I ended March and started April in the mountain valleys south of Myrtleford. The hot dry summer up that way is long gone – one farmer friend has had nearly 80 mm of rain in the last week and the grass is already emerald green from the Hume all the way to the remote valleys. The rain was steady rather than torrential though, so the streams have responded beautifully. They’re significantly higher that several weeks ago, but flowing clear. And while my farmer mate did have a tornado come through with one front (it left an empty water tank up a tree!) the storm damage was limited to that caused by wind, not rain. The only legacy my fishing mate Andrew and I had to contend with was a few more fallen trees and midstream branches. I guess over time even those will make for better fishing, providing hiding places and velocity refuges for trout and their food.

The fishing was mostly just steady, but it did briefly touch spectacular when a flurry of cockchafer beetles, flying ants and caddis brought an intense twilight rise on the Buffalo. I found a good fish rising enthusiastically in a deep, dark run confined between a cliff on one side and blackberry bushes on the other. I caught it second cast on a para Adams – a 2½ lb brown. (I was also standing waist deep in the river to reach it, and the light was fading so you just have to take my word for it – no photo!) Flushed with success, I expected to knock off the next fish feeding a few metres upstream.  However about 20 casts a three fly changes later, I could only record one possible rise without any weight on the strike. As that trout occupied an apparently superior feeding lie to the one I caught, I’ve made a careful note where it lives.

The other highlight was a quick session on the Rose River. The Rose has a comparatively small catchment and it quickly loses flow during hot, dry summers like the one just gone. In fact, just a month or so ago I heard it had stopped flowing altogether in places. I was interested to see what – if anything – had survived the tough combination of heat and the stream contracting to flow-less pools. Well, the Rose was flowing again, albeit gently. I caught a 12 inch rainbow on the first stretch I fished, and a 12 inch brown on the second. I also spooked a much larger trout, and had a few 5 to 6 inch tiddlers snatch ineffectively at the dry.

Under normal circumstances such fishing would hardly rate a mention, however given the preceding conditions it was encouraging to not only find trout, but at least three year classes. While Rose River trout numbers may well be down on the last few years, things are looking promising for next season – a real testament to the resilience of our wild trout.