Autumn. The days are noticeably shorter, the heat of summer has passed and the cold mornings signal the stream trout season is approaching its chilly end. But it’s a great time to be on the water. The late afternoon light is honey-stained and matches the streams, which seem to be more viscous and flowing at a slower, languid pace.

After battling the harsh rays of summer, the clear days and pleasant temperatures of autumn are a blessing.  Catching fish at this time of year—with the amazing light, colour splashes of autumn leaves and clear blue skies—it’s almost not an issue if you don’t land a fish.

By this time of year the stream fishing has changed. The excitement and frenetic pace of spring evening dun hatches has faded. The crash-bang action of slapping down grasshoppers is over.  The fishing is at a different pace. It’s more a casual stroll, a wander. But it’s not just the pace of the season that slows you up. You can’t show haste.  The low, clear water makes the fish a bit spooky—blunder along and they’re gone in bow waves up the pool. It’s a time for gently, deliberately,  …slowly.

The terrestrial fly life is not as abundant so the streams can seem a bit dead. It may take a couple more casts to illicit a trout’s response to a dry. And while a nymph may be the sensible option, somehow the dry stays on ‘for just a few more pools’.  Some of us still hang on irrationally to the dry fly as long as we can. We say stuff in our heads like, ‘It’s not about catching lots of fish, it’s a lot about how we catch them’.  As if that makes it alright. But …it does make it alright.

I fished some local Eildon streams recently with my son Scott and while we caught trout in most of the water we fished, the action was never hot. Using a generalist fly like the Yellow Sally, which is a bit like a dun, but could be a caddis – or possibly a terrestrial like a moth, or whatever the trout took it to be. Anyway, it was doing the job and dragging a few fish up for a look. The fishing wasn’t frantic and the pace matched the pace of the season.

While none of the trout we caught were large, the weather, views, company and a few fish were more than enough. Autumn fishing is a quieter affair, but one thing I really like about it is it happens in gentleman’s hours. There’s no need to get on the water early, and the action dies some time in the afternoon as the mountain shadows close in. It’s civilised and the fishing is sweet.