I love fishing Victorian rivers in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The flows are just about right, the air and water temperatures are rising and most other river users are too busy to get away. So when the opportunity for a mid-week day trip pops up, I have to take it! This week I had to travel to Eildon for a meeting. My initial plan had been to stay around afterwards and enjoy some afternoon/evening  fishing. However a last minute family commitment meant that I had to be home early. The only option was to leave early and sneak in a bit of fishing before my 11am appointment. What a good choice that turned out to be! Due to a longer than expected coffee stop and forgetting to get fuel the day before, my fishing time was limited to just one hour, so I drove straight into one of the popular campgrounds on the Rubicon River. Although concerned about fishing pressure at such an obvious spot (there were half a dozen caravans and camps set up when I arrived) I decided it would be as good an option as any for my limited time on the water. By the time I set up my rod, put on my waders and walked down the well-trodden path to the river, I only had 40 minutes remaining.

With my little 8 foot 3 weight I started fishing a bead-head Hares Ear nymph under a Royal Wulff through the pocket water. Staying low, I was able to get close enough to keep my line and most of the leader off the water, maintaining good drifts and contact with the flies.

Over the next 40 minutes I experienced the most enjoyable and satisfying fishing session of my life, landing 8 trout out of a 30 metre section of river! At one point I caught 3 beautifully conditioned fish in 3 consecutive casts at the same boulder. I couldn’t believe my luck at flyfishing version of a hat-trick!

The Rubicon is in great condition, however fishing short and keeping such close contact with my flies was an integral part of my successful morning.  Half of the underwater takes were felt before I noticed the indicator dry move. Even the single fish that took the dry had hooked itself before I was able to react. Relearning this lesson made me wonder how many fish I had missed so far this season without even noticing they had taken my fly.

In the end my time window had expired too quickly, so when my trailing nymph snagged a submerged stick half way through the pool, I called it a day… at 10:45am.