.
Minutes later, I placed my flies up a superb deep chute. I could barely make out my dry (dropper) in the sun. More than seeing the take, I sensed it. Perhaps that's why when I lifted, I probably didn’t strike hard enough to set the nymph hook properly. The trout screamed upstream, a New Zealand-like run. I apprehensively put a bit of pressure on and turned it, but rather than hunker down as big browns often do, it raced at me. In a split second, as I tried to regain control, it also spat the hook.
In Italy there is a thing called the ‘malocchio’ – the evil eye curse. What sort of voodoo is this? Haha! Maybe it was just me. Back to the car for a late lunch. The walk was rather silent...
One that survived the curse!
After lunch, we headed back to the lower reaches to have a look. The competitors
had left the river by now. It’s interesting (and reassuring) that despite the out-of-control pressure on the day from some presumably capable anglers, with a decent hatch of mayfly plus a few caddis and beetles, the trout were still willing to rise in numbers – literally only minutes after completion of the comp.
Evening riser.
When a hatch is on, I’m sure the trout brain and appetite immediately reboots. We enjoyed some consolation fishing before heading back for a drink and some good food.
Cabin coffee.
The following morning, we ate a generous breakfast and headed over to the Ovens River; more out of curiosity than anything else as I hadn’t fished it this season. A quick one hour session revealed a healthy population of small trout. I am sure had we stayed until the shadows lengthened, the bigger models would have come out to play. Next time!
