I first went to the upper Mitta as a wide-eyed 15 year old. Dad nursed our Falcon 500 station wagon over Mt Hotham during an autumn blizzard, at night. Only the orange snow poles distinguished where the road ended and the abyss began. By the time we pitched our big blue tent on a frosty river flat two hours later, I was too tired to investigate the roar of the stream out there in the darkness.
While it was high twenties temps in the valleys, winter still isn’t quite over on the uppermost slopes of Mt Bogong.
During daylight, I slowly got to know the upper Mitta. Everything about it seemed… more. It was more remote compared to my familiar Delatite and Howqua rivers; bigger and with, it appeared, larger fish that were also harder to catch. I was soon besotted.
On the upper Mitta – a few decades later.
Yesterday afternoon and evening, Max and I fished that stretch where I first met the Mitta. It’s been a sentimental favourite for quite a few decades now. Peter Julian had his buck’s party there 30 years ago with his brother David and yours truly making up the rest of participants. There were no strippers, but the trout were obliging! I also fished there with Jane when our son Daniel was little enough to carry up the river in his car capsule.
A Mitta brown on the nymph yesterday. Obligingly, many also took the dry – mainly various Stimulators.
And here’s the thing – except for the temporary devastation for a year or so after the 2003 fires, it’s hardly changed. While the odd giant log has moved and the odd anabranch has shifted a few metres, it’s otherwise the same old Mitta.
Still basically the same river after all these years.
Our trip began with a fine afternoon session on the Ovens River. Despite a massive hot rod event going on in Bright (I’ve never seen so many Cobras, Mustangs and GTHOs in one place) we had the river to ourselves. Bigger than average rainbows were plentiful, and in the fast and faintly coloured water, they mostly preferred nymphs over dries.
One of what must have been literally hundreds of hot rods in Bright.
Today we reluctantly farewelled the Mitta and drove on to Snowy Creek. We were soon rewarded though as the Snowy fished at least as well as it big brother. The average fish wasn’t quite as big, but dozens of browns and rainbows (almost exactly 50/50) kept us well entertained.
Max on the Ovens.
In summary, we found the upper north-east lush and green, with stream levels everywhere very healthy. Water temps were between 14-17 C, with clarity good enough to fish small flies confidently. The Ovens, Snowy and Mitta all produced lots of fish. The Mitta was the most ‘technical’ of the three as it is so often, but simply a delight when you cracked the code. In short, get up to the north-east if you can.
Snowy rainbow.
